Towson U. to break ground for $180M science complex

Towson University will host a ceremony today to break ground on the college’s $180 million science complex, which officials say will become the largest academic building on campus when it’s completed in 2020. The 320,000-square-foot center, being built along York Road south of the campus’ Stephens Hall, will house 50 teaching laboratories, 30 research laboratories, 50 classrooms, 10 collaborative student spaces and eight lecture halls. Work at the site actually began in the fall. The center will also include an outdoor classroom leading into the university’s Glen Arboretum, as well as a rain garden for stormwater control, a planetarium, observatory, rooftop greenhouse, museum and vivarium. The complex will replace Smith Hall, built in the 1960s, as the school’s primary science building. The university is deciding the future of Smith Hall, though it will be used as academic space in some form, a spokesman said via email. Today’s ceremony will take place at 10:30 a.m. on campus at the Glen Garage, Cross Campus Drive. Among those scheduled to attend are university President Kim Schatzel, University System of Maryland Chancellor Robert L. Caret, UMS Board of Regents Chairman James Brady and Del. Stephen W. Lafferty. disclose how much they planned to spend on the refresh, for which ASD|SKY will do the design work. The offices at the Can Company complex, where about 400 people work, are anchored by the headquarters for caulk and sealant maker DAP Products Inc. and offices for Oath Inc., Verizon’s digital advertising unit. Retailers include Nalley Fresh and T-Mobile. Cornelsen, Old Line’s president and CEO, in a statement. Consolidation has been sweeping through the state’s smaller banks as they strive to remain competitive. Howard Bancorp completed its $163 million acquisition of the parent of First Mariner Bank on March 1, creating a Baltimore bank with $2.1 billion in assets. Old Line’s acquisition of Bay Bank is its fifth since 2011. It completed an acquisition last year of DCB Bancshares, the parent of Damascus Community Bank in Montgomery County.