Facilities Master Plan
January 2008
James F. LaCalle, Ed.D., President
John Cox, Vice President for Finance, Operations & Government Relations
Gregory A. Deal, Ph.D., Associate Vice President for Campus Operations
Steven P. Garey, Capital Projects Coordinator
Prepared by:
JMZ Architects and Planners, P.C.
190 Glen Street - P.O. Box 725
Glens Falls, New York 12801
(518) 793-0786
www.JMZarchitects.com
Robert J. Joy, AIA,
President/Principal-in-Charge
George R. Green, AIA, Senior Associate
Jason Henault, Planner
Frederick Ward Associates, Inc.
5 South Main Street - P.O. Box 727
Bel Air, Maryland 21014-0727
(410) 838-7900
www.frederickward.com
Craig Ward, P.E., AICP, President/Principal
Bruce T. Beasman, P.E., Project Manager
Edward M. Steere, AICP, Senior Planner
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Executive Summary ..........................................................................................................................1
Institutional Background.................................................................................................................3
Harford County .....................................................................................................................................3
Mission .................................................................................................................................................3
Vision and Values ..................................................................................................................................3
Focus ...................................................................................................................................................4
Unique Institutional Characteristics ..........................................................................................................4
Current Academic Programs ...................................................................................................................6
Projected Academic Programs.................................................................................................................7
Significant New Initiatives .....................................................................................................................10
Existing Conditions and Planning Assumptions .........................................................................11
Introduction.........................................................................................................................................11
Site Physical Characteristics ..................................................................................................................12
Access ................................................................................................................................................13
Parking ...............................................................................................................................................14
Condition and Adequacy of Buildings ....................................................................................................15
Utilization of Existing Facilities ...............................................................................................................15
Heating and Cooling Distribution ..........................................................................................................17
Electrical Distribution............................................................................................................................17
Telecommunications Distribution ...........................................................................................................19
Water Supply and Distribution ...............................................................................................................22
Wastewater Conveyance and Disposal...................................................................................................23
Soil Limitations ....................................................................................................................................26
Roads and Sidewalks............................................................................................................................26
Existing Land and Capacity for Development ..........................................................................................27
Assessment of Environmental Compliance ..............................................................................................28
Drainage and Storm Water Management...............................................................................................29
Bio-Retention.......................................................................................................................................31
Water Conservation .............................................................................................................................32
Reforestation .......................................................................................................................................32
Light Pollution......................................................................................................................................32
Drawings:
Aerial Photograph of HCC Campus and Environs
Existing Site Plan
Site Constraints
The Master Planning Process........................................................................................................35
Design Workshop ................................................................................................................................36
Review of Preliminary Concepts .............................................................................................................37
Charts:
The Master Planning Process ..............................................................................................38
Welcome to the “Check Republic”......................................................................................39
“Dotmocracy” in Action......................................................................................................40
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Table of Contents
Enrollment Projections .................................................................................................................. 41
Population Growth in Harford County ................................................................................................... 41
Enrollment History ............................................................................................................................... 41
Enrollment Projections ......................................................................................................................... 42
Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................... 45
Future Space Needs ...................................................................................................................... 47
Existing Facilities Inventory ................................................................................................................... 47
Computation of Space Needs .............................................................................................................. 47
Enhancing Campus Sustainability ............................................................................................... 49
Environmental Literacy ......................................................................................................................... 49
Campus Zoning .................................................................................................................................. 50
The Academic Core............................................................................................................................. 50
The Recreation Zone ........................................................................................................................... 50
The College & Community Use Zone .................................................................................................... 51
The Conservation Zone ....................................................................................................................... 52
The U.S. Green Building Council.......................................................................................................... 53
Design Guidelines............................................................................................................................... 55
Drawing:
Campus Zoning
The Site Concept Plan.................................................................................................................... 57
Traffic Flow......................................................................................................................................... 57
Parking Improvements ......................................................................................................................... 58
Landscape and Pedestrian Improvements .............................................................................................. 59
Aberdeen Hall and Susquehanna Center ............................................................................................... 60
Towson University Building ................................................................................................................... 60
Library North Entrance ......................................................................................................................... 61
Allied Health Building .......................................................................................................................... 61
Apprenticeship Training Center............................................................................................................. 61
Math, Engineering & Technology Building ............................................................................................. 62
Future Academic Building .................................................................................................................... 62
Sheriff’s Training Academy Building ...................................................................................................... 62
Hays-Heighe House ............................................................................................................................ 62
Implementation ................................................................................................................................... 63
Drawings:
Site Concept Plan
Proposed Redesign of Thomas Run Road
Appendices
Appendix A:
Appendix B:
Appendix C:
Facilities Condition Assessment; Prepared by JMZ Architects and Planners, P.C.; January 2008
Assessment and Adequacy of Buildings; Prepared by Campus Operations Staff; 2006
Capital Improvement Program; Prepared by John Cox; November 13, 2007
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Harford Community College Facilities Master Plan
Executive Summary
Executive Summary
Harford Community College located in Bel Air,
Harford County, Maryland, is a publicly supported
two-year, comprehensive institution of higher
education, addressing the diverse educational needs
of Harford County. An open admissions institution
that views learning as a life-long activity, the College
provides transfer and career programs and
continuing education courses to challenge and to
support students regardless of age, color, disability,
national origin, race, religion, sex, or sexual
orientation.
The Library is the symbolic and physical heart of the
HCC campus.
To assure effectiveness, the College strives to
maintain a campus atmosphere conducive to
excellence in learning and teaching. As the only
public college located in the County, Harford
Community College serves as the coordinator of
post-secondary education in Harford County.
The College strives to remain responsive to its
community by continuously assessing the needs and
interests of Harford County residents and, in
response to the changing needs of its community,
Harford Community College has established a
direction and focus for its educational program. In
August 2007 the Board of Trustees adopted a new
Strategic Plan for FY2008 – FY2012.
The College is the educational, cultural, and
recreational center of Harford County. A cultural
events program and a community theater produce a
full series of offerings each year. Thomas Run Park
on the College campus offers a lighted artificial turf
field for lacrosse and soccer, and several baseball
and softball fields serving adult athletic needs for
tournaments, evening activities and special events.
Other indoor and outdoor athletic and recreation
facilities open to the community include the gym,
fitness center, pool, tennis courts, basketball, and
sand volleyball.
This Facilities Master Plan will guide the expansion
and renovation of HCC’s facilities to meet
programmatic needs, restore satisfactory physical
condition, meet regulatory requirements, implement
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Executive Summary
the College’s Strategic Plan, and maintain alignment
with a campus-wide sustainability initiative that
encourages environmentally responsible plans,
services, operations, and curricula.
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Harford Community College Facilities Master Plan
Institutional Background
Institutional Background
Harford County
Harford County is located in northeastern Maryland
and consists of 448 square miles, is the 11th largest
county in land area within the State, and the sixth
most populous county in Maryland. The County
contains three incorporated towns, Bel Air, Havre de
Grace, and Aberdeen, of which Bel Air is the County
seat.
The County is situated 60 miles north of
Washington, D.C., 20 miles north of Baltimore, and
75 miles south of Philadelphia.
Two major
highways, U.S. Route 40 and Interstate 95, traverse
the County and provide access to the
Baltimore/Washington and Philadelphia/Wilmington
areas and to the New Jersey Turnpike.
Two
mainline railroads cross the county - CSX and
Amtrak. In addition, the Port of Baltimore and the
Port of Wilmington serve the offshore movement of
larger cargo, which is vital to many County
businesses.
Harford Community College was founded in 1957
as the Harford Junior College with a mission to
provide Harford County youth with an accessible,
affordable introduction to college education. Its
principal focus was the education of 18-20 year old
college-bound students. The College is now entering
its sixth decade of service to the community with an
awareness that its mission and needs have grown far
beyond the bounds of its early years.
Mission
The HCC seal has been incorporated into the upper
level entrance to the library.
The HCC mission statement reads, “Harford
Community College is a dynamic, open-access
institution that provides high quality educational
experiences for the community.
The College
promotes lifelong learning, workforce development,
and social and cultural enrichment.”
Vision and Values
The College’s vision statement is, “We aspire to
make our great college even better.” The College
embraces fundamental values of lifelong learning,
integrity, excellence, diversity, communication and
collaboration, and service. (More information may
be found in the College’s Strategic Plan.)
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Institutional Background
Focus
Harford Community College provides high quality,
accessible and affordable educational opportunities
and services - including university transfer, career,
developmental
and
continuing
educational
programs - that promote professional competence,
economic development and improve the quality of
life in a multicultural community. The College is
committed to expanding undergraduate degree
opportunities to fulfill state workforce shortages in
areas of teacher preparation, health care and
technology and to advance degree attainment for
minorities particularly in relation to Title VI of the
Civil Rights Acts [of 1964]. The College expects to
prepare and to sustain an educated workforce for
the region, develop technology for program and
service delivery, be accountable for the efficient and
effective use of resources, improve energy
conservation and environmental protection, be the
primary resource for and coordinator of higher
education in the community, and serve as the center
for recreation, wellness, and the cultural arts.
The main reading room in the library looks out on the
open mall.
Harford Community College is a vibrant, innovative
learning organization committed to providing
students with access to education, training and
services, as well as to improving the quality of life for
all residents by enhancing the social and economic
development of the county. Governed by the State
and focused on the community, HCC is an agile
and responsive higher education enterprise where
student learning is first, where business partnerships
are developed, where the community is enriched
and where quality lifelong education is the ultimate
goal.
Harford Community College is governed by a ninemember Board of Trustees; each member of the
Board serves a term of five years for a maximum of
two terms; members are appointed by the Governor
with the consent of the Maryland Senate. The Board
of Trustees plays an integral role in the College
community.
Unique Institutional Characteristics
There are several unique aspects of HCC’s service to
Harford County. The College is not only the
educational center of the County it is the cultural
and recreational center, as well. Thomas Run Park,
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Harford Community College Facilities Master Plan
Institutional Background
located on the College’s campus, is a
baseball/softball complex serving adult athletic
needs for tournaments, evening activities and special
events. It is the only public adult sports complex in
the County. A cultural events program and a
community theater produce a full series of activities
each year. A joint theater facility on the adjacent
campus of Harford County Technical High School
houses a community cultural center. The building
serves both current students and the community.
As the only higher education institution in Harford
County, HCC participated in the development of the
Higher Education and Applied Technology (HEAT)
Center near Aberdeen. At the HEAT Center, Harford
County residents are able to take classes beyond the
Associate degree level from a variety of colleges and
universities. HCC operates the HEAT Center and
through articulation agreements with four-year
colleges and universities brings Bachelor’s degree
and graduate education to the County.
Also, through the division of Continuing Education
and Training, programs designed to meet the needs
of local citizens, government, business and industry
are offered in service to the community. Edgewood
Hall, an Apprenticeship and Training Center, was
opened to accommodate the growing business and
industry and apprenticeship training programs. The
building houses the Electrical Apprenticeship
Program (largest in the State), Harford County
Sheriff’s Training Academy, and Business & Industry
Training Program. The staff in Edgewood Hall also
operate the Heating, Ventilating, & Air Conditioning
Apprenticeship Program housed in Joppa Hall.
In 1999, HCC explored and adopted elements of
campus sustainability. In alignment with HCC’s
mission, vision and objectives to be accountable for
the efficient and effective use of resources, the
following four major elements address the issues of
campus environmental stewardship:
• Student Learning: Provide education that
introduces new processes, paradigms and
technologies such as renewable energy
technologies, planet restoration projects and
green building techniques.
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Institutional Background
• Program Development: Develop programs of
training and implementation to apply
sustainability for an improved world.
• Honor the Environment: Create a model for a
better, healthier world through cooperation,
through recognition of humanity’s
interdependence and the sharing of one
environment, one world.
• Serve as a Model for Emerging Sustainable
Practices: Demonstrate, showcase and model
practical uses and benefits of sustainability and
renewable energy practices, processes and
technologies to higher education and K-12
school systems, local businesses, government,
communities and the various decision makers
involved. Provide needed evidence of financial,
social and environmental benefits delivered by
sustainability programs.
Current Academic Programs
Harford Community College has two-year curricula
in 68 programs of study leading to an Associate in
Arts, Associate in Science, Associate of Arts in
Teaching, or an Associate in Applied Science degree
that can transfer to a four-year program or lead to
immediate employment. Shorter curricula are
offered leading to a Certificate in 18 occupational
fields. Each Associate degree includes three types of
courses:
• The general education core requirements
introduce students to the broad areas of
knowledge in the behavioral/social sciences,
English composition, arts/humanities,
mathematics, biological/physical sciences, and
interdisciplinary and emerging issues.
• General electives enable students to choose
courses to tailor their program for career/transfer
purposes or personal interest. Students can take
general electives in any discipline.
• Major courses provide the academic emphasis of
each program and allow students to study a
particular discipline in depth, e.g. accounting,
nursing, psychology, or engineering.
Students from all over the world are attracted to the
quality and diversity of HCC’s academic programs.
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Harford Community College Facilities Master Plan
Institutional Background
Cetificate programs offer training and skills that are
specific to an occupation. They can be completed
in six months to two years and require from 12 to 42
credits of coursework.
Sixty-eight programs of study are included in transfer
and occupational curricula. Associate degree
transfer programs include Arts and Sciences (15
options), Business Administration, Engineering,
Computer Science, General Studies, Nursing,
Performing Arts, and Teacher Education. Seven
Associate degree career programs are offered in
Business Management, four in Health Technology,
and additional programs are provided in
Accounting, Mass and Visual Communications,
Computer Information Systems and Security,
Engineering Technology, Legal Studies, Early
Childhood
Education,
Science
Laboratory
Technology,
Interior
Design,
and
Technical/Professional Studies.
The College strives to remain responsive to its
community by continuously assessing the needs and
interests of Harford County residents. In response to
the changing needs of its community, HCC has
established a direction and focus for its educational
program.
Projected Academic Programs
The employment environment of the County has
been changing with the population and with new
technologies. The County’s leading employer is
Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG) with approximately
7,000 employees. The county benefits from APG’s
annual economic impact of about $600 million. Of
special importance is the Army’s commitment to the
clean-up and restoration of APG’s environment.
Second to APG, the leading county employer is the
Harford County Public School system, followed by
Upper Chesapeake Health System.
Harford
Community College has been an integral provider of
services and employees to each of these
organizations, and new program opportunities
continue to emerge as national and local trends
dictate changes to employee numbers, employment
requirements, and modes of delivery of instruction.
The relative economic stability and population
growth of the region have increased the buying
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Institutional Background
power of Harford County residents. The median
household income is over $57,000 and the average
household income is almost $46,000. As the
buying power increased, so did the growth in retail
and personal services in the County. The everexpanding business sector of the County creates an
ongoing need for employee training as well as
supervisory and management skill development.
Discussions are underway to determine which
programs and courses are declining in enrollment
and those programs not currently offered that would
meet community and special interest needs. Both
credit and non-credit programs are continually
reviewed. In addition, with the growth in on-line
instruction, the college is further exploring those
courses that would be well-suited to HCC’s on-line
offerings. Hybrid courses - those that are delivered
partly in the classroom and partly on the Internet are expanding as a mode of instructional delivery.
Collaborative learning and service-learning courses
are also increasing at HCC.
With the increased demand for allied health
professionals and paraprofessionals, HCC is
exploring expanded offerings in this area. Medical
assisting has been identified by the Department of
Labor as one of the fastest growing occupations in
the nation. A medical assistant certificate program,
leading to an Associate’s degree in medical assisting
has been recently developed as well as Associate
degree programs in performing arts and technical
theatre and a social work option within sociology,
identified as the fourth largest growing occupation
by the Department of Labor. Through a grant from
the Department of Agriculture, HCC has been
working toward an expansion of agriculture and
horticulture classes to meet the needs of local
agribusinesses.
Developmental studies enrollments in math, reading,
and writing have been steadily increasing over the
past several years. Each semester, a significant
portion of HCC’s enrolled students are enrolled in at
least one developmental studies course. HCC has
developed alternative pathways for remedial
coursework that are designed to reduce the number
of required remedial courses and prepare students
to enter into college level coursework sooner.
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Harford Community College Facilities Master Plan
Institutional Background
With the expansion of allied health and agriculture
courses there will also be a natural expansion of
science courses related to health and the
environment. Science classroom and lab facilities
are continually reviewed to ensure their currency for
future planning. Many colleges and universities
have included virtual labs in their renovation efforts
and this is also being considered by HCC. The
campus itself has also become more ecologically
sensitive and offers excellent on-site living labs such
a green roof and bioretention ponds. The College is
a leader in sustainability efforts in the County. HCC
offers exceptional performing, theater, and visual
arts facilities, and the College has become an
established cultural events and arts provider for the
surrounding communities.
HCC has experienced declining enrollments in some
areas with the largest area of decline being
computer information systems/computer science
courses and programs. Other areas of decline are
office systems/secretarial courses, paralegal, and
engineering courses. The college is reviewing those
courses that may be outdated and exploring new
initiatives such as the Building Preservation and
Restoration program. Although Harford County
offers many opportunities for students to explore
historic sites, enrollment in these courses has not yet
developed into a critical mass.
During the past three years, the trend has been
fewer adult students and more traditional students
enrolling in for-credit courses. The average age of
students has dropped from 28 years of age to 26
years in only three years. At the same time, parttime/evening enrollments have declined while fulltime/day enrollments have increased. This trend has
created a high demand for classroom space during
the daytime, and in fact has created some difficulties
with scheduling needed classes. The college is
putting strategies into place to encourage more
adult as well as more evening enrollments to help
alleviate the day space problem.
With the expansion of smart (technology-rich)
classrooms, and on-line and hybrid courses,
technology remains a major area of discussion in
the instructional area. And, as more students have
access to affordable technology, such as personal
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Institutional Background
laptop computers, notebooks, flash drives, and
hand-held devices, both wired and wireless, the
integration of these devices into classrooms and
labs, as well into students’ homes, will continue to
be a topic of discussion within the planning of
facilities.
Significant New Initiatives
Science courses related to health and the
environment will have to be expanded to
accommodate new programs in allied health and
agriculture. Science classroom and lab facilities will
likely have to be increased to meet the need for
expanded science instruction. With the expansion of
smart classrooms, and on-line and hybrid courses,
technology continues to grow in the instructional
area. The environmental sustainability initiative
started in 1999 will continue to influence all aspects
of facilities and operations.
High-performance
building standards will be incorporated into facilities
when appropriate and affordable, and practices
such as green housekeeping, green maintenance,
and green purchase will continue to grow when
feasible.
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Harford Community College Facilities Master Plan
Existing Conditions and Planning Assumptions
Existing Conditions and
Planning Assumptions
Introduction
Since 1964, Harford Community College has been
located on the northeast corner of the intersection of
Churchville Road (MD 22) and Thomas Run Road
just east of the County seat in Bel Air. The campus
bears traces of its origins as a farm. The HaysHeighe House, formerly the farm’s main house and
now the historic and symbolic center of the campus,
is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The main campus of the College now consists of 19
buildings on 211 acres on the east side of Thomas
Run Road. The parcel also fronts on West Medical
Hall Road but does not access that road.
The historic Hays-Heighe House.
HCC recently acquired 121 acres on the west side
of Thomas Run Road for expansion. This area is
now referred to as the west campus. This tract also
has frontage on Prospect Mill Road just north of the
roundabout at Wagner Farm Road. The west
campus is predominantly unimproved with the
exception of a small dwelling near Prospect Mill
Road.
The campus is bordered to the north by farmland in
a land preservation program; to the east by a rural
residential community of single-family detached
homes and a commercial center with a grocery
anchor, health club, fast food, movie theaters and
services; to the south by farm land, commercial uses
and future institutional uses (see below), and to the
west by two public schools and a large church. The
two schools on the west side of Thomas Run Road
are the Harford County Technical High School and
a school for the disabled. The church has three
road frontages and reportedly keeps the Thomas
Run Road entrance gated most of the time.
Off campus, the College operates the Higher
Education & Applied Technology (HEAT) Center, a
two-building complex located in Aberdeen, five
miles from the main campus. The College also
operates the Amoss Center, a 900-seat performing
arts center adjoined to Harford County Technical
High School across the street from the main
campus.
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Existing Conditions and Planning Assumptions
Site Physical Characteristics
The HCC property has a very broad profile of terrain
and natural features. The east campus is characterized by two significant stream valleys with
topographical change of greater than 75 feet. The
southern stream valley runs through the center of
campus, emanating from an historic spring house
associated with the Hays-Heighe House.
The
northern valley begins between the A parking lot and
F parking lot and becomes Tobacco Run, which
extends northward into the Deer Creek Watershed.
The southern stream extends to a pond located in
the subdivision to the east and eventually ties into
Tobacco Run. Both of these water courses have
been delineated and classified and surveyed using
GPS.
Thomas Run Road is near the top of the watershed
area at the intersection of at least three major
drainage areas. The west campus drains northwest
to Thomas Run, which eventually flows to Deer
Creek. The frontage along MD 22 drains south to
the James Run watershed.
View of the main quadrangle looking toward the Student
Center.
The west campus is characterized by a high relief of
two valleys that drop by 140 vertical feet from
Thomas Run Road. Most of the site near Thomas
Run Road is flat enough to permit farming, which is
still in operation today. The remainder of the
property is unmanaged forest land. The well and
septic reserve area associated with the former
farmstead is maintained by the HCC plant staff.
There are no regulated 100-year floodplains on the
campus. However, there are non-tidal wetlands and
Waters of the US. Any proposed impacts to these
areas or crossings for utilities and/or access will
require engineering and permitting through the
Maryland Department of the Environment and the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The State of Maryland has a joint application for this purpose.
Impacts may be mitigated by a variety of measures
including wetland creation, fee-in-lieu, or specific
non-invasive construction techniques.
There are large areas of forest on both the east and
west campuses.
Prior to any particular forest
clearing a Forest Stand Delineation and Forest
Conservation Plan will need to be compiled and
submitted to the Maryland Department of Natural
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Harford Community College Facilities Master Plan
Existing Conditions and Planning Assumptions
Resources (DNR) Forestry Division.
Although
Harford County has a forest and tree conservation
program in place, it has been their practice to
abstain from review authority over State-funded
projects such as schools. However the State DNR
has a program that will apply to the property. A
series of complex formulas are applied to the tract to
determine what, if any, reforestation would be
required for the proposed construction.
Many
opportunities for reforestation are present on
campus.
There are steep slopes throughout the property,
primarily associated with the stream valleys. In most
cases, these slopes are underlain with rocky
substrates that would complicate grading and
construction. The planners recommend leaving
these areas in their natural state, to the extent
possible, to prevent further erosion. Impacts to the
steep slope areas should be limited to incidental
crossings.
Access
The majority of the traffic to the campus approaches
from the north and west via Thomas Run Road, from
the south and southwest via MD 22 and Thomas
Run Road, and from the east via MD 22. Most of
the Harford County population lives south and west
of this campus. The MD 22 access is a three-way
signalized intersection with an exclusive left-turn
phase, and is shared with the adjacent commercial
district. The Thomas Run Road intersection is also
signalized, with exclusive left turn phases in all
directions. Thomas Run Road has a free-right
movement to west-bound MD 22.
Both are two-lane roads that are expanded for turn
lanes only at their signalized intersections. Thomas
Run Road has no paved shoulder area, while MD 22
has approximately 8-10 feet of paved shoulder
across the frontage where there are no striped turn
lanes. Traffic on Thomas Run Road is frequently
impeded by left turn movements into the public
schools and the College campus.
There are seven entrances to the campus, of which
six are numbered and clearly signed with illuminated
directory signs. The one unnumbered entrance is
between #1 and #2 on Thomas Run Road directly
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Existing Conditions and Planning Assumptions
opposite Harford County Technical High School.
None of the entrances to the campus are directly
opposite entrances, driveways or roads to other uses
on Thomas Run or Churchville Roads.
The most frequently used entrance to the campus is
entrance #3 from Thomas Run Road, which leads to
the main road through campus. This road connects
with the access road to MD 22 at entrance #6 via a
two-leg, 90-degree intersection with stop signs in
both directions.
Parking
Parking on this campus is not assigned, other than
for employees and handicapped accessibility. A
table of the existing lots is included below. The
proposed expansions listed in the table reflect
current projects. At most times there are parking
spaces available on campus, although not always
where people would like to park. For example, the
T lot usually has many empty spaces while the A and
B lots, which are located closer to the buildings, are
generally full much of the time.
Parking is
particularly acute during the first few weeks of the
fall semester when enrollment is at its peak.
Area ID
Location
A Lot
B Lot
C Lot
E Lot
F Lot
J Lot
L Lot
T Lot
3 Lot
4 Lot
5 Lot
6 Lot
Misc. Lots
North of Aberdeen Hall
East of Bel Air Hall
West of Chesapeake Center
North of Edgewood Hall
North of Fallston Hall
West & North of Joppa Hall
East of Fallston Hall
At Thomas Run Park
West of Fallston Hall
West of A Lot
East & West of Susquehanna Center
North of Aberdeen Hall
Behind Chesapeake Center; Behind
Student Center; Daycare; Plant
Services; Hays-Heighe House
TOTALS
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Existing Proposed Handicapped
Parking
Parking Expansions
580
3
162
6
193
6
128
4
252
6
289
54
11
158
12
368
6
31
4
16
16
11
4
5
1
118
17
2,311
54
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Harford Community College Facilities Master Plan
Existing Conditions and Planning Assumptions
Condition and Adequacy of Buildings
The mandatory components on the assessment of the
physical condition of buildings and assessment of the
functional adequacy of buildings are lengthy and
provided in the Appendix. For each existing building, the
following elements are presented:
• Overview
• Infrastructure and Mechanical Systems
• Building Envelop and Roofing Systems
• Interior Space and Finishes
The technical information in the Appendix was provided
by the capital projects coordinator, facilities maintenance
manager, and eight mechanics in the HCC Facilities
department. Independent verification of the building and
infrastructure systems was done as part of a
comprehensive campus fixed assets inventory by
American Appraisal in June 2001, and a comprehensive
campus energy efficiency audit by Rumsey Engineers in
February 2003. All of this work was again reviewed by
the planning consultants in fall 2007.
These reports, as well as original construction and asbuilt drawings, project specifications, and construction
drawings for all college buildings and infrastructure
systems are maintained in the Plant Services Building.
Utilization of Existing Facilities
The atrium in the Student Center.
The instructional facilities, particularly classrooms,
laboratories, and faculty offices, were originally
concentrated in the main quadrangle of the campus but
are now more widely distributed as shown on the Existing
Site Plan. At the south end of the campus are the
Susquehanna Center containing the physical education,
fitness, and wellness facilities, and Thomas Run Park
containing the athletic fields. At the north end of the
campus is Joppa Hall containing the visual, performing,
and applied arts facilities and computer and information
technology facilities. Parking is dispersed throughout the
campus, and nearly all buildings are used both day and
evening.
A study of the utilization of classrooms and laboratories
shows that HCC exhibits morning and evening peaks, as
do most other community colleges. In fall 2003,
approximately 44 percent of the credit hours were
delivered in the morning, 23 percent in the afternoon
and 33 percent in the evening time periods. Nearly 80
percent of HCC students are employed, the majority full-
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Existing Conditions and Planning Assumptions
time, and tend to choose their classes by the time of
offering.
Current practice is for most day classes to be offered
in a 75-minute, two days per week format. The
sequence for these classes is either Monday and
Wednesday or Tuesday and Thursday with Friday
largely reserved for classes with unique time
requirements. Most evening classes are offered one
night per week for either two or three hours. These
classes are almost entirely confined to Monday
through Thursday evenings. Saturday classes are
also held and are becoming more common to
accommodate the working population.
A space inventory of all College facilities with a brief
description of each facility’s primary function is
shown below.
Primary
Function
Total
GSF
ON CAMPUS
Aberdeen Hall
Bel Air Hall
Chesapeake Center
Daycare Center
Edgewood Hall
Fallston Hall
Havre de Grace Hall
Hays-Heighe House
Joppa Annex
Joppa Hall
Library
Maryland Hall
Observatory
Plant Services Building
Pump Station
Science Annex
Student Center
Susquehanna Center
TRP Sportsplex Building
Subtotal
Science instruction
General instruction
Administrative services
Child & adult daycare
Continuing ed. & training
General instruction
General instruction
BPR instruction (near-term)
Multi-purpose instruction
Multi-purpose instruction
Library services
Nursing instruction
Astronomy instruction
Plant services
Fire suppression
Science instruction
Student services
P.E., athletics, & wellness
Sportsplex operations
OFF CAMPUS
Amoss Center
HEAT Center East
HEAT Center West
Subtotal
Performing arts
Higher ed. & training
Higher ed. & training
COLLEGE TOTAL
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Total
NASF
Efficiency
(%)
22,741
30,665
32,266
13,913
33,845
24,728
18,156
6,610
3,068
81,385
49,280
10,303
1,756
16,189
852
2,337
50,294
52,445
1,590
452,423
14,305
17,485
19,475
11,063
24,397
14,742
10,270
3,165
2,788
52,109
32,175
5,672
1,164
13,241
0
1,604
29,743
34,697
1,149
287,165
63
57
60
80
72
60
57
48
91
64
65
55
66
82
0
69
59
66
72
63
22,637
10,000
19,080
51,717
20,934
5,683
11,919
38,536
92
57
62
75
504,140
325,701
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Existing Conditions and Planning Assumptions
Heating and Cooling Distribution
The College does not have centralized heating and
cooling distribution systems. The hot water boilers in
Aberdeen Hall provide heating water to that
building, Bel Air, Havre de Grace, and Maryland
Halls. The screw-driven chiller in the Student Center
provides chilled water to that building, Aberdeen,
Bel Air and Havre de Grace Halls through much of
the same piping.
The Library chiller provides
cooling for that building and Maryland Hall.
Maryland Hall once utilized an aged stand-alone
split system.
With the exception of Susquehanna and Chesapeake Centers, all remaining buildings are selfsufficient for heating and/or cooling. The boilers in
Susquehanna Center provide heating and domestic
hot water for the Chesapeake Center. The original,
oversized, oil-fired boilers were replaced by
appropriately-sized, gas-fired boilers in 1996.
A highly energy efficient condensing boiler was
installed in Joppa Hall in 2005 and was sized to
handle 100 percent of the building’s needs. Joppa
Hall also has an original gas-fired, cast-iron
sectional boiler for use as emergency backup only.
The boilers in Aberdeen Hall are gas-fired, two-pass,
fire-tube boilers. They are being replaced with
modern, properly sized units as part of the
renovation and expansion project now underway.
The underground fuel oil tanks for the four major
boiler installations, i.e., Aberdeen Hall, Joppa Hall,
Student Center, and Susquehanna Center were all
removed when the boilers were outfitted for natural
gas. There are no longer any underground fuel
storage tanks on the College’s property.
With the construction of the Plant Services Building
in 2001, a geothermal heating and cooling system
was installed. Ten wells at an average depth of 300
feet expel and absorb heat. This system serves all of
the building’s office areas.
Electrical Distribution
The HCC campus electrical power is supplied from
11 transformers furnished by Baltimore Gas and
Electric (BGE). Incoming primary voltage is 13,000
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Existing Conditions and Planning Assumptions
volts, three-phase at 60 Hz. The incoming power for
seven of these transformers can be switched from
two input sources to assure availability.
The
secondary feeders of each of the transformers are at
480/277 volts, three-phase. The following
paragraphs describe the service to each building.
The transformer adjacent to Joppa Hall provides
power through a Main Distribution Panel in Joppa
Hall. The capacity of the main breaker is 1500
amps. Breakers are mounted in a distribution panel
for 480-volt equipment in Joppa Hall and for
transformers to step the 480/277-volt power down
to 208/120 volts for lighting and receptacles and
for distribution to the Joppa Annex portables. The
building transformer is rated at 500 KVA.
The transformer on the west side of Aberdeen Hall is
connected to distribution components in the
mechanical room. A separate 1500-amp breaker
serves as the Main Disconnect.
Breakers on
additional panels and in individual boxes distribute
480 volts of power to mechanical room equipment
requiring 480 volts, and to step-down transformers
that provide 208/120-volt power to the building.
Disconnects supply Maryland, Havre de Grace, and
Bel Air halls at 480/277 volts, three-phase. Each of
these three buildings has a watt-hour meter
associated with its power feed.
The main
distribution transformer for 208/120-volt power in
Aberdeen Hall is rated at 75 KVA.
Aberdeen Hall also acts as the distribution point for
the Hays-Heighe House. The main power-disconnect
in Hays-Heighe House is rated at 100 amps at 480
volts.
The distribution transformer on the east side of the
Student Center supplies power to that building. A
480-volt distribution panel board is located in the
lowest level of the building. A separate 400-amp
breaker serves the chiller in that building.
The transformer on the west side of Susquehanna
Center feeds both this building and Chesapeake
Center. A 600-amp disconnect is provided for
Susquehanna Center, and a 1200-amp disconnect
for Chesapeake Center.
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Existing Conditions and Planning Assumptions
The Daycare Center is separate from the HCC
campus power distribution and has its own metered
power service supplied by BGE. Two breaker panels
provide 480 volt, three-phase power to high voltage
components in the building. A 75 KVA step-down
transformer provides low voltage to the building
lighting and other equipment.
The Science Annex, Edgewood and Fallston Halls,
and Plant Services building are all served by
individual transformers powered from the BGE
13,000-volt distribution loop.
The existing electrical supply is adequate to meet the
present demands and can be further expanded to
meet any additional future needs of the campus.
The installation of a campus-wide high-voltage
distribution system should be studied in the future.
Telecommunications Distribution
Telecommunications wiring has migrated from
copper residential trunks to a fiber optic OC-3 fiber
mux located in the Chesapeake Center. Primary
telecommunications and Internet access circuits are
delivered to the campus via fiber. Copper telephone
connections have been minimized.
A Rolm 9750 model 40 PBX was installed
throughout the campus in 1989. The PBX was
upgraded and expanded in 2002 by adding a
Siemens Hicom 300 Model 80. Copper twisted pair
and coaxial cable have been installed inside each
building since 1989. The coaxial cable and analog
amplifiers were installed to be bi-directional. One
room in Edgewood Hall was equipped as a Bell
Atlantic distance learning facility. This facility is no
longer in use. Two satellite dishes and a full
production television studio are located in Joppa
Hall.
Equipment in the studio receives and
broadcasts through the County’s two commercial
cable systems or over the College CATV coaxial
cable system. New technology will allow video to be
delivered via fiber optic and Category 5/6 UTP
rather than through old coaxial cable.
Communications cabling makes up the foundation
of the campus’ information system. It is vital that the
College’s communications cabling be able to
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Existing Conditions and Planning Assumptions
support a variety of applications and last for the life
of the network. A structured cabling system, which
complies with today’s standard, allows the network
to function to full capacity. The central standard that
specifies a generic telecommunications cabling
system is the ANSI/TIA/EIA-568-B, “Commercial
Building Telecommunications Cabling Standard.”
The expected life span of any cabling infrastructure
is ten to 15 years. As the campus LAN grows, more
users share peripheral devices, more mission-critical
applications migrate to the client-server platform,
and the need for faster access to information grows,
the necessity for an adequate cabling foundation for
the network becomes more important.
The existing computing infrastructure on campus has
several problems. The current cabling structure was
installed in 1989 and does not comply with today’s
established standards. The wiring in many campus
buildings today is outdated. Many building’s
installed wiring is category 3 and is connected at
voice standards.
Category 3 is rated for
transmission frequencies up to 16 megahertz (MHz).
Today’s data wiring standards require a minimum of
category 5e standard wiring. Category 5e is rated
up to 155-200 MHz and is designed to handle any
copper-based application for voice, video, or data.
The outdated wiring causes packet loss and nearend cross talk (NEXT), which affect data transfer rate
and integrity.
In all new and renovated construction, data wiring is
being updated to category 5e or category 6 wiring
standards. Structured wiring will be run from each
work area to a patch panel in the
telecommunications closet. This will bring all of the
cables from a floor back to one central point for
administration. Each closet shall be star-wired back
to the equipment room in the building. For
horizontal cable runs from the closet to the desktop,
the maximum transmission distance for the wiring
media is 100 meters.
The 1989 fiber is directly buried in the ground. This
makes it impossible to increase the fiber count to
buildings requiring additional connectivity. Some
existing strands no longer function due to breakage.
Other fibers have been spliced and have large
energy loss.
Direct burial prevents College
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Harford Community College Facilities Master Plan
Existing Conditions and Planning Assumptions
personnel from repairing these fibers. The existing
1989 fiber is all multimode fiber. New, faster, and
future applications (like compressed video) require
single mode fiber.
Conduit is being installed as site preparation and
renovation work takes place.
All future
telecommunication wiring, single and multimode
fiber optic cables will be run in conduit to the library
telecom room and data center.
The campus network is distributed from a fiber optic
patch panel in the Chesapeake Center. As new or
refurbished buildings come on line, new single and
multimode fiber will be run directly to the Library
data center. Shorter data runs are necessary to
support faster data rates between buildings. The
distribution of data has migrated from routers,
concentrators and network hubs operating in a
shared 10baseT Ethernet environment, to a
100/1000 Mbps switched Ethernet network.
Remaining 10 Mbps hubs are slated for replacement
as category 3 building wiring is replaced with current
standard Category 5e or category 6 structured
wiring.
Hardware life-cycles are between two and five years.
After a three- to four-year period hardware failure
rates increase as do support and maintenance costs.
Older equipment is not readily supported by the
manufacturer and parts are expensive and difficult to
Also, the software configurations for
obtain.
networking equipment become obsolete within the
same time frame. Without up-to-date software, the
devices cannot support and drive the throughput for
newer workstations. Wiring to support switched/fast
100/1000 Ethernet to the desktop is being installed
in the new buildings under development on campus
at this time.
The buildings that need to be rewired are: Aberdeen
Hall, Hays-Heighe House, Havre de Grace Hall,
and Susquehanna Center.
Telecommunications is supported by an emergency
generator in the Chesapeake Center, which supplies
emergency power for the telephone system. The
data center, located in the Library is protected by a
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Existing Conditions and Planning Assumptions
45-minute battery backup UPS.
Future plans
include the installation of an emergency generator
for the data center and related computer operations
in the Library.
Water Supply and Distribution
The campus is outside the County’s development
envelope and is not served by a public water system.
Potable and fire service water is supplied to the
campus from three on-site, private wells. One well
is located on the north side of Joppa Hall. Its
attendant pressure/storage tank system is located in
Joppa Hall. A second well is located on the north
side of Aberdeen Hall.
Its attendant
pressure/storage tank system is located in Aberdeen
Hall. The third well is located on the west side of
Susquehanna Center. Its attendant pressure/storage
tank system is also located inside the building.
The wells generally serve nearby buildings.
However, the water systems are inter-connected
through a distribution system that runs throughout
the campus in pipes that do not exceed 8” in
diameter. The distribution system is arranged to
provide for reliability so that one or two of the wells
can feed all of the buildings if any of the other wells
are out of service.
All three wells are over 40 years old but have been
brought up to modern standards with the addition of
grouting and pitless adaptors. The well storage
tanks at Aberdeen Hall and Susquehanna Center
are severely corroded and should be replaced.
A fourth well was installed in 2001 to provide
irrigation for the sports fields at Thomas Run Park. It
is connected to the system in Susquehanna Center
so that it can provide water to the main campus on
a limited basis in an emergency. There is also a
separate well serving the Observatory.
The water system for the campus is permitted under
a State Groundwater Appropriation Permit. The
College is permitted an annual average withdrawal
rate of 20,000 gallons per day with a limit of
33,400 GPD during the month of maximum
withdrawal. The campus currently uses approximately 12,000 to 13,000 GPD during the peak
months of September, October, March, and April.
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Harford Community College Facilities Master Plan
Existing Conditions and Planning Assumptions
At this rate of consumption, the College is well
within its permitted consumption and can grow
approximately 50% before the appropriation permit
needs to be revised. The need for additional wells
can be determined by conducting capacity tests on
the existing wells.
A new well should be drilled on the west side of
Thomas Run Road when that part of the campus is
developed. The water system on that side should be
connected to the system on the east campus to
provide for reliability.
A separate fire-fighting water distribution system was
installed in 1990. Water is stored in a belowground 250,000-gallon atmospheric tank located to
the north of the Plant Services Building. The fire
system loop includes fire hydrants located
throughout the campus and is kept pressurized by a
jockey pump. If a pressure drop in the fire loop is
detected, a diesel-driven, high-service pump
automatically activates to supply demand. The
system has sufficient volume and pressure to supply
fire department pumpers and building sprinkler
systems. All buildings constructed or renovated
since 1990 have had sprinkler systems installed.
Those buildings include Bel Air Hall, Chesapeake
Center, Science Annex, Student Center, Edgewood
Hall, Library, Fallston Hall, the Plant Services
Building, and now Aberdeen Hall.
Wastewater Conveyance and Disposal
As is the case with the water supply, the campus is
not served by a public sewage system. Nine
separate drain fields currently provide sewage
disposal with no major problems. Of these, only
one system operates under a Maryland Department
of the Environment discharge permit. This system,
referred to as the “Aberdeen system,” was placed on
a permit due to its size. The Aberdeen system was
completed in 1999 and has operated as designed
since.
Edgewood Hall, Library, Science Annex, Maryland
Hall, Aberdeen Hall, Bel Air Hall and Havre de
Grace Hall are all connected to the Aberdeen
system. Edgewood Hall has its own septic tank and
effluent pump which pumps to the central system.
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Existing Conditions and Planning Assumptions
The central system consists of a large septic tank
located in the front of Aberdeen Hall. It flows to a
duplex effluent pumping station with an auxiliary
tank that stores effluent in case of pump malfunction
or if wastewater flow exceeds the capacity of the
effluent pumps. The tank effluent is pumped to a
siphon tank that distributes flow to a disposal field
located to the north of Parking Lot A that has three
sets of disposal trenches. Two sets of trenches are
used at any one time and alternate for each loading
cycle by the action of the siphon bells. Use of the
trenches is also rotated on a seasonal basis. The
reserve (or recovery) area for the Aberdeen system is
located to the northeast of the disposal field along
the same elevation contours as the initial disposal
field.
The State Groundwater Discharge Permit (GDP) for
this combined system expires in August 2010. A
GDP is required for all systems that discharge 5,000
gallons per day or more. The GDP regulates the
levels of pollutants allowed in the effluent,
establishes monitoring and reporting requirements,
and specifies where and how the effluent can be
discharged. The Aberdeen GDP has flow limitations
of 5,500 gallons per day for a 30-day monthly
average and a maximum of 11,000 gallons for any
day. The State has orally advised the College that
the renewal of the GDP must include the whole
campus, not just the seven buildings mentioned
above.
Currently, there are no limitations on
pollutants or other constituents in the effluent.
However, the State also advised that the new
discharge permit will contain pollutant limitations for
the septic effluent disposed to the ground. These
limitations may be 30 mg/l (ppm) for BOD5, 30
mg/l for suspended solids, 8 mg/l for total nitrogen
for all new buildings, and 20 mg/l for buildings
existing at the time of the new permit application.
Collectively, these limitations will have the effect of
requiring a centralized wastewater treatment plant
instead of the de-centralized, conventional septic
tanks currently being used. It may also be more
practical to centralize the disparate, remote disposal
fields at that time, thereby freeing up valuable site
area for other uses. The effect of the stricter
compliance requirements also means that the
College should institute a more vigorous water use
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Harford Community College Facilities Master Plan
Existing Conditions and Planning Assumptions
collection and record system a soon as possible.
These records will establish a baseline for actual
water use in all the existing buildings that will be
instrumental in the design of the new wastewater
system(s).
Joppa Hall, Plant Services Building, the Daycare
Center, Fallston Hall, Hays-Heighe House and the
Student Center are currently served by individual
systems. These systems consist of septic tanks to
treat/separate wastewater and subsurface disposal
systems consisting of parallel trenches to further treat
and dispose of effluent. Fallston Hall has an effluent
pump to convey tank effluent to its field located in
the quadrangle to the south. Joppa Hall’s disposal
field is located in the woods to the north of the Plant
Services Building and its reserve (or recovery) area is
located north of the field. The Plant Services
disposal field is located in the woods to the east of
the Plant Services Building, and its reserve (or
recovery) area is located south of the field. The
Daycare Center’s disposal field is located on the
east side of the building and its reserve (or recovery)
area is located just to the east. Fallston Hall’s
disposal field is located to the south of the building,
and its reserve (or recovery) area is between it and
the building. The Hays-Heighe House disposal field
is on the southeast side of the house and its reserve
(or recovery) area is located south of the field.
The Student Center’s disposal field is located on the
south side of the building, and its reserve (or
recovery) area is located in the area to the south of
Parking Lot B. As part of the Student Center
renovation in 2002, the Harford County Health
Department required installation of the College’s
first pre-treatment system. This is becoming a
standard requirement by the Health Department for
all new construction. This system consists of a
1,000-gallon tank and air-injection pump.
Equipment is located after the main septic tank and
ahead of the distribution tanks.
The septic tanks and disposal field serving the
Chesapeake Center and the Susquehanna Center
are combined into one system and are located in the
open field to the east of the Susquehanna Center.
The reserve area for the disposal system is located to
the east of the disposal field.
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Existing Conditions and Planning Assumptions
Soil Limitations
Aldino Silt Loam
Baile Silt Loam
Brandywine Gravelly Loam
Chester Silt Loam
Glenela Loam
Glenville Silt Loam
Manor Loam
Neshaminy Silt Loam
Watchung Silt Loam
Severe
Severe
Moderate
Slight to Moderate
Slight to severe
Severe
Slight
Moderate
Severe
According to the Soil Survey published by the Soil
Conservation Service, the soil series found on
campus are listed at left. The limitations of each soil
series on septic drain fields, as reported in the Soil
Survey, are also listed.
Soils maps indicate approximately 19 percent of the
east campus area is classified as having severe
limitation, 22 percent with moderate limitation, and
59 percent with slight limitation. The total area of
the east campus with slight limitation is approximately 127 acres.
The Harford County Health Department requires
non-residential septic tank users to provide adequate
reserve (recovery) areas. Reserve areas are on file at
both the College and Harford County Health
Department.
Percolation tests supervised and
approved by the Health Department have been
performed in these proposed reserve areas.
The drain field and reserve area locations,
configurations, and sizes are based upon assessments of probable soils conditions and approximate
building sizes and uses. They should be considered
preliminary, subject to revision according to soils
testing and final building design.
Roads and Sidewalks
Vehicular circulation is often impeded during the
peak hours of the beginning of each semester, until
new students become familiar with the campus.
Even during non-peak hours, vehicular traffic is often
severely bottlenecked on Thomas Run Road and at
the main entrance (Entrance # 3) road that leads to
the center of the campus, particularly when the high
school on the other side of Thomas Run Road lets
out in the mid-afternoon.
A second campus access road was constructed in
summer 2004, with an entrance/exit directly on
Route 22. This entrance #6 has become known
colloquially as the “Wawa” entrance due to its
proximity to the convenience store of the same
name. A new traffic signal was installed to permit
controlled vehicular flow in and out of the campus.
The new entrance/exit has alleviated traffic
congestion at the other entrances/exits on Thomas
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Harford Community College Facilities Master Plan
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Run Road and provided better community access to
the College. A five-foot wide asphalt and concrete
walkway/bike path runs parallel to the new road and
provides safe access to and from the campus for
cyclists and walkers.
Pedestrian circulation is most highly concentrated in
the area of the academic quadrangle. Most
pedestrian traffic is between the parking lots and the
buildings. While the total number of parking spaces
seems adequate, several of the parking lots are
remote from frequently used buildings at the center
of the campus. An asphalt walkway from the Joppa
lots at the far north end of the campus was
constructed in the 1990s to facilitate the use of that
lot and is now being used more frequently. An
asphalt walkway from the TRP lot at the far
southwest corner of the campus to the Student
Center and campus center was constructed in 2004
to facilitate the use of that lot and has proven to be
very successful.
ADA improvements continue to be made on campus
as the buildings are expanded and pedestrian and
vehicular circulation patterns change. All multi-story
buildings now have elevators except for the HaysHeighe House which is under renovation. All
buildings have reasonable handicapped parking
and access, and handrails and curb cuts are added
promptly when a need is identified. The main
campus now has 96 handicapped parking spaces,
well over the minimum requirement.
Existing Land and Capacity for
Development
There are 332 acres on the main campus of HCC,
with 211 acres on the east side of Thomas Run Road
and 121 acres on the west side. There is sufficient
land to support the College’s envisioned growth.
Approximately 50 of the 211 acres east of Thomas
Run Road are currently developed.
Non-tidal
wetlands, drainage patterns, and slope restrictions
limit development of approximately ten acres.
Approximately
25
acres
are
used
for
athletic/recreation facilities; approximately 15 acres
are reserved as a natural area; and approximately
60 acres are dedicated to remain forested. This
leaves 54 acres for future development.
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Existing Conditions and Planning Assumptions
The College should take a long view of its presence
on Thomas Run Road. Development pressures are
striking ever closer to the campus, thus removing
parcels from availability and driving up the price of
those that are undeveloped. The only viable option
the College has for long-term growth is west of
Thomas Run Road. The consultants recommend that
the College pursue all properties with frontage on
Thomas Run Road to the west of HCC’s main
campus if and when they become available for sale.
The College’s Facilities Master Plan calls for
increased development east of Thomas Run Road.
Control of the west side assures the following:
• Proper access by providing road expansion rightof-way and control of entry and egress outlets.
• Open space to maintain the rural, park-like
setting of the campus.
• Adequate space for future expansion of College
facilities as necessary.
• Reduced outside pressures on ground water and
septic network capacity.
• Reduced “good neighbor” problems in the future
that could arise from traffic, noise, lighting, etc.
Assessment of Environmental
Compliance
Protection and care for the environment has always
been of high interest to the HCC community. In
addition to the guidelines and requirements
established by governing agencies, Harford
Community College has taken a proactive approach
to protect the environment. The following list of
plans and procedures are currently in place to
support this commitment:
• Well Head Protection: Harford Community
College developed a Well Head Protection Plan
in conjunction with the Maryland Department of
the Environment and the local health department.
Harford Community College was one of the first
large establishments to implement such a plan in
the State of Maryland. The intent of this plan is
to protect the underground aquifer and the
source of drinking water for HCC and
surrounding neighbors from contamination.
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Harford Community College Facilities Master Plan
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• Waste Water System:
Due to its size, the
“Aberdeen system” is the only sanitary system that
operates under a Maryland Department of the
Environment discharge permit. This system is
subject to required inspections and testing and
the submission of an annual report. Proper
operation of all these systems is crucial in
protecting the drinking water system and
supporting the Well Head Protection Plan. The
College’s first pre-treatment system was installed
during the renovation of the Student Center. This
system injects air into the wastewater prior to
delivery of water to drain fields. This process
increases the aeration of effluent and lowers
Nitrate levels.
Drainage and Storm Water
Management
The college campus is sited on a ridge or drainage
divide, roughly defined by the alignment of
Churchville Road, which discharges surface runoff
either north to the Deer Creek watershed or south to
the James Run/Bush River watershed. The southern
part of the campus, from an east-west line running
through the center of the baseball field complex,
where the concession/maintenance building stands,
to Churchville Road drains south to Broad Run which
is a tributary of James Run. The central and
northeast portions of the campus, which encompass
Chesapeake and Susquehanna Centers, Hays-Heigh
House, the student Center, Havre de Grace Hall, Bel
Air Hall, Aberdeen Hall and Maryland Hall drains to
unnamed tributaries of Tobacco Run, which runs
east through the adjacent residential subdivision of
Campus Lakes. This portion is further divided into
two sub-drainage areas divided roughly by B lot and
Bel Air Hall. The remainder of the east campus
north of the #2 entrance road drains to Tobacco
Run. The portion of the campus property west of
Thomas Run Road drains west towards Thomas Run.
The campus as a whole therefore contains five
watersheds that must be fitted for storm water
management controls as development of the
campus proceeds.
The management of storm water for both quantity
and quality has been a requirement in Maryland
since 1984. All new construction since that time has
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Existing Conditions and Planning Assumptions
required the implementation of storm water
management (SWM). The SWM complex situated
between Fallston Hall and Joppa Hall was built
under those regulations. Starting in 2001, all new
construction has been required to comply with newer
regulations that shifted the emphasis of managing
the two-year storm to providing detention of the
more frequent one-year storms, expanded water
quality treatment to the first 1” of runoff from the first
½” of runoff, and provided for a greater variety of
water quality treatment alternatives.
The bioretention pond and the quantity pocket pond located
along the new access road on the east edge of the
campus property (entrance 6), was constructed
under these regulations. The State of Maryland is in
the process of implementing new regulations in
2008 that will call for a more environmentally
sensitive approach to SWM. Hard structures such as
ponds will be de-emphasized in favor of a “greener”
approach to SWM that emphasizes passive water
quantity and quality measures such grass swales,
rain gardens, longer flow paths, and green roofs.
There are three separate SWM complexes on the
campus. An additional SWM facility is being built at
this time as part of the expansion of parking lot A.
The oldest facility is located between Fallston Hall
and Joppa Hall/Plant Services Building. It drains to
Tobacco Run and was built to serve the area
encompassing the Library, the #2 entrance road, a
portion on the west side of Thomas Run Road, E lot,
the Daycare Center, a portion of Joppa Hall and the
Plant Services Building, and the pond itself. The
SWM facility was designed to cover the existing
buildings and parking lots within that area, as well
as future buildings that were identified at the time of
the pond’s construction in the mid-1990s. A master
plan defined the amount of impervious surface that
the pond is allowed to treat. The college must keep
a running tabulation of any new impervious areas
that are constructed in the drainage area of the
facility and must make a report to Harford County.
If the impervious area is exceeded, the SWM facility
must be expanded or upgraded. The second SWM
facility on the campus was built as part of the
construction of the new entrance road along the east
boundary of the campus (Entrance 6). It drains to
the southernmost of the two unnamed tributaries to
Tobacco Run and provides for quality and quantity
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Harford Community College Facilities Master Plan
Existing Conditions and Planning Assumptions
control for the road, the addition to Bel Air Hall, and
a portion of parking lot B. The third SWM facility is
located on the south side of Joppa Hall and
provides quantity and quality management for the
expanded Joppa Hall. A new SWM facility is being
constructed at this time in the northern of the two
unnamed tributaries mentioned above. It will serve
the expansion of parking lot A (quality and quantity),
the Aberdeen Hall addition (quantity) and 12,000
square feet of future impervious surface (quantity
only) that may someday occur in the open space
directly north of parking lot B.
Storm water management must be addressed for all
new construction. The regulatory authorities of
Harford County prefer a regional approach, if
possible, to each of the five watersheds mentioned
above rather than a piecemeal approach. In other
words, the County would prefer construction of a
single facility to handle all known development in
the watershed, much like at the existing facilities
near Fallston Hall. Therefore, future storm water
management facilities for the development of the
west campus would likely be contained in one facility
that will take into account all proposed development
identified in the Facilities Master Plan.
Bio-Retention
Over the course of the last ten years several bioretention and storm water management ponds have
been constructed on College property. Bio-retention
ponds help to recharge the ground water by slowing
down the release of rainwater and allowing it to be
absorbed back into the earth. These structures are
also designed to treat or clean up rain runoff before
it enters nearby streams. By slowing down the
release of water from roads and parking lots,
chemicals such as oils and greases are captured
and broken down within the pond. Storm water
management ponds also serve to slow down the
release of rainwater. This greatly reduces erosion to
the streams these ponds eventually feed.
Several smaller projects have been completed to
assist in the slowing, treating and recharging of rain
runoff. Roadside swales have been installed as part
of a recent road project to slow down runoff and
help recharge water into the ground. The recent
completion of a parking lot included an
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Existing Conditions and Planning Assumptions
underground recharge trench, which was designed
to capture parking lot rain runoff and allow it to be
absorbed back into the earth. Several green roofs
have been constructed that also serve to slow down
and absorb rainwater.
Water Conservation
Reducing and or eliminating the use of drinking
water for other than human consumption is also a
high priority. Over the last ten years the college has
implemented several strategies in support of this
effort.
Many buildings now contain waterless
urinals, which do not use water for flushing. Water
used for campus landscaping has been reduced
through conservative management practices, such
as watering only at night, recycling pool water, and
using irrigation systems. The College also installed
artificial turf on its main athletic field in 2007, which
will further reduce the need for watering.
A recent water conservation project consisted of
installing a 20,000-gallon rain collection system.
This system captures rain from the building’s roof,
diverts it to a storage tank and then uses it for an
evaporative cooling tower.
This system saves
tremendous quantities of drinking water over the
course of each cooling season. A second similar
system was included in the renovation of Havre de
Grace Hall. This system diverts roof runoff and uses
the water for flushing in restrooms.
Reforestation
The replanting of trees throughout the campus
property has met with great success. Over the last
ten years the College has planted a large quantity of
trees on the campus. This work has been carried
out through mostly volunteer groups with the
majority of the trees being donated to the College.
The recent renovation of Joppa Hall has included
the reforestation of a large area south of the
building. This replanting of trees and shrubs was
associated with the project’s LEED certification.
Light Pollution
The farms, open fields, and forests surrounding the
College have gradually been replaced with homes
and small businesses. On weekdays the college is
typically in operation until ten P.M. To maintain a
safe environment at night for campus users, parking
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Harford Community College Facilities Master Plan
Existing Conditions and Planning Assumptions
lots, walkways, and buildings must be properly
lighted. To minimize the impact this has on the
neighbors, the College has required that all new
exterior light fixtures be “full cutoff” fixtures.
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Existing Conditions and Planning Assumptions
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Harford Community College Facilities Master Plan
The Master Planning Process
The Master Planning Process
In September 2007, the college retained the Glens
Falls planning and architectural firm of JMZ
Architects and Planners, P.C. to prepare a Facilities
Master Plan. JMZ was ably assisted by Frederick
Ward Associates, Inc. of Bel Air and Daytner
Construction Group of Mt. Airy.
The College had already completed much of the
groundwork for the master plan by the time the
consultants were hired. The Campus Operations
Staff – principally Greg Deal and Steve Garey –
authored a draft report in February 2006 that has
provided the backbone for this report. It would not
have been possible for the consultants to complete
such a comprehensive study in such a short time
without the excellent work and assistance provided
by them.
The consultants reviewed all of the information that
had been developed previously, interviewed a wide
spectrum of the college community to determine
program needs, and prepared an independent
analysis of future growth. They also evaluated the
existing site, including the recently acquired “west
campus” and formulated strategies to accommodate
future growth.
The Process Chart at the end of this section
illustrates the flow of work and ideas that generated
this plan. JMZ Architects and Planners interviewed
or met with over 100 members of the College
community including trustees, administrators, faculty,
staff, and students to find out how well the College’s
facilities were meeting their needs and predict how
changes in programs, enrollment, staffing, and
technology would affect future facilities.
Members of the JMZ staff also reviewed the
condition of buildings and systems, identified
projects that should be completed in the coming
years, and predicted their cost. The results of their
work can be found in the Appendix to this report.
Frederick
Ward
Associates
prepared
a
comprehensive site plan showing all of the College’s
holdings, and with the invaluable assistance of Steve
Garey recorded the locations of wells, septic fields,
Harford Community College Facilities Master Plan
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The Master Planning Process
designated reserve areas, and underground utilities.
This is the first time in the College’s history that all of
this information has been integrated in a single
document.
The planning team, including representatives of the
College, used this information to develop a
comprehensive and coherent approach to the future
development of the campus. They were guided by
the unique natural and cultural features of the site
and by the College’s overarching commitment to
sustainable growth.
The Harford Owl encouraged students to “give a hoot”
about campus facilities.
Design Workshop
On October 31st, JMZ hosted a Master Plan Design
Workshop that attracted 64 employees and students.
As was intended, students made up the majority, but
other stakeholders were also welcomed. Several
structured exercises were devised to prompt
discussion. One exercise, entitled “Welcome to the
Check Republic” was designed to find out whether
there was a consensus among the college
community about improvements that should be
made to the college’s facilities. A second exercise,
labeled “Dotmocracy” probed the relative priority of
projects that had been suggested in the interviews.
Summaries of these two exercises are presented on
the following pages. An open-ended opportunity for
comments titled, “Things the Planners Should Keep
in Mind” generated a wide variety of individual
responses.
Despite the well-known traffic problems, all
participants in the “Check Republic” exercise agreed
that the “campus is easy to get to.” At the other
extreme, only 25% said they could “usually find a
convenient parking spot.”
Nearly everyone
recognized that the buildings are well-maintained
and agreed that they “like the way the campus
looks.” However, just 28% of the respondents felt
that “the Science labs are up to date,” a situation
that is currently being corrected with the expansion
and renovation of Aberdeen Hall.
The Design Workshop helped to define the college’s
priorities.
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One of the more positive findings was that 88% of
the students “feel safe” on the HCC campus. This
reflects positively on the administration, the student
body, and the community.
Harford Community College Facilities Master Plan
The Master Planning Process
The College’s highest priority, as revealed by the
“Dotmocracy” exercise, should be to provide more
parking spaces.
Several initiatives are already
underway and more have been recommended in
The Site Concept Plan section of this report.
“Building student housing” scored nearly as high;
just over half of the participants ranked this as their
number one priority.
Review of Preliminary Concepts
The consultants returned to the campus many times
during the fall to share their preliminary concepts
and seek feedback. They held two sessions that
were open to all employees and met with the full
Board of Trustees to seek their guidance and keep
them up to date on the progress that was being
made.
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The Master Planning Process
The Master Planning Process
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Harford Community College Facilities Master Plan
The Master Planning Process
Harford Community College Facilities Master Plan
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The Master Planning Process
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Harford Community College Facilities Master Plan
Enrollment Projections
Enrollment Projections
Population Growth in Harford County
Harford County is one of the fastest growing
counties in the state of Maryland. Census data for
the period 1990–2000 showed a 20% increase in
population, a rate almost double that of the State as
a whole, and nearly triple that of the Greater
Baltimore region. The number of residents under
the age of 18 increased at the even higher rate of
25% over the same time period. Overall, Harford
County was ranked seventh out of the 24 Maryland
counties in growth. Harford County also ranked first
in the State in job growth in 2003.
The 2004 population for the county was estimated
to be slightly over 230,000. Population is expected
to grow to 250,000 by 2010 and exceed 268,000
by 2015. The Harford County Public School (HCPS)
system has accordingly reported significant growth,
as well. HCPS reported that the student population
increased over 33% from 1990 to 2004-2005 and
now exceeds 40,000. The number of high school
graduates also increased proportionally, from just
fewer than 2,000 in 1993 to over 2,500 in 2003.
A very high percentage of Harford County high
school graduates attend Harford Community
College. On average over the past four years, 66%
of the new high school graduates who were collegebound enrolled at HCC.
Enrollment History
Overall enrollment increased 4.4% in the past year.
Harford Community College Facilities Master Plan
The Institutional Research Office at HCC issued a
report entitled, “Official Enrollment – Fall 2007” at
the end of September. HCC’s credit full-time
equivalent (FTE) enrollment increased 27% percent
during the period 2001-2007. Overall enrollment
at the College increased 4.4% in the past year to
5,963 students. Part-time enrollment grew faster
than full-time enrollment. The number of part-time
students increased 5.2% to 3,380 while the number
of full-time students increased 3.5% to 2,583.
Enrollment of continuing students was up only 1.2%.
However, enrollment of new students was up 8.2%,
suggesting that overall enrollment figures in the
coming years will be robust.
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Enrollment Projections
Enrollment Projections
In June 2007, the Maryland Higher Education
Commission
(MHEC)
published
Enrollment
Projections for all Maryland Public Colleges and
Universities through the year 2016. The report
predicted that full-time equivalent enrollment at
Harford Community College would grow from
3,533 students in 2007-2008 to 4,232 students in
2016-2017. This data placed HCC well above the
average 16% growth predicted for all Maryland’s
community colleges.
However, HCC’s actual
growth over the past year is already more than
double the rate predicted by MHEC.
The Commission’s projections are treated by the
analysts of the Department of Budget and
Management and the General Assembly as the
State’s official estimates. However, as noted in the
report, the Commission’s 1997 projections proved
to be too conservative. It is likely that community
colleges within Maryland grew at a higher rate than
expected because of their comparatively attractive
tuition and fees and because expanded articulation
agreements made it easier for students to transfer
credits.
The planning consultants acknowledge the value of
having a common baseline among all the State’s
institutions but are concerned that the official data
may once again prove to be far too conservative.
The methodology used by the State applies historical
capture rates for each institution to anticipated
population growth to project future enrollment. One
of the planning assumptions cited in the report is
that, “Credit enrollments among Maryland residents
can be predicted by applying the historical
relationship between the state’s population and past
in-state enrollments to future populations.” This
simple analysis does not factor in external or internal
changes to the status quo.
For instance, much of the enrollment growth over
the past decade at HCC was generated by
increasing numbers of full-time, first-time day
students.
Partially offsetting the increased
participation by these traditional students was a
decline in part-time, evening enrollments. The
combination of these trends reduced the average
age of HCC students from 28 to 26 and created a
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Harford Community College Facilities Master Plan
Enrollment Projections
high demand for classroom space during the
daytime. This shift toward younger students may be
accelerating. The percent of HCC students who
were less than 18 years old increased 12.8% from
Fall 2006 to Fall 2007. These trends were not
localized to HCC or even the State of Maryland.
Community colleges across the nation reported
similar data during this time period.
The consultants cite a number of factors that could
cause HCC’s enrollment to increase much faster
than projected by the State:
• Now celebrating its 50th anniversary, Harford
Community College has “come of age.” It is
widely recognized as a center of excellence as
well as a college of convenience. Its already
high capture rate among local high school
students is likely to increase as a result of its
enhanced stature.
• Maryland four-year institutions are saturated with
students as a result of the “baby boomlet” or
“echo boom” of students that is just now
reaching college age. Although the sizes of
graduating high school classes will peak in the
next few years, Maryland’s colleges have not
been able to build new facilities quickly enough
to accommodate these students. This will
continue to strain the capacity of upper division
colleges, force them to be more selective, and
drive more students toward the state’s community
colleges.
• Harford Community College is still a relative
bargain. If tuition at Maryland’s upper division
public institutions increases as a result of the
State’s current budget crisis, more students will
elect to begin their academic careers at HCC.
The College’s increased emphasis on seamless
articulation agreements will support and
accelerated this trend.
• The proposed construction of a building to house
Towson University on the HCC campus could
dramatically increase enrollment. More of
HCC’s graduates transfer to Towson than any
other institution. The ability to structure a 2+2
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Enrollment Projections
program on the HCC campus will likely attract
more students to HCC and keep them at the
College longer.
• As noted previously in this report, the most
requested improvement by students who
participated in the Design Workshop in October
was for student housing. While not yet on HCC’s
horizon, many community colleges around the
country now offer student housing on or near
their campuses, often in partnership with separate
housing corporations or outside developers.
Affordable housing in Harford County is
reportedly in short supply. Building student
housing adjacent to the HCC campus would
remove one of the more significant constraints to
attending the College and make it more
attractive to area students who desire a more
comprehensive college experience.
• HCC is planning to add new programs in the
Allied Health field. These high-paying
professions are in high demand and are likely to
remain so for many years. Students who now
find themselves waitlisted for the College’s
Nursing Program may elect to migrate to these
parallel fields. The impact on enrollment could
be significant.
• The Base Realignment and Closure Commission
(BRAC) vote in August 2005 to close Fort
Monmouth in New Jersey is likely to result in a
gain of nearly 5,300 new employees at Aberdeen
Proving Ground over the next several years.
Harford County government has already started
infrastructure planning to accommodate the large
surge in growth, which involves not only the
5,300 new jobs, but associated families and new
and expanded service industries. This growth will
have a direct effect on HCC, particularly on the
math, engineering, and science programs. The
College is also considering reshaping current
academic programs to offer a degree in
administrative assisting. This will help prepare
local workers for the first wave of jobs that will
reach the County.
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Harford Community College Facilities Master Plan
Enrollment Projections
Conclusion
As a result of these factors, the consultants expect
that Harford Community College will grow much
more quickly than forecast by MHEC, just as it did
during the previous 10-year period and continues to
do now. Enrollment could well increase by more
than 40% in the next ten years and easily surpass
5,000 FTEs by Fall 2016.
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Enrollment Projections
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Harford Community College Facilities Master Plan
Future Space Needs
Future Space Needs
Existing Facilities Inventory
Harford Community College currently has 452,423
gross square feet (GSF) of space on its Bel Air
campus. The usable space within these buildings is
287,165 Net Assignable Square Feet (NASF). The
buildings are therefore 63% efficient on average.
Academic buildings are programmed by using
NASF, but are budgeted and constructed using GSF.
The College also has three off-campus facilities:
Amoss Center across Thomas Run Road; HEAT
Center East; and HEAT Center West. These three
locations have a combined area of 38,536 NASF
and 51,717 GSF. The College thus has a total area
of 325,701 NASF and 504,140 GSF. Although not
considered as part of the College’s space inventory,
HCC also benefits from the use of two computer
labs and a classroom at Edgewood Library.
The current expansion of Aberdeen Hall will add
11,995 NASF to the facilities inventory, principally in
the classroom, class laboratory, and office
categories as defined by the Higher Education
General Information Survey (HEGIS). The overall
area of the expansion will be 22,741 GSF. The
expansion of Susquehanna Center is projected to
add 17,325 NASF within a 27,000 GSF envelope.
Most of this space will be for Athletic use.
Dedicating the Hays-Heighe House to community
use will remove 3,165 NASF and 6,610 GSF from
the College’s inventory. As a result of all these
changes, the College’s usable space on the Bel Air
campus will grow by 9% to 313,320 NASF and its
overall inventory will grow by 9.5% to 495,554
GSF.
Computation of Space Needs
The College applied the MHEC Space Allocation
Guidelines to its Fall 2006 Enrollment and
Employment data for the Bel Air campus. The
computation predicts a current space need of
312,669 NASF. Since the Bel Air campus will have
313,320 NASF of space when the current round of
projects is completed, the College almost perfectly
mirrors the amount of space predicted by the
guidelines.
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Future Space Needs
As the College grows it will need more space. Using
MHEC enrollment projections, the formulas indicate
that there will be a space deficit of over 25,000
NASF by Fall 2016. This translates into a gross
building area of just over 39,000 square feet.
However, this computation of future space needs is
based upon the State’s assessment of future
enrollment. As discussed in the previous section,
MHEC enrollment projections have significantly
underestimated the College’s growth in the past.
For the reasons given, the consultants feel that the
20% increase in enrollment that has been forecast
over the next ten years will quickly be exceeded. The
College grew by 4.4% in just one year from Fall
2006 to Fall 2007. Even small variations in annual
growth can make a big difference when
compounded over the years.
Therefore, the computed deficit is likely to be much
larger than currently acknowledged. Taken in this
context, the College’s Capital Improvement Program
seems realistic and supportable.
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Harford Community College Facilities Master Plan
Enhancing Campus Sustainability
Enhancing Campus
Sustainability
Every action a college takes, or doesn’t take, sends
a message to its constituents. This is particularly true
with respect to its stewardship of the land and
buildings that make up its campus.
Acting on behalf of Harford Community College,
President LaCalle has signed the American College
& University Presidents Climate Commitment. This
document states:
“We believe colleges and universities must
exercise leadership in their communities
and throughout society by modeling ways
to minimize global warming emissions, and
by providing the knowledge and the
educated graduates to achieve climate
neutrality.”
This Commitment establishes specific goals and
requires tangible actions in pursuit of climate
neutrality. Included are pledges to produce or
purchase at least 15% of electricity consumption
from renewable resources; to purchase energyefficient appliances such as those with the ENERGY
STAR rating; and to construct all new buildings to at
least the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Silver
standard or equivalent. (See explanation of the U.S.
Green Building Council and LEED below.)
The College has established a Sustainability
Committee to guide the development and
implementation of these policies. Their recommendations have been included at the end of this
section.
Environmental Literacy
There are various definitions of the word
“sustainable.” Central to the meaning of the term is
the use of materials and methods that conserve
resources and respect natural systems while
integrating human patterns of development. The
College’s commitment to sustainability will enrich
campus aesthetics, reinforce the sense of place, and
provide environmental, educational, and economic
benefits. By involving students in research and
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Enhancing Campus Sustainability
service learning projects, the College will create not
just sustainable landscapes, but sustainable learning
communities, as well.
Campus Zoning
The planning consultants have evaluated the existing
built environment, the site constraints imposed on
the College’s land holdings by steep slopes, known
wetlands, and cultural artifacts.
The consultants recommend establishing four
principal zones to guide future development of the
campus.
The Academic Core
The Academic Core of the campus should be reinforced.
The Academic Core comprises the most intensively
developed area of the campus. It includes the
principal buildings, parking lots, and pathways used
most often by faculty, staff, students, and visitors.
Landscaping in this zone acknowledges the human
presence by incorporating courtyards, walkways,
gathering spaces, seating areas, fountains, and
sculpture. Plantings in this zone can be more formal
to achieve a balance between the cultural
environment and the natural environment. However,
for safety, plantings adjacent to walkways and
parking areas should be kept low to make sure that
clear vision zones are always available. Shade trees
should be used to protect outdoor gathering spaces
and provide natural cooling in higher temperature
months.
The planners recommend concentrating most of the
College’s future growth within the academic core.
New buildings have been planned to infill open
spaces where appropriate. This “smart growth” will
minimize the cost of infrastructure, will promote a
more walkable campus, and will improve the scale
and attractiveness of the current “mall.”
The Recreation Zone
Harford Community College has dedicated a
substantial portion of its land to Thomas Run Park
and athletic facilities, a unique community resource
that provides opportunities for adults to play
baseball, softball, tennis, soccer, and lacrosse.
These shared-use facilities benefit both the College
and the communities it serves.
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Harford Community College Facilities Master Plan
Enhancing Campus Sustainability
The planners recommend relocating the sand
volleyball court from the quad to the area adjacent
to the tennis courts south of Susquehanna Hall. This
will remove a visual intrusion from the quad and
make the court more accessible to both students and
the community.
There are opportunities for HCC to demonstrate
sustainable practices in the recreation zone, too.
Athletic fields certainly require mowing, but the areas
surrounding them could become natural meadows
instead of mowed expanses of lawn, thereby saving
maintenance costs and reducing environmental
impacts.
Mowed strips would be sufficient to
delineate walking paths.
Thomas Run Park lies within the Recreation Zone.
Lands near parking lots should be observed during
rainwater storm events to determine whether any
improvements can be made to better direct runoff
and
best
utilize
existing
green
space.
Phytoremediation - the practice of using plants to
remove, alter or contain contaminants on site should also be investigated for use near parking lots.
There are a number of plants indigenous to the Midatlantic region of the United States, such as
coneflowers (Echinacea Purpurea) that can remove
contaminants (e.g. gasoline) from soil. These plants
would also serve to visually enhance areas adjacent
to parking lots.
The College & Community Use Zone
The College’s acquisition of 121 acres of land on
the west side of Thomas Run Road has created
opportunities for additional “partnerships” between
the College and the community. The planners do
not recommend attempting to expand the academic
core across the road to this “west campus.” This
would stretch out the campus and make walking
distances between buildings unnecessarily long. It
would also create significant safety concerns if
students were expected to cross the busy road on
their way to distant classrooms.
Instead, the planners recommend dedicating the
west campus to “destination buildings,” a phrase
coined by Craig Ward, president of Frederick Ward
Associates. These buildings would serve both the
College and the community.
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Enhancing Campus Sustainability
Compatible uses include the building that has been
proposed for Towson University, a future
Apprenticeship Training Center, and the possible
relocation of the Sherriff’s Academy to free up space
within Edgewood Hall. Each of these buildings
would attract unique visitors to the campus and can
operate independently of the main campus. There
would be limited pedestrian and vehicular traffic
between the east and west campuses.
Other community uses that could be accommodated
on the west campus include a county arts center
(currently under discussion) or even a firehouse. The
College is sure to get many requests from
community organizations who would like to locate
on this site. The planners recommend using the
following four-step process to determine whether a
proposed use is consistent with the College’s
mission:
First, assume that the College will exist in perpetuity
and reserve sufficient space closest to the academic
core for the continued growth of College facilities.
New “destination” buildings would be constructed in the
College & Community Use Zone on the west side of
Thomas Run Road.
Second, recognize that as the character of the area
surrounding the College transitions from rural to
suburban, open space will have increasing value.
Sufficient conservation areas should be reserved to
maintain the sylvan character of the campus.
Third, any organization wishing to construct a facility
on the campus should be able to demonstrate that
they will directly benefit from being associated with
the College.
Fourth, the College should derive some benefit from
being associated with the organization, as well. The
relationship should be a symbiotic one.
The Conservation Zone
The pond lies within the proposed Conservation Zone.
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Conservation Zone areas encompass the wooded
area in the northeast quadrant of the east campus
and the linked wetlands and unnamed pond just
north of the main drive from Entrance 3. This is
consistent with action taken by the Board of Trustees
in the mid-1970s that protected land north and east
of Joppa Hall and the Service Building from
development.
Harford Community College Facilities Master Plan
Enhancing Campus Sustainability
Another significant conservation area on the east
campus would include the Hays-Heighe House, the
lawns surrounding it, the Spring House, and the
wooded ravine running to the College’s eastern
boundary.
The recent acquisition of 121 acres of land on the
west side of Thomas Run Road provides the College
with room for growth (as discussed below) as well as
large areas of land that could be part of the
equation that will help HCC maintain an overall
balance between natural spaces and the built
environment.
The natural vegetation in the wetland northeast of
Fallston Hall.
Overall, the consultants have recommended
including approximately 150 acres (nearly 50% of
the campus) within conservation zones.
While
development would not be prohibited, the emphasis
should be on the natural environment and
characterized by native landscaping.
Native landscaping promotes bio-diversity, thereby
providing a greater degree of ecological health in
the area in which it is implemented. Soils are
nurtured naturally, without the use of fertilizers.
Planted buffers remove contaminants that are found
in storm water runoff. Eliminating or reducing the
use of pesticides and herbicides assures that the
ecological cycle (e.g. food chain) proceeds
uninterrupted. Once established, such landscaping
imparts resilience to the land after physical
disturbances such as natural disasters and makes the
land more resistant to invasive species. As native
plants attract insects, native wildlife, such as birds,
will follow.
The U.S. Green Building Council
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is a
coalition of leaders from every sector of the building
industry working to promote buildings that are
environmentally responsible, profitable and healthy
places to live and work. They have over 8,500
member organizations and a network of 75 regional
chapters working to achieve greater sustainability in
the building industry. The U.S. Green Building
Council's core purpose is to transform the way
buildings and communities are designed, built and
operated, enabling an environmentally and socially
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Enhancing Campus Sustainability
responsible, healthy, and prosperous environment
that improves the quality of life.
The USGBC is the originator of the Leadership in
Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green
Building Rating System™, which is the nationally
accepted benchmark for the design, construction,
and operation of high-performance green buildings.
LEED gives building owners and operators the tools
they need to have an immediate and measurable
impact on their buildings’ performance. LEED
promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas
of human and environmental health: sustainable site
development, water savings, energy efficiency,
materials selection, and indoor environmental
quality.
The program uses a point system to determine
whether a building can be certified, and if so, at
what level. As buildings improve in performance
beyond the basic “certified” level, they can attain
silver, gold, or platinum ratings. Further information
can be found at www.usgbc.org.
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Harford Community College Facilities Master Plan
Enhancing Campus Sustainability
Design Guidelines
The College’s Sustainability Committee has prepared the following statement for inclusion within this Facilities
Master Plan:
Since 2000, Harford Community College has demonstrated leadership in advancing sustainability in campus
design and operations. Within the Strategic Plan FY08-FY12, the College declares its commitment to “model
environmentally sustainable practices,” and this commitment is supported in the Facilities Master Plan.
Sustainability and environmental stewardship at the College take a holistic approach that recognizes the
interdependence of decisions and actions and their impact on the built and natural environment as well as on
the health and productivity of the campus population.
Sustainable design guidelines focus on these commitments:
Buildings and Construction
New building designs, renovations, construction, and operations are shaped by best practices in green
building principles as described in the US Green Building Council’s LEED Certification process. The process
promotes construction practices that choose sustainable sites; reduce energy and water use; include
environmentally preferred materials, such as recycled, local, and rapidly renewable materials; reduce a
building’s impact on the natural environment; promote a healthy indoor environment; recycle construction
waste; and use innovation in sustainable design. New and renovated spaces serve as demonstration sites for
student and public learning.
Land Use
Green spaces are a priority. Natural areas on campus and the diversity of native species are maintained and
increased to both preserve the natural beauty and rural legacy of the campus and to ensure that students have
access to natural areas as part of their education. The College commits to environmentally responsible
landscaping decisions with respect to native plantings, integrated pest management, erosion control and the
creation and enhancement of outdoor educational and recreational areas. Mindful that the campus exists
within a larger community, the College is committed to being a good neighbor by modeling sound land use
practices.
Climate Change
As signatory to the Presidents Climate Challenge Commitment and the Tailloires Declaration, the College
employs multiple strategies to become a carbon neutral campus with the goal of reducing climate change
impacts. Such strategies include assessment of the College’s current carbon footprint, implementation of
energy conservation measures, reduction of greenhouse gases, planting of trees, use of renewable energy and
promotion of alternative transportation methods.
Health and Productivity
The health, safety and productivity of campus students and employees are promoted through decisions that
use best practices and innovations in the design, operation and maintenance of buildings and grounds with
special attention to issues of indoor air quality, recreational spaces, lighting, and accessibility.
Water
Protection of the College’s well and septic system is paramount as the student population and community
participation numbers continue to grow. Surface and groundwater protection and water conservation are
achieved through best practices and innovations that address water quality and quantity. These measures
protect College drinking water and the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.
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Enhancing Campus Sustainability
Transportation
A comprehensive transportation plan includes safe and adequate pedestrian walkways, encourages and
supports alternative transportation, public transportation, carpooling, and protects the green spaces on
campus.
Sustainability Metrics
Routine collection of data and analysis of sustainability actions support long-term economic, environmental,
socially responsible decision making. Further, monitoring and reporting allows for continuous improvement.
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Harford Community College Facilities Master Plan
The Site Concept Plan
The Site Concept Plan
Traffic Flow
Traffic congestion on Churchville Road (MD route
22) and Thomas Run Road has become a significant
safety concern. Even with construction of entrance
#6 and the roadway along the College’s eastern
boundary, drivers wishing to enter or leave the
campus often experience long delays. Delays are
particularly acute during the first few weeks of each
semester and at peak times during the day. This
congestion and related frustration have contributed
to several recent accidents in the vicinity.
Harford Community College is not the only
institution experiencing these problems. The Harford
Technical High School, located across Thomas Run
Road from the College, reportedly uses school
busses to temporarily block traffic so that other
busses can safely exit their campus when school lets
out in the afternoon.
The County is reportedly planning to alter the
intersection of MD 22 and Thomas Run Road to
create two left-hand turning lanes onto Thomas Run
Road for eastbound traffic. This will likely reduce the
length of the back-ups on MD 22, but could create
even bigger problems on Thomas Run Road.
Entrance #3 would be replaced by a “roundabout.”
Harford Community College Facilities Master Plan
The Planning consultants recommend widening
Thomas Run Road from two lanes to three to create
a boulevard with a center lane for left-hand turns as
depicted in the rendering that appears at the end of
this section. Reducing the number of driveways and
coordinating the locations of those that remain will
improve traffic flow and increase safety. Long
stretches of the center lane can thus become planted
medians that will improve appearances and give
special significance to Thomas Run Road as an
education, culture, and recreation zone for the
County.
Decorative lighting and banners will
enhance the “sense of arrival.” As shown on the Site
Concept Plan, entrance #3 to the HCC campus,
which is by far the most heavily traveled, should be
reconfigured as a “roundabout” to more efficiently
blend traffic without the expense of a traffic light.
The roundabout will also enable traffic to move
more quickly on Thomas Run Road at off-peak times
than would a traffic light.
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The Site Concept Plan
These improvements will require the cooperation of
Harford County, Harford Community College,
Harford County Public Schools and the few
remaining private property owners along this stretch
of Thomas Run Road.
The College’s recent acquisition of the 121-acre
west campus also opens the door to the possibility of
creating another campus entrance from Prospect
Mill Road. The planners acknowledge the long-term
benefit this would have for the College but
recommend focusing attention and resources on the
needed improvements to Thomas Run Road in the
near term.
The dual roadways at entrance #2 are a holdover
from the College’s earlier days and are seldom
used. The planners recommend designating the
south lane as the primary visitor entrance to campus.
This will improve access to the Admissions Office
and Bookstore in the Student Center and
accommodate visitors to the Hays-Heigh House. A
dedicated parking lot for these visitors would replace
the current traffic circle on the east side of
Chesapeake Hall as discussed below.
Visitors should be directed to use the south lane from
entrance #2 to enter the campus.
The north lane that currently exits onto Thomas Run
Road should be eliminated to reduce congestion
and free up valuable sites on the mall for future
buildings as discussed below.
Parking Improvements
In response to rising demand, the College has
steadily increased the number of parking spaces on
the campus. Frederick Ward Associates recently
prepared designs for expanding parking lot A, north
of the academic quad, and parking lot T adjacent to
Thomas Run Park. These projects are now under
construction and will add approximately 158 spaces
to the existing inventory of about 2,100.
As
illustrated on the Site Concept Plan, the master plan
recommends making five additional parking
improvements to the east campus, generally in
chronological order:
The west side of the traffic circle should become a
pedestrian walkway.
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• Relocate the four unlighted tennis courts to the
rear of Susquehanna Center to make room for
approximately 200 parking spaces. This work
should be coordinated with the proposed
expansion and renovation of Susquehanna
Center that is just starting design.
Harford Community College Facilities Master Plan
The Site Concept Plan
• Create a dedicated parking lot with 40 spaces
just below the Daycare Center with a drop-off
and pick-up loop to improve access for both
children and adults.
• Reconfigure the “traffic circle” on the east side of
Chesapeake Center to eliminate one leg, create
90-degree parking instead of parallel parking,
and improve pedestrian circulation. This lot
should be reserved for visitors to the campus,
particularly the Admissions Office, the
Bookstore, and the Hays-Heighe House. The
overall number of parking spaces in this area
will remain about the same but the amount of
paving will be reduced.
A new walkway from parking lot A will align with the
fountain and staircase by the library.
• Construct three tiers of parking on the east side
of Susquehanna Center to provide 150
additional spaces to facilitate community use of
the College’s expanded and renovated athletic
and recreation facilities. This lot will also
support the use of the Hays-Heighe house for
special events, such as weddings. Before this
new lot can be constructed the existing
subsurface septic disposal field beneath this area
will need to be relocated or eliminated if the
College is able to transition to a central
treatment system or public sewer.
• Construct a parking deck above a portion of A
lot to provide as many as 500 additional spaces.
While the expense would be significant – parking
structures typically cost four times as much as
surface parking - this would be more consistent
with the College’s commitment to sustainable
design. It would also keep parking spaces closer
to the quad.
Landscape and Pedestrian
Improvements
The intrusive road crossing the mall should be replaced
by a walkway.
Harford Community College Facilities Master Plan
The architects for the expansion of Aberdeen Hall
have wisely created a new “portal” to the campus
beneath the link to the addition. In concert with the
strategic placement of new buildings, the master
planners have “tuned up” pedestrian walkways
throughout other areas of the campus in a similar
fashion. As shown on the Site Concept Plan, one of
the vehicular entrances to parking lot A should be
eliminated to create a dedicated pedestrian walkway
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The Site Concept Plan
to campus. This new “portal” would align with the
fountain and the large staircase leading to the upper
part of the campus.
The current road crossing the mall should eventually
be relocated to the west of the new Allied Health
Building (discussed below) to improve the pedestrian
scale and character of the newly defined quad
between this building and the Library. In its place
will be a major north-south axial walkway linking the
drop-off area near Fallston Hall to the Allied Health
Building, Chesapeake Center, and Susquehanna
Center.
The narrow walkway along the north side of the mall
leading to Fallston and Edgewood halls is too close
to the buildings. It should be relocated further into
the mall and widened.
The narrow walkway to Fallston and Edgewood halls
should be relocated further into the mall.
The planners feel that the current volleyball court
near the Student Center intrudes on the sylvan
character of the quad. They recommend replacing it
with two sand volleyball courts in the area south of
Susquehanna Center. The new courts will be more
accessible to both students and the community in
this location. Pipe sleeves could be inserted in the
quad to facilitate the occasional installation of a
volleyball net for student activities use.
A new athletic field has been shown on the Site
Concept Plan near the southeast corner of the
campus. This will complete the build out of Thomas
Run Park.
Aberdeen Hall and Susquehanna
Center
The addition to Aberdeen Hall is well underway.
The subsequent renovation of the building will bring
the College’s Science laboratories up to date. The
design contract for the expansion of Susquehanna
Center was awarded by the Board of Trustees in
November. State funding has been received for
design but not for construction.
Towson University Building
The north entrance to the Library functions as the main
entrance.
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The next new building should be for the use of
Towson University and should be located on the
west side of Thomas Run Road in the new College &
Community Use Zone. The Site Concept Plan
illustrates how a 55,000 square foot, two-story
Harford Community College Facilities Master Plan
The Site Concept Plan
building
and
related
parking
could
be
accommodated on the front portion of this site.
Placing the building close to Thomas Run Road will
minimize infrastructure costs and maximize exposure
for this important facility. It is likely that the College
will seek development proposals in 2008 for a
leased facility.
Library North Entrance
Adding a modest canopy would improve the north
entrance to the Library.
The planners recommend moving as quickly as
possible on the construction of a canopy to upgrade
the Library’s north entrance. This entrance was
envisioned as a secondary one by the Library’s
architects. However, students frequently use this
route to enter the campus from the large parking
lots north of the entrance #3 road. Gate counts
gathered by Library staff for July through October
2007 show that over 126,000 students used this
north entrance to the lower level while fewer than
63,000 students entered the Library through the
mid-level “main” entrance.
Allied Health Building
The College’s next priority should be the
construction of an Allied Health Building to support
the new academic programs being created to serve
these professions. It will be important to locate this
building on the east campus in close proximity to the
Nursing programs in Maryland Hall, the Science
Labs in Aberdeen Hall, and the resource areas in the
Library. The planners have shown how a large twoor three-story building could be located in the heart
of the campus between Chesapeake Center and
Fallston Hall.
The Allied Health Building (4) and the Math,
Engineering & Technology Building (3) will help define a
second formal quadrangle.
Harford Community College Facilities Master Plan
Apprenticeship Training Center
Construction of an Apprenticeship Training Center is
likely to follow construction of the Allied Health
Building. This destination building will primarily be
used in the evening and should be located behind
the Towson University building on the west campus.
Students in these programs generally work during
the day and will not need to access other College
buildings.
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The Site Concept Plan
Math, Engineering & Technology
Building
Replacing the current parking lot with the MET Building
will reinforce the north “edge” of the new quadrangle.
The College’s Capital Improvement Program also
envisions the need for a Math, Engineering &
Technology Building to support programs that are
likely to see significant growth as a result of the
expansion that is expected to take place at Aberdeen
Proving Ground in the coming years. If the program
can be accommodated on the available site, the
MET Building should replace the small parking lot
between the Library and Fallston Hall. This will
remove an intrusion, reinforce the north “edge” of
the new pedestrian quad, and ensure that these
classrooms are convenient for students who may
also be taking Science courses.
Future Academic Building
The Site Concept Plan also shows how another
future academic building, as yet undesignated, can
be accommodated on the east campus.
Concentrating the College’s growth on the east
campus will create a more cohesive and compact
campus and improve the pedestrian environment. It
will minimize future sprawl in accordance with the
College’s sustainable design guidelines.
Sheriff’s Training Academy Building
The “back” side of the Hays-Heighe house.
As academic space on the east campus becomes
tighter in coming years, it may be advisable to
construct a new building to house the Sheriff’s
Training Academy on the west campus as shown on
the Site Concept Plan. This will free up valuable
space in Edgewood Hall for uses more directly
connected to the College.
Hays-Heighe House
The woods should be thinned out to reveal the spring
house and reduce dampness.
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The Hays-Heighe House was constructed in 1808
and is listed on the National Register of Historic
Places. The College is fortunate to have such an
important cultural resource within its campus. The
consultants have included the Hays-Heighe House
and the grounds that surround it within the
Conservation Zone to signal that it should be
preserved. A committee working on the future of the
Hays-Heighe House has recommended dedicating
the building to an Equestrian museum and a
museum that will chronicle and celebrate the many
contributions that African Americans have made to
Harford County.
These low-impact community
Harford Community College Facilities Master Plan
The Site Concept Plan
based uses are entirely appropriate for the building
and will aid in its preservation. The restoration of
the building is ongoing.
Interestingly, the north side of the Hays-Heighe
House facing the Library was originally the rear of
the structure. The grounds in this area should be
landscaped to reinforce this interpretation. Walking
along the sidewalk to the Student Center should feel
like walking through someone’s private garden.
As can clearly be seen in the adjacent photograph,
the main façade faces the open lawn to the south
that leads down to the amphitheater and the spring
house. The planners recommend thinning the edge
of the woods to reveal the spring house and reduce
the dampness that threatens its foundations. The
pathway through the lawn that leads to the Student
Center should be maintained but not enlarged.
Implementation
The south side of the Hays-Heighe House is actually the
front.
The Facilities Master Plan provides a blueprint for
the design and construction of all of the projects
illustrated on the Site Concept Plan and provides the
College with the assurance that they are being done
within a coherent long-range framework.
Many of these projects are not contingent on state
funding and can be implemented at the discretion of
the College and the County. For instance, the
redesign of Thomas Run Road to improve safety and
smooth traffic flow will likely be a County project.
The drive crossing the open mall can be relocated
westward to improve safety and hasten the transition
to a more pedestrian-friendly campus. The exit lane
leading to the #2 entrance can also be removed to
reduce congestion on Thomas Run Road. The upper
tennis courts can be relocated to free up space for
additional parking. The improvements to the HaysHeighe House and the surrounding lawns can be
completed.
The development of the new building for Towson
University on the west campus can also proceed
since it will likely be leased from a developer. The
sequencing of other large building projects, of
course, must be negotiated with the state and will
depend on the availability of capital construction
monies.
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The Site Concept Plan
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Harford Community College Facilities Master Plan