Regents committee OK’s Facilities Master plan

After months of feedback and drafts, university President Wallace Loh presented the Facilities Master Plan — a framework for future developments and landscaping for the university — to praise from members of the Board of Regents Finance Committee yesterday.

Although many faculty, staff and students expressed concern over Facilities Management's limited budget and land constraints for enacting many of the plan's proposals — including new state-of-the-art teaching facilities and buildings and a more biker-friendly campus — several members of the board's finance committee said they are optimistic the university will craft ways to implement the plan.

The multimillion-dollar plan — which cost Facilities Management $600,000 in consulting funds to draft — would direct future developments to encompass sustainability and community stewardship, Loh said.

"Times have changed, values have changed and therefore, the master plan for the future of the university has to change as well, and that is what [the regents] completely embraced," Loh said.

Unlike master plans from previous years, Loh said this plan ties in years, Loh said this plan ties in initiatives off the campus and incorporates city officials and residents.

"What we're doing now is saying the relationship with the community is important," Loh said.

Several people at yesterday's meeting said they are optimistic Loh will receive the go-ahead to begin implementation when the full board — the 17-member body that sets University System of Maryland policy — reviews the plan next month.

"I think the Facilities Master Plan was very well put together and very well reflects the positive growth that College Park is looking to do going forward," said student Regent Collin Wojciechowski, an undergraduate at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

Additionally, many board members touted the plan's innovative methods in coping with the university's limited resources. With officials 1.7 million square feet short of land to place new buildings, the plan instead emphasizes public transportation and pedestrian-friendly design, which would allow parking spaces to be replaced with academic facilities.

"[The plan] focuses on excellence and quality all the way through and is contemporary and focused and realistic," said Regent Gary Attman. "And I believe it's achievable."

But several regents acknowledged securing funds for many of the projects will be a challenge. The university has yet to break ground on the East Campus development — a proposed 38-acre project that would bring upscale hotels, additional housing and restaurants to the city — and still has to grapple with $650 million worth of deferred maintenance projects, according to the plan.

"Funding is always going to be an issue in good times and bad times, so we just have to find ways to work through it," Wojciechowski said. "But there seems to be a pretty solid plan in place for the next 20 years."

Since many of the plan's proposals would impact the university and the city for years to come, regents said they believe state legislators will be inclined to secure funding for it.

"I view it as a great investment for the state of Maryland, and I know [Gov. Martin O'Malley] genuinely supports it," Attman said.

lurye@umdbk.com