Politics & Government
Viewfinder: What About Spring Grove?
Study aims to consider development of vast mental hospital campus.
According to , state lawmakers are putting $50,000 in the budget to begin studying whether and how Spring Grove could be developed.
The 200-acre campus sits on a vast swath of state property that stretches from Frederick Road through Arbutus to Route 1. Over the years portions of the land were parceled out for UMBC, CCBC and expressways.
Founded in 1797, Spring Grove is the second-oldest continuously operating psychiatric hospital in the United States. Spring Grove still has 449 beds, the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, offices of the state Mental Health Administration, and housing for the homeless.
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Although still actively in operation, most of Spring Grove is an institutional ghost town, with massive buildings shuttered and abandoned cottages.
What could be done with the property? A new hospital facility? Mixed use, with professional offices and commercial development? A new Precinct 1 police station? An expansion of UMBC?
Find out what's happening in Arbutuswith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Based on comments at Patch, developing the Spring Grove property is overdue.
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