The University of Maryland presented design plans for a proposed child care center on Calvert Road in a community meeting on Wednesday, drawing mixed reactions from city residents.
The project, estimated in 2015 to cost about $5.7 million, is now expected to cost about $6.9 million, according to university administration and finance vice president Carlo Colella. Because of the increased costs, Colella said, space for staff and support had to be reduced about 2,600 square feet to get closer to budget.
Located on the former site of the Friends Community School, the building has been mostly unused since 2007.
As part of a long-term lease agreement with the city, 14 of the 120 seats of the new child care center will be guaranteed to College Park residents who are not university employees. University employees who are also residents of the city, university employees that do not reside in the city and the general public — in that order — will be next in line for spots.
City residents like Cameron Easter expected a more inclusive and versatile use of the dilapidated building.
[Read more: UMD may have to pay $1.2 million more than expected to build College Park child care center]
“From our perspective, as land owners and residents of the neighborhood, we wanted to make a building that looks vacant useful to both the university and the community,” said the District 3 resident, who is also a 2005 graduate of this university. “Essentially, you’re making a vacant building in our neighborhood a giant daycare for employees of the university.”
Colella defended the plans for the child care center, saying the university wanted to partner with the city to fulfill the community’s desire for more childcare.
“The university could have chosen on its own land to build a facility of this cost and that wouldn’t have advanced the shared goal we have to create together a great college town,” Colella said.
Other residents attending the Calvert Hills Citizens Association expressed dissatisfaction with the architectural design and aesthetic of the new child care center.
In the proposed design plans, the existing and historical two-story brick structure on the site will be completely restored, while the non-historical, one-story addition will be demolished and rebuilt with a contrasting, more contemporary look.
Neighborhood residents said they were disappointed the design plans did not make better use of the building’s one-story addition and voiced their displeasure with the proposed design.
“It kind of reads to me as an inexpensive add-on,” said District 3 resident Lisa Fischer, of the modern addition. “This, to me, looks like an afterthought.”
[Read more: College Park will give $4 million tax cut for Route 1 apartment complex]
Former District 3 Councilwoman Stephanie Stullich spoke in favor of the design, citing what she said is the “crumbling and deteriorating” conditions of the current building.
“It has been a long and hard road,” said Stullich, who has worked since 2015 to help bring the new child care center to fruition.
Colella said the project is currently being prepared for the construction phase, adding that he expects the project to be completed late next year. The city council narrowly approved the proposal in March 2017, with Mayor Patrick Wojahn casting the deciding vote.
“Imagine the sounds of children playing on this site after so many years of it being pretty much in disrepair,” Colella said. “We’re pretty psyched about that.”
Although opinions varied on the project, Calvert Hills Citizens Association President Stuart Adams said that, overall, the new child care center would be a welcome addition to the community.
“The consensus is we are excited to have it here,” Adams said. “We’re excited for this.”
CORRECTION: Due to an editing error, a previous version of this article incorrectly characterized District 3 resident Lisa Fischer’s comments on the childcare center. This story has been updated.
