Construction Projects

In a move that veteran Annapolis reporter Tom Stuckey said might cause more outrage than any legislative proposal he's made this year, Maryland Gov. Parris Glendening announced the day before the opening of General Assembly 2000 that he'd like extend the prevailing wage law to most of the state's school-construction projects. "This is just crazy," Maryland House Minority Leader Robert Kittleman told The Associated Press. And after the governor said that prevailing wage laws don't drive up the cost of construction, Martin Madden, the Maryland Senate's minority leader, called that statement a "patent lie. " So what is this prevailing wage law, and why is everybody so hot about it?

Maryland Gov. Parris Glendening's proposed $1.26 billion construction budget includes $697,000 to design the University System of Maryland's Hagerstown Education Center. "It's a good first step," said Sen. Donald F. Munson, R-Washington. "I still disagree with the location, but the planning money and the opportunity to do it right is important. " The center is to open in the Baldwin House complex in downtown Hagerstown in 2003. Glendening chose the site in November, over the objections of university and local elected officials who preferred sites near Hagerstown Community College and off Interstate 70. In future years, the state plans to spend $10.5 million on construction and $1.2 million on equipment.

Demolition at the site of a planned Walgreens pharmacy store began last week near the intersection of Halfway Boulevard and Virginia Avenue in Halfway. A building permit, site plan and zoning certification for the 10,873-square-foot store with a single-lane drive-through pharmacy window were approved for the property at 17703 Virginia Ave. earlier this month, Washington County spokeswoman Sarah Lankford Sprecher confirmed in an email. The store, which will be the first in the Hagerstown area, is expected to open next spring, a Walgreens official said Friday.

Wilson Boulevard and Maryland Avenue Work crews are upgrading the storm drain system at the intersection of West Wilson Boulevard and Maryland Avenue, according to a City of Hagerstown press release. Crews will relocate existing gas lines and water lines to allow installation of the storm drain lines. The work area for this phase will be the center of Wilson Boulevard between the ends of the medians across Maryland Avenue. Relocation of the water lines and gas lines is expected to continue until about Aug. 19, followed by two to three weeks of installation of the remaining storm drain lines, according to the release.

BOONSBORO - The ongoing construction of a wastewater treatment plant on Monroe Road is among the Town of Boonsboro's top priorities in 2008. Town Manager Debra Smith said the $11.8 million project began in November and has to be completed by the end of 2009 to satisfy mandates from the Maryland Department of the Environment. The new facility is being built in the same spot as the town's existing plant. Federal funding will pay about $7.2 million of the project's cost, Smith said.

WASHINGTON COUNTY - Fifteen road construction projects totaling nearly $65 million are under way or will be started in the next few months in Washington County. Funding methods vary depending on the project. Most of the projects are jointly funded by the City of Hagerstown and Washington County, while several others will receive funding from the Maryland State Highway Administration. The most expensive project, which involves realigning U.S. 11 and Air View Road to accommodate the runway extension at Hagerstown Regional Airport, has a price tag of about $18.5 million.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - The West Virginia Health Care Authority has approved two certificate of need (CON) applications filed by West Virginia University Hospitals-East earlier this year, according to a news released issued Wednesday. One is a $41 million request to complete several health-care construction projects in the Eastern Panhandle and the other a $2.9 million request to establish a cardiac catheterization lab at City Hospital in Martinsburg. According to WVUH-East President and CEO Roger Eitelman, a decision on the applications was expected in mid-December.

HAGERSTOWN - Before Washington County Public Schools can move forward with several new building projects, it must acquire land. Assistant Superintendent for School Operations Boyd Michael said officials need to know now where a potential new high school in the eastern part Hagerstown would be built. According to a draft of the state capital improvement plan discussed Tuesday, that high school would open in 2012. Local planning funds have been requested for fiscal year 2009, but Michael said a site still needs to be determined.

HAGERSTOWN -- A multimillion dollar construction project in the first block of South Potomac Street in downtown Hagerstown should be completed by mid-June, said Irv Gish, director of special development for the Bowman Development Corp. The construction project is situated between Duffy's on Potomac and the Schmankerl Stube Bavarian Restaurant. Gish said the construction, which is being funded privately, was put on hold over the winter, but work recently picked back up. The project includes the renovation of three adjacent properties - the Walker House, the Tri-State Electric building and the site of the former Double T Lounge.

HAGERSTOWN The Rev. James O. Murr Jr. arrived at Concordia Lutheran Church about two years ago, smack dab in the middle of a dream - someone else's. But that dream, or at least Phase I of it, quickly became his dream, too, and now the expansive new classroom areas, administrative offices and a narthax addition nearly are ready for occupancy. A dedication ceremony is planned for July 16, and an open house is set for sometime in September, Murr said. "The architectural plans had already been drawn when I was new here," Murr said.