Belward Farm to Become Johns Hopkins Medical Office & Surgery Center
For a long time, there was a debate over what should happen with the Belward Farm property, located at the intersection of Muddy Branch and Darnestown Road. It appears that we finally have an answer. Recently, development application signs labeled “Johns Hopkins Medical Office & Surgery Center” were placed along the edges of the Belward Farm property.
Some history about the area: The Belward property was owned by Elizabeth Beall Banks, a Montgomery County teacher and farmer. In the 80s, Banks sold the land to Johns Hopkins University. Her vision was to provide this land to the University so they could build a research campus for finding cancer cures.
A couple of years after her death, these plans changed. More recent proposals were created that would turn the area into a $10 billion “Science City” with 13 story office buildings. The campus was slated to hold around 50,000 workers. Banks’ family members and local community members felt that this change was a huge change from the spirit of the donation and fought to scale back the development plans.
As of right now, there are only immediate plans for one new building. There is a possibility that up to 12 additional buildings might be constructed in the future, but the formerly proposed “Science City” does not seem to be in the works any longer.
Per the Montgomery County Planning Board documents, the farmhouse and outbuilding have been deemed historic and will remain on the property.
The current plan is that groundbreaking will happen in 2022 with construction ending in 2023.
The planning documents can be found here.
Photo courtesy of Terry Steinberg, @tps4 on instagram.
By: Michelle Katz @pike.and.rozay
