Developer plans 47 senior homes at shuttered Harford Memorial Hospital

HARFORD COUNTY, Md. — Trademark Homes has announced plans to build 47 senior homes on the site of the shuttered Harford Memorial Hospital in Havre de Grace. The homes are designed to allow people to age in place without institutional-looking amenities, and more than 450 people have already signed up in hopes of purchasing one.

The hospital shut down a few years ago, leaving many residents who shared its past uneasy about their future. Various developers eyed the site and its surrounding properties for potential projects before Trademark Homes stepped in with plans for senior housing.

Clark Turner, a developer and builder behind the project, said the development is designed to fit the character of the surrounding neighborhood.

"Listen. As a lifelong Havre de Grace resident, I want to make sure that what we leave behind here is something that's compatible with the neighborhoods. Everything in here is historic homes. We're taking it back to that," Turner said.

Turner also addressed the cost challenges that shaped the project's approach.

"The cost of doing this demolition is so expensive, you really need to do high-rise and that's what other people tried to do. We're trying to do what's good for the community here and meet the seniors needs. Havre de Grace has a disproportionate number of senior populations over the nation and there's been overwhelming support for this," Turner said.

As the century-old building comes down piece by piece, some residents who shared its history are watching it disappear. Sharon Nichols, who was born at the hospital and later worked there as a nurse, said the memories remain.

"I was born there in 1951. My brother was born there in 1953. Yes, that hospital has been around here a long time. I went to nursing school and started out as a graduate nurse there," Nichols said.

Bruce Lyon, who grew up two blocks from the hospital and was born two blocks away, said losing the nearby emergency room has affected him personally.

"It's just a shame. I grew up two blocks up and I was born here two blocks down and now, at my age, I don't have an emergency room to go to anymore. So that kind of gets you right at the heart," Lyon said.

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