ZGF planned the site layout with a respect for the neighborhood residents on the north across West Fayette Street. Planning of the site was a collaborative process involving input from stakeholders and the local community. Site circulation is designed to promote connections across MLK Boulevard to strengthen the connection with the University of Maryland and the neighborhood.

4MLK’s ground floor development includes Innovation Hall, a porous lobby that will foster connections between tenants, researchers at UMB and UMMC, and the public. The site’s ground-level uses have been defined to establish an inclusive environment for workers, students, neighbors, and visitors. These uses include a new café, open seating, and fast public WiFi.

Across its six floors, 4MLK's vertical stacking creates a clear continuum from the most public, community-facing spaces at the ground plane to increasingly specialized medical education and research environments above. Open seating and public-facing spaces anchor the entry level, giving way to co-working labs, teaching spaces, and support zones. The spaces on the upper floors are carefully planned to bring an abundance of daylight in wherever possible. 

Throughout the design process, ZGF worked closely with Wexford to ensure that the design strategies can maintain a safe place where people want to be—an environment that is inclusive, extroverted in its openness to the neighborhood, and physically and socially accessible.