A major remodel of Maryland’s Motor Vehicles Administration facility in Glen Burnie will include $12 million worth of renovations — and the removal of some ancient escalators.
As part of the revamp, which got underway Monday, crews were starting to remove the building’s original escalators — dating to 1961 — and believed to be among the last of their kind remaining in any state-owned building, according to an MVA release.
Officials say the 18-month renovation to Maryland’s largest MVA branch, which opened in the early 1960s, will result in a facility that will provide a one-stop shop for other state services and “won’t look like your parents’ MVA” — but they are promising a limited impact on customers.
The branch will remain open to customers throughout the remodel, and all work will be done after normal business hours, the MVA said in a news release. The Glen Burnie branch sees more than 390,000 visitors each year, the state administration said.
“Our Glen Burnie branch is one of the busiest state buildings offering government services,” said MVA Administrator Chrissy Nizer in a statement. “We want to assure the public that our goal is to minimize disruptions while maintaining our usual high standards.”
The new escalators are expected to be installed by the end of the year and will feature additional security measures.
As for where the old escalators are set to go, an MVA spokesman said that’s up to the contractor working on the project.
MVA reached out to the Baltimore Museum of Industry to see if there would be any interest in taking the relics, but an MVA spokesman said the agency was told they did not fit in their collection guidelines.
The second phase of the renovation includes the removal of the well-known stoplight display in the facility’s former cafe, which hasn’t reopened since the pandemic. The space is now being renovated to use for customer service and the use of the stoplight display in the renovations hasn’t yet been determined, the MVA spokesman told WTOP.
Amid all the changes, the spokesman told WTOP there are no plans to remove the giant crash-test dummy out front, however.
As part of the second phase, crews will install new offices for the U.S. Transportation Security Administration and the Maryland Department of Veterans Affairs.
Other improvements include an upgraded fire protection system, an HVAC replacement, and plumbing and electrical system upgrades.
