HAGERSTOWN – Hagerstown Mayor Bill McIntire clarified growing rumors about the city’s plans for its gifted Citicorp building in an interview with News Talk at 1037 FM.
McIntire explained that the plan to turn the nearly 68-acre property into a crisis center is “still in the infant stage” of development despite public speculation. “[Citicorp] reached out to the city and asked if we would be interested in starting something like this,” McIntire explained. “It is very much still in the infant stage – we don’t even have funding.”
Antrim Township Manager Chris Ardinger, who later joined the conversation at News Talk, explained that Hagerstown’s privacy about the CitiCorp renovation is a potential red flag. Despite the building’s location near State Line, Pennsylvania – around eight miles from the center of Hagerstown – Washington County is seemingly ignoring the residents who will be at the mercy of its newest endeavor.
“I think a lot of this does go back to just communication,” Ardinger said. “Back in August, we had reached out to the city and simply said ‘We’d like to sit down and discuss [CitiCorp].’ Today’s Oct. 8th, and we still have not heard anything.”
McIntire reiterated that Hagerstown is “nowhere close” to finalizing a plan for the complex. Stakeholder meetings continue to take place privately and will expand in scope as the plans for the building develop.
“We have identified three or four new stakeholders,” McIntire said. “We’re trying to get our footing with one another [now]. We want the public involved, but right now we feel if we do that if may suppress ideas.”
Ardinger posited that Hagerstown’s neighbors, especially Antrim Township, are key stakeholders and should be included in the conversation. “The city of Hagerstown is eight miles away; we’re right there.”
The initial idea to develop a crisis center report released by Antrim Township on Oct. 5 drew public attention to conversation about the complex and included verbiage that led many citizens to jump to conclusions, McIntire said. The report outlined concerns about resource and safety burdens placed on northern neighbors, even referencing a 2007 case where an Antrim Township resident was murdered by a town passerby.
Talks of revamping the empty building into a 24/7 crisis center first came up in a Hagerstown Council work session in early April this year. Although some embraced the city’s idea and its potential to alleviate homelessness in Washington County, many expressed concern with the building’s proximity to State Line.
“When CitiCorp was there, our fire personnel have told me many times the amount of calls they got,” Ardinger said. Before the building sat desolate, it housed thousands of workers at a financial services institute. “They were used to going to CitiCorp back in the day. When you have a facility like this with folks that have homeless needs, that have mental health needs, that have addictions, […] our folks are gonna have to respond to that, and Antrim Township ultimately foots the bill.”
Antrim Township has a small volunteer fire department, and neither State Line nor Antrim Township have their own police departments. Opening a crisis center so far from Hagerstown’s resources could potentially cause northern municipalities to exhaust their limited resources on one huge complex rather than preserving it for their local residents. Ardinger alleged that, in addition to the hypothetical resources the township might provide for the center in the future, Washington County has already requested that the township supply water to the region where the facility is to be located.
McIntire proposed the building as a way to ease Hagerstown’s homeless population, but he explained that the CitiGroup building will ease the burden for individuals and families from around the state and beyond.
“You gotta remember that this affects more than just city residents as well,” McIntire said.
The mayor insisted that the facility will do unadulterated good for unhoused people in neighboring counties while still being operated by resources based in Washington County.
“It’s still Washington County, so Washington County is still gonna have to respond to that,” he explained.
Ardinger remains concerned about the potential resource burdens to State Line but assured concerned residents that a comfortable resolution is on its way; “We have a great partnership with Washington County, and we always have, so we’re working through that.”
