Excitement and cheers rang through the front lobby of the new Silver Spring Recreation and Aquatic Center on Saturday as the facility finally opened to the public nearly five years after construction on the 120,000-square-foot building began.
“I have not been this excited since the Washington Nationals won the World Series,” County Councilmember Gabe Albornoz told an eager crowd during the morning’s grand opening ceremony at the center at 1315 Apple Ave. in downtown Silver Spring.
Hundreds attended the grand opening, checking out the $72 million center’s many features including three pools, dance and movement rooms, a gymnasium, a senior lounge, exercise and art rooms, a play space for children, and the Montgomery County Sports Hall of Fame.
“I think it’s just really great for families and it’s nice to see, you know, our tax dollars at work,” said Takoma Park resident Adam Gabor, who attended the opening with his wife, Helena, and two young children. “It brings a sense of pride. I think people feel a little jaded these days about government and what they’re not doing, and I think it’s wonderful to see a really beautiful facility that’s finally emerged.”
Now that the facility is open, county residents can enjoy a variety of free programming from Montgomery County Recreation such as dance, fitness, art and cooking classes and clubs; recreational sports; teen and senior activities; water aerobics; and Zumba, yoga and Tai Chi classes among other activities. In the gymnasium, visitors can play pickleball, basketball, volleyball, badminton and futsal.
Attached to the facility is The Leggett, a new 15-story apartment building catering to people ages 62 and older by the county’s Housing Opportunities Commission. The 267-unit affordable building is dedicated to former County Executive Isiah “Ike” Leggett, who served three terms and was the first African American to be elected to that office. Residents will have access to the new state-of-the-art center as well as a Holy Cross Hospital office with physical therapy services and a senior center.
County Executive Marc Elrich told MoCo360 that he is excited about the environmental features of the complex such as a green roof, triple-glazed windows to help reduce energy consumption, power-reducing technology and stormwater runoff retainers. The center has earned a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.
“It’s not just a rec facility, but it adds access to meeting rooms and meeting rooms are in short supply in a lot of communities,” Elrich said. “A lot of have people said, ‘We don’t have any place to meet!’ This should add to the number of spaces we have for people to come in and meet. So I think this can make people happy, address a lot of the frustrations that have existed–and it’s pretty cool–looking, too.”
Along with Elrich and Albornoz, U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Dist. 8), Council President Andrew Friedson (D-Dist. 1) and Vice President Kate Stewart (D-Dist. 4), state Sen. Will Smith (D-Dist. 20), and Dels. Lorig Charkoudian (D-Dist. 20), David Moon (D-Dist. 20) and Jheanelle Wilkins (D-Dist. 20) attended the grand opening.
Friedson called the new center the “crown jewel” of the county’s recreation department.
For some visitors, the facility symbolizes a new chapter in community building after the COVID-19 pandemic altered how communities gathered and created isolation for many.
“When I saw just the sketches [of the facility] and what was going to be here, I thought, ‘wow, this is going to be something really special,” Helena Gabor said. “Both our kids love water and just looking for something within the community that we can go to for fitness, for fun – especially after COVID, just to have a place where people can gather – it’s really amazing.”
Darius Gichuru, a University of Maryland student and lifeguard at the facility, said he saw many smiles on visitors throughout the day and sensed county residents’ eagerness to try out the swimming pools, which open at 9 a.m. Sunday.
There are three pools in the aquatics complex: a competition pool with swimming lanes and diving boards; a three-lane lap pool; and a leisure pool with dumping buckets and mini slides for children, as well as a hot tub.
Gichuru described the competition pool as “pretty awesome” and said he was excited for kids to enjoy the leisure pool.
Jeri Ingram, a former professional tennis player who was inducted into the Montgomery County Sports Hall of Fame in 2020, attended the grand opening with her two daughters to check out the Hall of Fame and explore the center. The Hall of Fame features plaques commemorating Montgomery County’s top athletes and coaches and is located on the second floor of the building next to the gymnasium.
“It’s eye-opening the swimming culture that they are creating here,” said Ingram, who holds the distinction of being the first undefeated tennis athlete in the history of Silver Spring’s Springbrook High School. “It’s walking distance from the Metro, so everyone can get here. And it is creating jobs, I love it,” she said.
The new center will be open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
While many programs at the center will be free to residents, fees will be charged for some classes and programs and access to the pool requires paid admission or membership. County residents can sign up for a free RecFit pass for access to the fitness room, open gym/drop-in activities and the game room.