BALTIMORE — Baltimore City Community College is planning to demolish its prominent Bard Building downtown, at Market Place and East Lombard Street.
The five-story, 172,000-square-foot building would be "re-graded as a large open lawn with shade trees," according to anupcoming agenda of the state's Board of Public Works. The board is set to vote on the demolition at its Aug. 2 meeting.
The city is asking for permission to pay $4.2 million to The Berg Corporation to demolish the building. It would protect the adjacent Holocaust Memorial, clearing the way for future redevelopment of the property.
The state's executive budget for Fiscal Year 2024 notes:
The building has been vacant for several years, and a fire in January 2020 caused significant damage, making demolition increasingly urgent. To address the need to demolish what has increasingly become a dangerous liability to the college and the State, the fiscal 2022 budget appropriated $7.4 million in general funds for this purpose.
