UMB Breaks Ground for $120M, Six-Story Building to House School of Social Work

Representatives of the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) held a ceremonial groundbreaking on Thursday for their next major campus building, a $120 million, six-story home for the School of Social Work at 600 W. Lexington Street.

The 127,000-square-foot building will consolidate the school’s Master of Social Work and Doctor of Philosophy programs, which are currently spread across three locations. Planners say it will be the first net-zero emissions building within the University System of Maryland and the first in downtown Baltimore, with features such as geothermal wells, solar panels and a green roof.

The construction site is bounded by Saratoga Street on the north, Greene Street on the east, Lexington Street on the south and Pearl Street on the west. It’s currently an empty lot on the north end of the UMB campus on the west side of downtown, between Lexington Market and the old Metro West complex, part of which is being converted to a new home for the Maryland Department of Health. It’s within easy walking distance of the state’s subway and light rail line and several parking garages.

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