BALTIMORE — The area around Remington Ave and Wyman Park Drive is abundant with trees.
WATCH: Johns Hopkins new AI institute sparks controversy with Remington neighbors
But neighbors, like Carl Devor, are worried that Johns Hopkins's new Data Science and AI Institute will change that.
"Hopkins is buying everything up, and prices are rising, and I think it's a terrible idea, and they want to destroy the nature that's been here for a long time," Devor said.
A Hopkins spokesperson says the university will plant 300 new trees to replace ones uprooted during construction of the institute.
The university will build two four-story buildings along Remington Ave and Wyman Park Drive.
Site mobilization for the project began early this year.
The institute itself will serve to aid students to understand and apply AI systems across multiple fields.
Officials say the construction will create 11,000 jobs and generate nearly $2 billion in economic activity.
But Carl just sees it as a power grab.
"They're just using their power to take control of the whole neighborhood, and it's probably gonna make things worse for the economy and price range for people living here."
But not all of his neighbors agree with him.
Kathleen Ambrose, who has lived in Remington for 25 years, is all for the project.
"We just like to see the development that's useful and blend in and I think what I've seen from the plans, it looks like it's going to be very nice with some green spaces, and we can still walk across campus, and there's security involved," Ambrose said.
She told WMAR 2 News that she's also not worried about construction noise, saying the area already gets loud as is.
But she does have some issues with the plan.
"They really haven't been that forthcoming. The plans they've shown only show one side where they plan to put a sky bridge."
A Hopkins spokesperson says they have made many changes in response to community input.
That includes JHU reducing the size of the DSAI facility by 30% to 476,572 square feet since its presentation to city officials in 2024.
The university also repositioned the DSAI's two buildings to provide a generous landscape buffer, including many new trees.
They sent WMAR 2 News a statement saying,
“Johns Hopkins is committed to being a good neighbor as it develops the Data Science and AI Institute, a project that will generate nearly $2 billion in economic activity and nearly 11,000 jobs throughout the Baltimore region during its construction phase through 2029, in addition to spurring world-leading advances in health care, medicine, engineering, and public health.
“We take community concerns very seriously. Johns Hopkins has held 14 community meetings over the past two years, and we have worked hard to respond to the community in the shaping of the project and will continue working to address any concerns from neighbors as construction proceeds.”
The spokesperson added that the university has engaged outside experts to advise on protecting Stony Run Creek and the nearby forest and wildlife. This will include continuous water quality monitoring of Stony Run Creek and regular site inspections during construction.
Head here to learn more about the project or to share your concerns.
The building is expected to be completed by 2029.
