St. Mary's College of Maryland Preservation Master Plan

St. Mary’s College of MarylandPreservation Master PlanHistoric St. Mary’s City February 2008Page 4-4Anne Arundel Hall and the creation of the Maryland HeritageInterpretive Center are the two most significant projectscurrently being proposed through this initiative.Various Studies on the Affiliation of the College andCityNumerous studies and documents have been preparedoutlining and defining the relationship between the Collegeand City, as well as the successes that have resulted fromthe on-going collaboration between the two entities, andoften a third entity, Trinity Church. A task force report wasissued in 1996, a report of the Joint Advisory Group wasissued in 2005, and in 2007 a summary of the Joint AdvisoryGroup board meeting was prepared that focused on therelationship of the College and City as an effective modelfor partnerships.Current and Future PlanningThe College, in order to meet the increased demands andexpectations of student and faculty, is consistently andconscientiously identifying areas where changes, upgrades,and improvements are necessary. This applies to both theacademic and physical aspects of the College; oftentimes thetwo are intertwined. This is most evident in looking at someof the current and future plans for the campus, specificallythose that will have a significant impact on the buildings andlandscapes within the historic sector. This section of thePreservation Master Plan summarizes current and futureplanning and design initiatives within the historic sector,and offers comments and recommendations on the variousprojects from the perspective of historical significance andpreservation.Redevelopment of Anne Arundel HallSt. Mary’s College of Maryland has proposed a three-phaseplan that focuses first on the redevelopment of the site ofthe existing Anne Arundel Hall and gradually expands toinclude parcels to the southwest, northwest, and north of thesite. This site was selected for the redevelopment projectbecause it is historically significant as the site of the originalcolonial town and there is a growing interest in updating andmore efficiently utilizing space and land in the historic sector.The rehabilitation of the existing Anne Arundel Hall wasconsidered but was not deemed viable given the desiredprogramming requirements and the extent of the renovationwork that would be required. The proposed plan providesfor collaboration among the College, Church, and City andsatisfies their goals as defined during the completion of ajoint land-use study.