BALTIMORE — Anne Arundel County leaders shared their final plan to transform a psychiatric hospital with a troubled past into a center for mental health care and education. 

Crownsville Hospital opened in 1911 as a Black psychiatric hospital and was desegregated in 1963. Patients experienced neglect, violence and poor living conditions while at the hospital. Some had medical experiments performed on them, the Associated Press reported.

According to the Maryland State Archives, the hospital’s “lack of adequate staff” contributed to patients not getting proper care. The hospital’s population continued to decline from the 1960s until it closed in 2004 due to budget concerns. 

The state of Maryland sought to redevelop the hospital and solicited proposals for the campus in 2008. 

Anne Arundel County took over the property from the state in 2022 and renamed it Crownsville Hospital Memorial Park (CMP). The county then began its effort to transform the property. 

Bowie State University later joined the county as a partner in the project to bring educational and research programs to the new center, along with wellness initiatives. 

“We have now a partner that is going to bring young voices, Black voices, academic voices into this process that has a history with Crownsville Center,” Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman said. 

Community input 

In 2024, project leaders held public meetings to hear from the community about the future of Crownsville Hospital. 

Leaders discussed including open spaces with multi-purpose trails, sports fields, a community center, and a place for people to meditate and learn. 

Diane Phillips LaGuerre said her father, Dr. George McKenzie Phillips, was a superintendent at the hospital and helped pull the facility out of poor conditions at one point. He was also the hospital’s first Black superintendent, according to the CMP master plan. 

“It was important to him that these people recognize it was community that they need, it’s connections that they need and so, to try to get more people to see, to open their eyes, that those who suffer from mental health challenges are not as alien as they seem. They’re really just like you and me,” Phillips LaGuerre said.

She suggested the revitalized property be spiritual in nature and meditative. 

“…but I also believe that there’s a place within the grounds where there could be activity,” she said. 

Master Plan 

The county released its final master plan for CMP on Wednesday, detailing its 14-month process, which included investigations into the property’s landscape, history, utilities and traffic. 

During the process, project leaders also conducted a cost analysis and shared final recommendations for facilities and activities. 

According to the final plan, construction for the project is estimated to cost more than $67 million, not including landscaping, or engineering and public fees. The cost will be reevaluated following more studies and could further change when construction begins. 

Through its engagement efforts, CMP project leaders developed the following principles for the new center: 

• It will focus on mental and physical health and wellbeing
• It will be intentional and equitable in providing access
• It will be truthful about its past
• It will preserve and celebrate its natural beauty 
• It will protect and restore its environment
• It will cultivate educational opportunities

“Crownsville Hospital Memorial Park (CMP) represents more than just a transformation — it is a reclamation of a difficult and often painful past, reshaped into a beacon of healing, reflection, and community well-being,” leaders said in the master plan. 

During the planning process, an equity subcommittee was created to guide decisions about future programs and preservation efforts. 

The planning process also included an inventory of the Crownsville Hospital site to determine historic significance. In 2022, the site was determined to be eligible for listing in the Maryland Inventory of Historic Places (MIHP) and the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The process would require additional research and documentation, but once listed, the site would be eligible for preservation grants. 

According to the master plan, the site will use energy-efficient and renewable energy technologies to reduce environmental impact. The site will also feature security measures such as surveillance cameras. 

Through the CMP’s Art and Sculpture plan, Black artists will be able to contribute to telling impactful stories about the hospital’s history and enrich the landscape with large sculptures or subtle features. 

The site will be broken up into 10 districts, including Campus Core, which will have significant historic buildings with a new museum. 

The East Campus district will expand the site for Hope House, a nonprofit that offers substance use and mental health services, and the Anne Arundel County Food Bank. 

There will also be an Active Recreation district which will include athletic facilities, indoor spaces and a nature-based playground. 

Read the full CMP Final Master Plan HERE.