Brightview Homeland Breaks Ground at NDMU, Marking Maryland First

When a yellow excavator tapped the former Knights of Columbus building on Homeland Avenue on Jan. 21, dust fell from the rafters and the roof came off in pieces. That demolition marked the physical start of Brightview Homeland, a roughly 170-unit senior living community being built on the campus of Notre Dame of Maryland University that will be the first of its kind to break ground on a college campus in Maryland.

The project, a partnership between NDMU and Brightview Senior Living, will occupy approximately 3.7 acres of campus land and offer independent living, assisted living and memory care. A Brightview spokesperson told McKnight's Senior Living the community is expected to open two years after construction begins, putting the projected opening at 2028. Brightview Development Director Austin Koo said the facility will operate around the clock and create more than 120 permanent jobs.

The site has a layered history. NDMU purchased the building on two acres along Homeland Avenue from the Knights of Columbus in 2017; the Knights had used it as a banquet hall since 1953, and before that it served as an elementary school. The university was using the property for overflow parking when Brightview approached it about a partnership. In August 2020, Brightview signed a long-term ground lease for the acreage from NDMU, setting the project on a formal path toward construction.

For Brightview, the development carries dual significance. It is the company's first community in Baltimore City, and CEO Doug Dollenberg Jr. noted it comes alongside another institutional shift. "We recently announced our home office move to Pratt Street in downtown Baltimore, and opening our first community in Baltimore City, in partnership with Notre Dame of Maryland University, is another significant step in our commitment to the city we call home," Dollenberg said. He added that residents will gain access to courses, cultural events and campus life: "We're building more than a senior living community; we're creating a place where learning and engagement continue at every stage of life."

NDMU President Marylou Yam, PhD, framed the groundbreaking as an extension of the university's core mission. "This moment represents far more than the start of construction. It reflects Notre Dame of Maryland University's mission to promote lifelong learning and build strong communities rooted in purpose, service, and engagement," she said. For residents with mobility limitations, Yam said programming will come to them within the community rather than requiring a walk across campus.

The academic integration runs in both directions. NDMU students in nursing, physician assistant programs, art therapy and occupational therapy will have access to internships and service-learning placements within the community. Brightview Homeland residents, in turn, will be able to participate in NDMU's Renaissance Institute, an on-campus program for adults 50 and older that the university has operated for more than 35 years, as well as attend university sports events and arts programming.

"Brightview Homeland will provide older adults with high-quality care and amenities while offering meaningful connections to a vibrant academic community," Koo said. "As we look ahead, we're excited to create more spaces where intergenerational living is not only encouraged but celebrated."

The Homeland Avenue corridor in North Baltimore is already home to one of the city's more established residential neighborhoods, and the project signals a new institutional layer taking shape on a campus that has operated in that community for well over a century.