Germantown residents met outside the Plum Gar Community Center Saturday to celebrate the groundbreaking of an $8.2 million renovation that will nearly double the size of the center by 2013.
Plum Gar, which has remained relatively unchanged since the Montgomery County Department of Recreation acquired the site in 1986, has long been in need of an overhaul, said Joe Nelson, a Germantown resident and recreation activist.
Nelson began lobbying county and state officials for a renovation after noticing how little the aging center could offer to the rapidly expanding community.
“This center didn’t really have much of a gymnasium, bleachers or space for seniors and for kids,” he said. “It wasn’t adequate; so I had to do something, otherwise I’d be part of the problem.”
Nelson was not alone, and found support from other residents, such as Robin DeBerry-Woodard, chair of the Plum Gar Center Advisory Committee, and even county and state officials, including state Sen. Nancy King (D-Dist. 39).
“We’ve been waiting for this day for year because the community has grown around us but we have not grown with it [until now],” DeBerry-Woodard said at the groundbreaking.
Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett, who also attended the groundbreaking, said that while Plum Gar and several other outdated community centers have long been considered for renovation, tight budget constrictions have led to delays until now.
Gabe Albornoz, the county’s recreation director, agreed that fiscal realities have been tough, but rejoiced in what he called the “light at the end of the tunnel” signified by Leggett’s and the county’s decision to move forward with the renovation.
“There will be an increased demand on the operating budget [here at Plum Gar] because it will be a larger facility with a larger staff [but] it’s a renovation,” he said. “It’s not like we’re talking about establishing an entirely new facility in our inventory.”
Albornoz expects the facility’s annual operating budget to increase by 30 percent to 40 percent from the 2011 total — just over $120,000 — to about $162,000 when the renovation is completed in summer 2013.
The new programs and classes made possible by the renovation will go a long way toward justifying and paying back to cost, he said.
“With the larger building, we’ll be able to serve youth at the middle school and high school levels along with the programs we currently have for kindergarten and elementary aged children,” Albornoz said. “We’re also looking at zumba, yoga and adult basketball programs, as well, so I think you’re going to see a lot of folks from different age categories taking advantage of the new facility.”
David Dise, director of the county’s Department of General Services, was also optimistic about the renovation, which will add about 14,312 square feet to the center, for a total size of 19,500 square feet. The project, which will be LEED Silver-certified, will expand the existing gym, add a 150-seat auditorium, a weight room, computer and multi-purpose rooms, he said.
Perhaps most excited about the new facility were the many youth gathered outside the community center Saturday, including 10-year-old Kayleigh Nelson, Joe Nelson’s daughter.
“My dad said [the new center] is important for the kids to do their homework and stay out of trouble,” she said with a sidelong glance at her father. “I want to see how it looks and see how it helps the community.”
jarias@gazette.net
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