The demolition of 4825 Glenbrook Road is scheduled to begin by mid-November after seven months of delay, according to the Army Corps of Engineers. The AU-owned house rests on a formerly used WWI defense site.
No exact date is set for the demolition, according to Baltimore Army Corps of Engineers spokesperson Andrea Takash.
The Corps previously announced construction was set to begin last May, The Eagle previously reported. However, conflicts between the Corps and AU delayed the implementation.
Located next to President Neil Kerwin’s home, the site sits behind Southside near the Kreeger and Watkins buildings. Construction workers discovered chemical munitions in the area in 1993. More recently, the Army Corps detected high levels of arsenic and other chemicals.
The Glenbrook house has been the site of two Corps investigations, including one from 2000 until 2002. The second investigation, in 2007, was stopped in April 2010 after the Corps discovered three jars of arsenic trichloride, a dangerous chemical which irritates the eyes and lungs. One of the jars was leaking hydrochloride gas.
The Corps will work to find more arsenic trichloride and chemical munitions. However, Corps spokesperson Carrie Johnston said the organization does not expect to find any more munitions despite previous discoveries. These munitions are filled with arsine gas, which can damage red blood cells when inhaled.
“We do not feel that any [arsine] munitions will be discovered,” Johnson said. “If they were to be discovered as part of this work, we would stop work, we would convene our project delivery team and assess how we would move forward in regards to that.”
One guard will keep watch around the house during non-construction hours from 5 p.m. until 6 a.m., Johnston said.
More information will be provided at the next Restoration Advisory Board meeting at 7 p.m. at the St. David’s Episcopal Church located at 5150 Macomb St. NW.
lgiangreco@theeagleonline.com
