Moving Washington Co. Board of Education offices to downtown Hagerstown is feasible, study finds

Recommended sites
A task force established by the Greater Hagerstown Committee listed the following four sites as having the “best potential” for the relocation of the Washington County Board of Education central offices into downtown Hagerstown, and the advantages of each site:


 Site L*: A combination of the property at 103 S. Potomac St., plus the property at 105-109 S. Potomac St. and 25-37 W. Antietam St.
• Proximity to location designated for new parking deck by recent city parking study (approximately 325 feet), new regional library parking area (approximately 400 feet), and the Arts & Entertainment parking deck (approximately 350 feet)
• Large lot size could support adjacent surface parking for visitors and VIPs
• Dramatic improvement to block by removing blighted buildings
• Would allow for widening of Antietam Street, improving aesthetics and traffic flow

Site F/G*: A combination of the properties at 59 W. Washington St., and 43-53 W. Washington St.
• Adjacent to location designated for new parking deck by recent city parking study
• Proximity to Barbara Ingram School for the Arts (approximately 100 feet)
• Across the street from University System of Maryland at Hagerstown
• Potential favorable availability of property acquisition although a recent change in ownership may impact the availability of 59 W. Washington St. property
• Depending on design, space could be allocated for a pedestrian friendly walkway from West Washington Street south to Antietam Street
• The proposed new parking deck could be directly connected to the facility

Site A: The lots at 32 and 44 E. Washington St.
• Limited to three owners: Two private LLC’s and the city
• Adjacent to city’s Central Lot for surface parking
• Proximity to North Potomac Street parking deck (approximately 400 feet)

Site J: The south side of East Washington Street, including 25-45 E. Washington St.
• Proximity to existing Arts & Entertainment parking deck (approximately 250 feet)
• Proximity to city’s Central Lot for surface parking (approximately 250 feet)
• Proximity to North Potomac Street parking deck (approximately 600 feet)
• Potentially challenging property acquisition for eastern portion of site due to prices paid for property at height of market

* Denotes the two sites viewed as optimal locations for new BOE central offices
Source: Greater Hagerstown Committee study, “Relocation of Washington County Public School’s Central Office operations to downtown Hagerstown”