Be Part of the Conversation
The Battle of Crystal Spring is over and we won! After 15 years of efforts, we succeeded in limiting development of the 176-acre site to the National Lutheran continuing care retirement center that has been clustered close to Forest Drive. Our demands for eliminating all retail outlets, a hotel and shopping center, and non-senior housing were met.
This was accomplished with the cooperation of National Lutheran, the City, and the owner of the property. All of our demands for stormwater management, forest conservation, traffic improvements, and elimination of future developments were met.
Construction of the Continuing Care Retirement Community at Crystal Spring, known as The Village at Providence Point, is underway and will serve as a model in sustainable development. Phase I will consist of 30 cottages, 216 apartments, and 32 health care suites with dining facilities, a pool, spa, gym, and meeting rooms in the apartment complex. The forest that has been cleared will be replanted so that there will be 124 acres of forest in perpetuity, the same acreage currently on the site.
Here is a conceptual picture of Phase I of the senior living facility when completed:
Construction of TVPP began in November 2025 with occupancy targeted for March 2028. The cost of acquisition of the 51 acres and construction is $289 million. TVPP will pay at least $1.5 million in property taxes. Already, 329 seniors await occupancy, depositing $17.7 million for all 30 cottages and 180 of the 216 apartments. Fifty-six percent of depositors are from Annapolis or within 10 miles of the project, and 73% are from Maryland.
The construction has disturbed 30 acres, less than 17% of the site, with 97 acres of extant forest remaining untouched. Phase II will not begin until full occupancy of Phase I and will consist of a single apartment building of 56 apartments and another 16 health care units.
We, Concerned Citizens for Proper Land Use Inc. (CCPLU), have achieved a remarkable partnership with NLCS/TVPP. This ensures that stormwater and sediment control measures have been fully implemented and will be maintained to guarantee state-of-the-art protections for water quality during the lengthy construction period. NLCS/TVPP and we at CCPLU have contracted with MK Consulting Engineers and a senior engineer, Dan O’Leary, to serve as an Independent Environmental Monitor with full access to the site and the construction manager. Acting as our onsite compliance monitor, Dan has been making regular site visits to ensure full compliance with all environmental conditions during construction. Dan is an expert engineer on stormwater and sediment control in construction projects with 41 years of experience. During an April 16 site inspection which I attended, Dan and a forestry expert from his firm joined a construction manager to inspect the site. No discrepancies were found. The independent monitor is in addition to City inspection and enforcement. Dan, the City, and construction managers are working collegially to ensure full compliance with the many environmental measures required.
Traffic Improvements
Since The Village at Providence Point will consist exclusively of a senior-only living facility
with no retail, traffic will be minimized. National Lutheran is making significant intersection and
road improvements that actually may improve traffic flows:
- Only 19 additional AM peak vehicular trips and 33 PM will be generated.
- A new left turn lane will be installed on Spa Road at Forest Drive and there will be traffic light synchronization.
- National Lutheran paid $181,000 toward the cost of right of way acquisition for a long-planned connector road paralleling Forest Drive extending Skipper Lane from Spa Road at TVPP to the CVS and Safeway. The extension has already been built from the Safeway to behind the Willows to the TVPP property on the west side and construction is underway for the connection to Spa Road. This will reduce Forest Drive traffic.
Forest Conservation and Stormwater Management
The development’s footprint has been greatly reduced, protecting forest and reducing stormwater, and unprecedented forest conservation and stormwater management practices required:
- There will be 302 housing units for seniors, and 48 health care units will be built closest to Forest Drive. Impervious surfaces are limited to 16.28 acres, never to be exceeded.
- There will be a 200-foot forested buffer around Forest Drive and 27 acres of forest cleared will be reforested on site so that 124 currently forested acres will be protected forever.
- Stormwater management will handle a 25-year storm event so that there will be no increase in the rate, volume, or pollutant loads. Stormwater flows will not exceed that from a forest in good condition. Click here for our stormwater expert’s comments on the plans.
- There will be 79 rain gardens, more than an acre of green roofs, and a grossly polluted stream channel running under Spa Road that drains into Crab Creek will be restored at a cost of $500,000. 364 of the 475 parking spaces are underground or under buildings with another 28 spaces using porous surfaces.
- 100% compliance with all environmental requirements for stormwater, sediment control, and forest conservation is guaranteed during construction.
Future Development Extinguished
We have ensured that there can be no future development of the 176-acre site beyond the senior living facility with only a few exceptions for equestrian-related structures:
- All land outside the development footprint will be protected in perpetuity except as noted above.
- The conservation easement is held and enforced by the Scenic Rivers Land Trust. See both the easement and deed restriction documents by clicking “Learn More” below.