Anne Arundel to host town hall on plans for Crownsville Hospital Memorial Park

The draft master plan, released earlier this month, lays out a vision for what officials hope will be a place of healing, education and remembrance - a sharp contrast from what opened in 1911 as the Maryland Hospital for the Negro Insane.

Inside the 180-page draft master plan are details on the existing conditions at the former hospital grounds, along with the county's outreach efforts and its recommendations for each section of the property, which has sat mostly vacant since it closed in 2004. 

More than 70 structures in varying conditions are spread across the 500-acre property. The draft master plan calls for seven to be renovated and reused, 21 to be stabilized and 31 to be demolished, with the other buildings remaining largely as they are.

Plans for the renovated buildings include a museum, classroom spaces for Bowie State University, transitional and affordable housing units, maker spaces and art studios, and indoor athletic courts. 

The troubled history of the former hospital will be preserved through the museum, education, and art installations. In outdoor spaces, the draft master plan envisions a pump track for cycling, athletic fields, a nature-based playground, park pavilions, a stage and an event lawn for community activities. Multiuse, accessible trails are also planned. 

The county is continuing to solicit feedback from residents ahead of the plan being finalized. Comments can be submitted to the county through Nov. 24 at Crownsville-Park-Comments@aacounty.org. A final master plan is anticipated to be published early next year.