Johns Hopkins University is tearing down two buildings that have long been targeted for demolition, Dell House at 2850 N. Charles St. and the former Homewood Early Learning Center at 200 Wyman Park Drive.
A contractor has begun asbestos removal at Dell House, a 16-story, 47-unit apartment building that has been vacant for years and has giant white letters on its south wall that spell I S P Y.
According to signs posted on the building, asbestos removal work was permitted to start on Oct. 19 and is expected to be completed by Feb. 28, 2027. Asbestos Specialist Inc. of Linthicum Heights is the contractor. A crew was working at the property over the weekend.
Asbestos removal is a precursor to actual demolition of the building, which is located at the southwest corner of Charles and 29th streets. It was constructed as rental apartments starting in 1962 by developer Henry Knott, purchased by Sheppard Pratt for a project that never moved ahead, and then acquired by Hopkins for use as student housing and temporary academic offices. It has sometimes been used as “swing space” while other campus buildings, such as Gilman Hall, are undergoing renovation.
The architect was Jewell & Wold. The owner is Sheppard Pratt Seton Properties LLC, a Hopkins affiliate with a mailing address of 3910 Keswick Road, where Hopkins’ Office of University Facilities and Real Estate is located.
According to state land records, the building occupies three quarters of an acre and has an assessed value of $4,451,567 as of July 1 but is tax exempt. Baltimore’s Planning Commission approved the demolition plan this month.
As presented to the Charles Village Civic Association, Hopkins’ plan calls for demolition work on the Dell House to begin once the asbestos removal phase is complete. Demolition is expected to be complete in the spring of 2027.
As part of the work, Hopkins has fenced off a green space that was created after Hopkins tore down seven rowhouses at 5 to 19 W. 29th Street in 2022. The green space will be used in the short term as a staging area for the Dell House demolition work.
Hopkins officials have not disclosed a specific plan for reusing the Dell House property, but they have indicated it could someday be developed to meet a future university need — which is also what they’ve said about the green space that replaced the 29th Street row houses. A 2008 campus master plan shows the Dell House removed and replaced with a generic “proposed building.”
Homewood Early Learning Center
Demolition of the one-story former Homewood Early Learning Center began this month, after the childcare facility moved to a new location at 115 W. University Parkway.
The Homewood Early Learning Center was moved to University Parkway as part of a plan by Hopkins to free up land north of Wyman Park Drive and east of Remington Avenue for construction of a two-building home for Hopkins’ Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (DSAI) Institute.
Construction has begun on the site of the first DSAI building, south of Wyman Park Drive and east of Remington Avenue. The former Homewood Early Learning Center property will be the site of the second DSAI building. Hopkins is aiming to complete both buildings in 2029.
A sign on the former Homewood Early Learning Center property says demolition work was allowed to begin on Oct. 23. Much of the building’s north side has already come down.
Living at the Broadview some of the students have no respect for other residents here so best they find housing for these students that are self entitled.