Baltimore City Public Schools is pouring millions of dollars into retrofitting the University of Baltimore's Academic Center so it can temporarily house Baltimore City College students for three years, even though the university plans to tear the building down afterward. The three-year lease and upgrade package has sparked sharp questions from elected officials and community members about whether this is really the best way to spend limited taxpayer cash.
Board Approved Temporary Move
In May 2024, the Baltimore City Board of School Commissioners signed off on a plan to relocate City College to the University of Baltimore while the high school’s century-old campus undergoes renovation, with an initial conversion budget of about $9.8 million. As reported by Baltimore Fishbowl, the lease runs from August 2025 through August 2028 and carries a symbolic annual rent of $1. The renovation work is meant to create 30 classrooms, labs, and a cafeteria so the Academic Center can function as a fully equipped high school campus.
Rising Price Tag And Local Backlash
Baltimore City Public Schools told Spotlight on Maryland that total spending tied to the UB relocation is now expected to reach about $11.17 million, with roughly $7.14 million listed as hard construction costs. Spotlight on Maryland (FOX45) reports the renovations include a new cafeteria, 30 renovated classrooms, a new security system, and 14 hall monitors. City Council member James Torrence and school-board candidate Brian Robertson have criticized that spending as wasteful, arguing that the district is investing heavily in a building that already has a demolition date on the horizon.
UB's Master Plan And Deferred Maintenance
University officials say the Academic Center is one of the campus’ biggest money pits. The University of Baltimore’s Facilities Master Plan shows the building accounts for roughly 43% of UBalt's deferred maintenance and recommends replacing it instead of continuing to patch it up. The plan, which appears in state capital planning materials, calls for design work to begin in 2028 and anticipates demolition and new construction stretching into the early 2030s, according to the University of Baltimore Facilities Master Plan and the state's capital budget documents.
Why Thurgood Marshall Wasn't Chosen
City Schools officials say the former Thurgood Marshall Middle School was considered but ultimately rejected as swing space because it would have required about $11.5 million in upgrades and was on track to be surplused to the city, making it a less practical long-term option. Community members and some commissioners raised equity concerns about pouring extra resources into a single temporary site while many other city schools wait for basic repairs, as detailed by The Baltimore Banner and earlier reporting in Baltimore Fishbowl.
City College students are expected to begin classes on UB's campus in the fall of 2025 and return to their renovated building when work wraps up at the end of the three-year lease in August 2028. The district says it will continue to monitor project costs while UB finalizes plans for the Academic Center replacement, according to reporting from WMAR-2 News.
