Spring Grove Utility Upgrades, Site Improvements & Environmental Remediation

Project Description

The University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) received the Spring Grove Hospital Campus in a land transfer agreement from the Maryland Department of Health and subsequently received funding for an initial round of $27M in funding for the design and construction of utility, site and environmental repairs. The Spring Grove Hospital Center is a 175 acre campus consisting mostly of the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center and other Hospital Facilities, forested areas, streams and former farmland. The hospital was founded in 1797, moved to the current location in 1872 and is the second oldest psychiatric hospital in the country.

The campus has suffered from many years of neglect due to a lack of funding for modernization and repairs and the initial round of funding is intended to stabilize the site but is insufficient to fully modernize.

The initial phase of the project included program verification, led by RK&K (Project Delivery Leader Charlie Mitchell, III, PE) to determine a comprehensive list of potential project components, associated costs and a prioritization to evaluate which projects were most critical due to the limited construction budget. Ultimately 41 projects totaling $37.5M were evaluated and scored based on six criteria, allowing the project team to prioritize projects with the highest score first until all available funds were exhausted. The projects selected improve stream health, manage stormwater runoff, repair sanitary sewer systems, replace inadequate storm drain, remediate hazardous site conditions, and establish new forest.

Upon the completion of program verification, the project team prepared full service civil engineering design which was divided into two overlapping phases based on permitting requirements. The initial phase included projects which would not impact protected natural resources to streamline permitting, while the second phase required additional permitting via a Maryland Department of the Environment and Army Corps of Engineers Joint Permit application.

Design elements of this project include:

·         Stream Restoration (4,200 LF)

·         Removal of Above Ground (2) and Underground Fuel Storage Tanks (1)

·         Storm Drain & Culvert Replacement

·         Sanitary Sewer Lining & Repairs

·         Erosion Sediment Control (24 acres)

·         Extended Detention Dry Ponds (2)

·         Forest Conservation Compliance

RK&K obtained permits and approvals for this state funded projected through multiple state and county agencies. These include:

·         Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE)

·         Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR)

·         Maryland Historic Trust (MHT)

·         Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)

·         Baltimore County Department of Public Works & Transportation (DPW&T)

This project is currently in the design/permitting phase and will begin construction in the Fall of 2024. This highly visible project on an active campus for an intuitional client will provide impactful improvements for many years to come. Further, it is the start of many years of improvements and upgrades which will be necessary for the long-term use of the campus.