EASTON, Md. — Construction is moving forward on the new University of Maryland Shore Regional Medical Center in Easton, a project that will relocate the hospital from its longtime downtown location to a new site along Route 50.
Crews are currently in the construction phase, with support columns, steel framing, and concrete slabs going up as the building takes shape. Officials say the exterior “skin” of the hospital is expected to be completed by the end of this year, with interior work to follow
As the new hospital rises, community members like Dave Riordan of Easton, say the change is significant for the region.
“It really seems like a good thing for the community to get the hospital out of downtown,” Riordan said. “I'm just very happy that they're building something new again. Something more modern or something that's great.”
Sharon Stewart, also of Easton, echoed support for the new location.
“I think the location is, is superb where it, where it's going to be,” Stewart said. “So I think it will definitely, be great for the community.”
At the same time, Easton leaders are planning for what comes next at the current downtown hospital site once it is vacated.
The Town of Easton is hosting a week-long public design workshop to gather community input on how to redevelop the property, which officials like Miguel Salinas, Easton’s Director of Planning and Zoning, say has been a cornerstone of the community for more than a century.
“There is certainly a divergence of opinions,” Salinas told WBOC. “And so our challenge is how do we take all those different opinions and synthesize it into one or more development scenarios that the public can support?”
Salinas said one of the key challenges is rethinking how the large “superblock” site connects to the surrounding downtown and neighborhoods.
“We've heard a lot from the community about potentially breaking up some of that block and incorporating the street grid into it,” Salinas said.
The town is working with a consultant team to turn public input into potential redevelopment plans. Seth Harry of Seth Harry & Associates says residents are directly involved in the planning process through hands-on exercises.
“We do...facilitated, table exercises where the community residents actually mark up plans and discuss and talk about and document some of the things that they want to see happen with the redevelopment of the site,” Harry said.
Harry said the goal is to find areas of agreement across different ideas and concepts.
“We can basically discuss and critique each of the plans and look for opportunities of consensus or overlap in the ideas and concepts that are presented,” Harry said.
The design workshop continues through Thursday, when a final public presentation will be held. Construction on the new hospital is expected to be completed in spring 2028.
