Progress has continued on the 117-acre Rosewood Center that Stevenson University acquired in June 2017.

A majority of the buildings in the former the Rosewood Center on Garrison Forest Road have been demolished, yet the concrete slabs still remain intact.

According to Tim Campbell, executive vice president for financial affairs and chief financial officer, Stevenson must follow the Voluntary Cleanup Program (VCP) to appropriately remediate any harmful substances found on the property.

The program, established by the Maryland Department of the Environment and the Land and Materials Administration’s Land Restoration Program, “provides State oversight for the voluntary cleanup of properties contaminated with hazardous substances,” according to Maryland.gov.

The goal of the program is to increase the number of clean sites by making the process efficient while concurrently following existing environmental regulations (Maryland.gov).

An ongoing concern about the bordering property still owned by the state is coal ash contamination in the soil due to the historic coal-fired power plant that powered the old Rosewood facility, said Campbell.  Coal ash is an environmental hazard, containing heavy metal toxins.

Over the summer, the grounds were tested with more than 100 soil samples to ensure the cleanliness and safety of the area, according to Campbell.  Minimal contamination was found on the site and is currently being addressed.

This process is expected to be completed within the next month, and passers by will begin to notice the concrete footprints of each building beginning to disappear.

A significant expense of the renovation includes removing debris from the site. Knowing that materials will be needed for the future of the property, large mounds of debris, made up of brick and building matter, have been milled and recycled and left on the property.

These materials will be used to fill and build road subsurface and parking lots for the future plans of the site. This efficient use of the debris will save Stevenson money and will also be good for the environment.

According to Campbell, the next phase of the process is to grade the property.  Once the property is graded, construction will begin on the proposed athletic fields.

The proposed plan is to make the new Rosewood property an athletic hub.  The Owings Mills site will serve as the student life hub and Owings Mills North will become the academic hub.

Potential plans for the new property include multiple full-sized athletic fields, an aquatics center, an ice hockey rink, baseball and softball fields, a field house and a 400-meter track, said Campbell.