Crownsville Hospital Memorial Park: What you need to know about the draft master plan

Following months of workshops and town halls, Anne Arundel County has unveiled a draft master plan for the future Crownsville Hospital Memorial Park, laying out a vision for what officials hope will be a place of healing, education and remembrance.

The 180-page draft master plan for the former hospital grounds details the existing site conditions, the county's public outreach efforts and recommendations for each section of the historic property, which has sat mostly vacant since closing in 2004.

"This plan is brilliant," Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman said in a statement. "It takes the visions expressed by hundreds of residents and integrates them into the campus in a way that will deliver the experience of remembrance, of peace, and of healing that this county and this country are craving."

What is planned for the future of the Crownsville Hospital site is in sharp contrast to its troubled history. Patients at the hospital, which opened in 1911 as the Maryland Hospital for the Negro Insane, were forced to provide free labor and undergo medical experimentation until the institution was integrated. Ownership of the hospital property was transferred to Anne Arundel County in 2022, and work to reimagine the site has been underway since.

What will happen to the buildings on the former hospital campus?

More than 70 structures in varying conditions dot the 500-acre property. Plans are for seven to be renovated and reused, 21 to be stabilized and 31 to be demolished. The remaining buildings will remain largely as they are.

Nearly $5 million in federal funds will be used for redevelopment of the property, officials said last week. Federal, state and local officials toured the administrative complex, a series of connected buildings along Crownsville Road, getting a glimpse of the site before remediation and renovation.

Inside, spots of peeling paint covered the walls and ceilings. Spray-painted markings could be seen, as well. Debris and broken glass littered a hallway, crunching under legislators' feet as they walked through.

This is a good representation," said Michael Stroud, a project manager for the county. "Some buildings are worse, some buildings are better; this one's kind of in the middle."

One of four original buildings constructed at Crownsville Hospital, the administration building, is set to become the site of a museum welcome center where Bowie State University will partner in education programming. 

Two other buildings connected to the administrative portion include the "B" building, to be used for museum exhibit halls, additional university classrooms and a space for racial healing. And the Hugh Young building is proposed to have collaborative maker spaces and art studios for lease by community members. 

In the Meyer building one of the largest buildings on the southern portion of the campus, the plan envisions a veterans and family clinic, 65 transitional housing units and 27 affordable housing units. 

Two buildings that formerly served as employee apartments could become a 24-bed transitional housing for Hope House, a nonprofit residential treatment center for substance abuse disorders.

How will Crownsville Hospital's troubled history be remembered?

Museum installations, education, art and other programming are planned throughout the former hospital grounds. 

A path of reverence will honor those who died at the hospital and bring awareness to current mental health issues, and is planned to begin at the campus core. Educational signage detailing the hospital's history and stories, health and wellness strategies, and the environment and sustainability, are also planned.

Though it's not part of the redevelopment efforts, the Crownsville Hospital Patient Cemetery, where more than 1,700 are buried, will be linked to the rest of the park by the path of reverence.

To Arnold resident Levi Kenny, who's attended multiple workshops on the future of the Crownsville Hospital property this year, it was clear that planners had listened to the public in drafting the master plan. 

"It's just a very noble experience, I would say, because most people won't listen to the public," he said. "I think this specific project, you really do need to listen to the public a lot, especially the Black community - it's very important and very necessary."

In May, former employees and activists called for the perspectives of those affected by Crownsville to be considered in any decisions about the businesses and organizations that could move onto the property.

Will there be recreational and community gathering spaces?

The Campanella building, the seventh structure slated for renovation and reuse for indoor athletic courts, will be surrounded by an active recreation district. A pump track for cycling, track and field facilities, athletic fields, a nature-based inclusive playground and park pavilions are planned adjacent to the Campanella building. 

The campus core, located behind the Administration complex on Crownsville Road, is set to include a stage and event lawn for community activities. 

Numerous multiuse, accessible trails also are planned throughout the property, some of which will connect to existing adjacent trail systems. 

For those who have worked on advisory committees to suggest what the future of Crownsville could look like, making the property into a space that residents want to visit was a key consideration, said Bob Agee, a member of Crownsville Advisory Committee's parks and recreation subcommittee. 

"I think that's one of the greatest things we can do to honor the people that were there, is turn it into a welcoming place, as opposed to a horrible place," he said. 

Traffic and cost analyses for the plan were not available in the draft report. 

A town hall-style meeting on the draft plan will be held October 30, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., at Baldwin Hall in Millersville. 

The county will continue 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 later this year or early next year.