Project UpdatesSouthern Regional Tech/Rec ComplexGroundbreaking ceremonies for the new Southern Region Technology and Sports Complex were held in December 2009. The facility will be located on a 15-acre piece of property and the project involves the design and construction of a 32,000-square-foot facility consisting of two high school size gymnasiums with an elevated walking track, a fitness center, an aerobics area, a computer room, an environmental science learning room, a media room, a multipurpose room, meeting rooms, and an internet café. The building design is registered with the USGBC and is designated to meet a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver rating, which includes a green roof above the facility entrance. For more information about the facility call Southern Area Operations Division at 301-203-6000, TTY 301-203-6030. Anacostia River Park TrailsTrail enthusiasts will be excited by the design and construction of two related trails linking Prince George's County to Washington, DC. A 1.5-mile section of the trail will link the Bladensburg Waterfront Park to the Kenilworth Aquatics Gardens and eventually to the National Mall. A second .90-mile section of the Anacostia River Trail will link to the West Hyattsville and Fort Totten Metro stations and connect to the Metropolitan Branch Trail in Washington, DC. Design of the Prince George's County trail sections have begun. The new trails are being funded in part by the State of Maryland.Fairwood Community Park
Fort Washington Forest Community CenterThe Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) is coordinating the final construction phase for the new Fort Washington Forest Community Center, a 22,300-square-foot facility located on Fillmore Road in Fort Washington, Maryland. The new community center is adjacent to the Fort Washington Forest Elementary School and will share a gymnasium with the school. The community center also will include a multipurpose room, fitness and game rooms, computer lab, and space for arts and crafts classes. When the new community center opens, it will be one of 43 community centers operated by the Department of Parks and Recreation throughout Prince George’s County.The Fort Washington Forest Community Center has been delayed by ongoing construction-related disputes. Although M-NCPPC is aggressively resolving the disputes, at this time it cannot predict an opening date for the community center. After the disputes are resolved, M-NCPPC will provide an anticipated opening date for the community center. Glenarden Community Center/Theresa Banks Aquatics CenterThis complex is closed for renovations and improvements, with a projected reopening date in 2010. During the interim, a wing of the current center will be demolished and a new, larger gymnasium will be added. The existing gym footprint will be redesigned to include spaces typically found today in a staffed Community Center. While the community center and aquatics center are closed, all classes will be relocated to other facilities. Please contact the center directly, or the Central Area Office at 301-218-6700 if you have any questions.When the complex reopens, the community will have:
In addition to a fabulous new community center and improved aquatics center, additional outdoor work is scheduled to begin after the complex has re-opened. The ball field will be upgraded and a new lighting system installed. Existing play equipment will be replaced with an equivalent play environment of innovative, creative and fun play structures.
North Forestville Community CenterM-NCPPC is completing the final construction phase for the new gymnasium addition at the North Forestville Neighborhood Park/School. This new facility is a 13,000-square-foot expansion of the existing North Forestville Elementary School located at 2311 Ritchie Road in Forestville, Maryland. The new facility will be comprised of a gymnasium, which will be shared with the School, multi-purpose meeting space, a new entry lobby, a mezzanine, rest rooms, staff office space, and storage. Ridgeley Rosenwald SchoolThe historic Ridgeley Rosenwald School, located at 8507 Central Avenue in Capitol Heights, Maryland, is one of Prince George’s County’s designated historic sites, and is recognized as an important landmark in the movement to educate African American children. This school is a legacy of the Rosenwald School Building Program. Julius Rosenwald, former president of Sears Roebuck, established and funded this philanthropic program that worked cooperatively with African American communities to build schools in poor, rural African American school districts in fifteen southern states in the early twentieth century. Grant monies from the Rosenwald Fund were matched by donations of land and labor from the local communities, resulting in a total of 4,799 schools built by and for African Americans. This single story, hip-roofed, wood-shingled Ridgeley Rosenwald School was constructed in 1927 on two acres of land sold to the Prince George’s County Board of Education (BOE) by an African American woman named Mary Eliza Ridgley. The Ridgeley Rosenwald School was utilized as an elementary school until desegregation. It was then used as a storage facility and as a special education center until 1957. A multi-agency project team has been planning for the rehabilitation of Ridgeley School since 2004. The rehabilitation of this historic facility is now under way and is scheduled to be completed by December 2010. The goal of this project is to rehabilitate the Ridgeley Rosenwald School from a state of disrepair, and through adaptive reuse, transform it into a vibrant educational facility that will serve as a new heritage museum and meeting place for the community. This project involves stabilizing the original school building structure and restoring the historic architectural exterior and interior features to recreate a typical historic classroom setting, while providing spaces for community educational exhibits, events, and meetings. This project also includes new landscaping, historical markers, signage, parking, and other site improvements. Upon completion of its restoration, the Ridgeley Rosenwald School will be open on a regular basis and will provide programs to educate the public. A portion of the building will be interpreted much as it was when the school was in operation, with historic memorabilia and collections representative of the school’s fascinating history. Other areas of the building will be available for meetings and scheduled public use and programming. Anyone willing to share information, photographs or collections about the Ridgeley Rosenwald School should contact the Black History Program at 240-264-3415. |
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