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College unveils Belmont plan
Opponents fear construction will mar historic Elkridge site

Jennifer Surface, Howard County Times
Originally published January 19, 2006

Despite some opposition, Howard Community College officials intend to move forward with a plan to build roughly 100,000 square feet of new construction and renovations to the historic Belmont Conference Center in Elkridge.

Opponents of the plan, including Republican County Council chairman Christopher Merdon, charge that the development will overrun the historic property and serve as a "distraction" to the college's true mission, which is educating students.

College officials said the construction is necessary to keep their purchase of the center economically profitable. The college bought the 68-acre Belmont, which was established in 1738, for $5.2 million from the American Chemical Society in November 2004.

The college uses Belmont as a retreat and conference center, and intends to create a "living lab" there for students in the college's culinary, hospitality management and horticulture programs.

College officials want to add a new entrance road, and public water and sewer systems to the site over the next 15 years, pending approval from state and local agencies.

The college plan also envisions a 40-room inn with spa, salon and lounge facilities; a conservatory with a night-sky observatory for large events; and a "sustainability" center which would include a greenhouse, landscaping and other services to tend the estate's grounds.

College officials did not say how much they estimate completing the proposed master plan would cost.


Group protests plan

Members of the Save Belmont Coalition, a group of Elkridge residents opposed to the site's development, said the construction would overshadow Belmont's historic Manor House.

"It dwarfs Belmont, it dwarfs the Manor House," said coalition leader Cathy Hudson, at a Jan. 12 meeting during which the college unveiled its plan to members of the community.

Opponents vowed to fight the plan through its approval process.

Merdon, who represents Elkridge and Ellicott City, and is running this year for County Executive, said the college should sell Belmont because it does not contribute to the college's purpose.

"I think it's a distraction from the community college's mission, which is educating students, not building elaborate conference facilities," he added. "Every minute they spend on this plan, they're not spending educating students."

At a press conference announcing the plan Jan. 10, college president Mary Ellen Duncan said she recognized the community's concerns, but insisted that the proposed construction plan is necessary.

"I think it will take time for people to understand we're not doing anything but trying to keep Belmont alive," she said. "Old places are expensive and maybe we were stupid to consider it. But we would like to keep it and maintain it."


Three projects on tap

College spokesman Randy Bengfort called the master plan "largely conceptual."

"It's a road map, not a blue print by any means," he said, adding that officials do not plan to build residential or student housing at Belmont, or turn it into a full-fledged college campus.

Officials will submit the master plan to the Maryland Higher Education Council in March - a necessary step in order to request state funding for projects, Bengfort added. Officials will request money from the county and the state, along with private donations, to pay for the construction the plan envisions.

Within the coming year, officials hope to begin building additions to an existing carriage house and stone barn, and pave a brick patio and walkways in the gardens behind the Manor House mansion. Those projects would cost $2 million to $3 million.

College officials added that they have submitted plans for the three projects to the Maryland Historic Trust, which enforces a protective easement that bans development on portions of the property and limits development in other areas to what is needed to keep the property "economically viable."

Completing the master plan would require that Belmont receive public water and sewer systems, and a larger entrance road, college officials said.

Officials said they plan to build a new road on the western side of the property, on an existing right-of-way, to connect with Landing Road. Because the road would bisect wooded parkland, its construction would require approval from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.