What You Need to Know in Fall 2022: Facilities

Following the excitement of opening five facilities in the past year, the latest building boom at the University of Maryland is cooling off a bit. But from chemistry to anthropology to public policy, departments across campus are getting spruced-up structures that will give students, faculty and staff expanded opportunities to take on grand challenges.

Maryland Today talked with Bill Olen, executive director of planning and construction in Facilities Management, to get the new lay of the land as UMD’s campus continues to evolve.

The structure of the Chemistry Building’s new Wing 1 is nearly complete; earlier this month contractors, architects and university officials held a “topping off” ceremony that celebrates the placement of the beam marking the highest point of the building. The site’s tower crane will be removed in mid-September, and work on the wing’s interior and exterior will continue through the spring. The entire new Chemistry Building is expected to be finished in 2023.

Construction is complete on the School of Public Policy Building, marking the first time in the school’s history that all of its programs are housed under one roof. This fall, grounds crews will put finishing touches on the Chapel Field-adjacent building by planting trees and shrubs and laying down new grass.

The lecture hall in the John S. Toll Physics Building has a new HVAC system. Next summer, the lecture hall will undergo a total refresh, with a new interior and a new A/V system.

The home of the Department of Anthropology and the Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies is undergoing a full renovation. It’s getting a new HVAC system, ADA upgrades and safety upgrades including new fire sprinklers. The project is expected to be finished by the end of winter break, allowing the building to be fully reoccupied in the spring.