Public Recreation, Aquatic Center To Be Built In Downtown Silver Spring

SILVER SPRING, MD — A new 120,000-square-foot recreation and aquatic center is being planned in the area bordered by Fenwick Lane, Second Avenue, Apple Avenue and the Metro right-of-way in downtown Silver Spring, Source of the Spring reports.

The building — dubbed Elizabeth Square — will consist of three buildings with offices, recreational facilities, retail, residential units including senior and affordable housing and more.

“It’s a significant regional facility, not just for the local neighborhood like some of our other community and neighborhood centers,” said Greg Ossont, deputy director of the Department of General Services, at a Silver Spring Urban District Advisory Board meeting earlier this month.

Silver Spring recently approved a supplemental appropriation of $3.8 million to fund the initial design phase of Elizabeth Square. Officials estimate that the project will cost around $40 million in total.

Read the full Source of the Spring article here.

According to the Lee Development Group, current plans call for space to include: a fitness area with exercise rooms, a café, activity and meeting rooms, a social hall with a teaching kitchen, a community garden, picnic/seating areas, a gymnasium with a high-school size basketball court and an 11-lane competition pool with a therapy pool, a leisure pool, sauna and spas.

A representative from the Lee Development Group told Bethesda Magazine that construction is expected to start in mid-2017 and will be completed by mid-2019.

Photo: Lee Development Group