State mulls plans for abandoned Henryton hospital complex By Jennifer Jiggetts, Times Staff Writer Saturday, August 22, 2009 Ken Koons/Staff Photo Del. Susan Krebs, R-District 9B, looks over the Henryton complex Thursday. “It’s a shame that we let it get to this point,” she said.   MARRIOTTSVILLE — Del. Susan Krebs, R-District 9B, walked through the parking lot of the Henryton Center campus and looked around. The parking lot was littered with gutted sinks, old bricks and rusted metal parts. Graffiti was sprayed on the walls. A roof on one of the buildings had partially caved in. “It’s a shame that we let it get to this point,” she said as glass crunched under her shoes. “It’s a shame that nothing was even done with it.” Maryland officials are trying to change that. Several state agencies are in the process of writing draft legislation for the Maryland General Assembly to figure out how Henryton Center can be demolished and/or converted into land for park use. The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene owns Henryton Center and is looking to get rid of it. Larry McAvoy, deputy director of the state office of Capital Planning, Budgeting and Engineering Services for the DHMH, said the Department of Natural Resources made the original request to buy the hospital’s land because it’s in the middle of the Patapsco Valley State Park. McAvoy estimated that it would cost about $5 million to demolish the 16-building property. It would take three months to plan that demolition and six months to complete it. Money is another issue. “Since the state is strapped for money, we might dig it out one building at a time,” he said. “We’re trying to figure out how to get this done as economically as possible and where to get the money from.” He said he’s not sure what the property is worth and an assessment hasn’t been done in a long time. One cost-cutting measure would be to use inmates for a part of the labor. “I think that once the buildings are down, the inmates can certainly restore the land to its natural state,” he said. The campus sits on 46 acres in secluded woodlands. It closed in 1985 and has been plagued by vandals ever since. The hospital was built in 1923 initially as a hospital for black tuberculosis patients and was converted as a facility for the developmentally disabled in 1962. Krebs said her biggest concern is public safety. She said a security guard paid for by DHMH was hired to patrol there last month. “Kids go there and hang out, and it’s not really safe,” she said. Baltimore resident Ally Hunter-Harris is an advocate of rehabilitating the property into a community for artists. She first visited the hospital a few years ago with her boyfriend. “It just kind of stuck with me,” she said. “I just really got attached to it and thought I’d be the person to save it.” Hunter-Harris started a Web site, www.savehenryton.com, and is working on drawing up a petition to garner more support to save Henryton. “We’re really connected to the history and the potential of it,” she said. Reach staff writer Jennifer Jiggetts at 410-857-7873 or jennifer.jiggetts@carrollcountytimes.com.