Questions and answers about the Community Center

By Bruce Williams
and Howard Kohn

Q. What is the history behind the Community Center?

A. Serious planning began in 1999 after five citizen committees pushed forward the idea of a central gathering place where a variety of educational, recreational, and artistic activities could take place. In a follow-up survey, more than 500 residents indicated a high level of support for the idea, with a special emphasis on serving families with children, seniors, and recently arrived immigrants.

After a year of investigation, discussion, and open hearings, a consensus was reached to locate it at the municipal complex. An architectural firm, Lawrence Abell & Associates Ltd., was then hired to design a master plan, which was finalized at the end of 2002. Construction began last August.

Q. What is the current status?

A. The council has always made it known the project would be built in phases, contingent on money currently available. Early on the council elected to hold off building the gym until the final stage, and consolidated admin-istrative offices on the top floor and community spaces on the main floor, to save on utility and operating costs.

In Phase One, due to be finished by the end of 2004, Knott Construction is building a three-story wraparound addition that puts a new face on City Hall–a brick façade in the Victorian style of the old North Takoma Hotel. New rooms for meetings, classes, arts, and other uses will be on the main floor, with an atrium to serve as an exhibit hall for local artwork. The police station will be moved into new quarters at the lower level, with a separate front entrance. Most city staffers will work on the top floor.

Knott is also constructing a computer lab between the library and City Hall, plus parking at the lower level. A 20-foot-wide bridge will span the parking lot and lead from the Maple Avenue sidewalk to the main entrance.

Phase Two is a renovation of the old building. The council decided on April 26 to give the go-ahead to Knott to begin Phase Two later this year, in anticipation of a Spring 2005 grand opening. Once that work is done, the plan is to convert a large section of the main floor into a dance room with a wooden floor, a room with game tables, and a "hangout" room with sofas and a TV. Also, the dais in the council chambers is to be removed, opening up the stage for performances.

Phase Three includes a gym, underground parking, and a "pocket park" near the Grant Avenue turnaround. No firm date has been set for construction, but the council is committed to finding the funds.

Q. What is the oversight process for this project?

A. The City Council is the final authority. Lawrence Abell & Associates Ltd. continues to operate in the day-to-day role of designer and project overseer. An independent firm, Charron Construction Consulting, is on retainer to the city to provide a second opinion on financial details. A city employee, Venita George, is assigned full-time as the project coordinator in charge of logistics and daily operations, answering to Rick Finn, current city manager. Councilmember Bruce Williams serves in the special role of liaison to keep the public informed with weekly reports.

Q. What has been left out as the result of cost-cutting?

A. Some parts of the master design were altered, but in most cases, these elements can be restored when money is available. They include a plaza over the lower-level parking (concrete decking with vegetation and walkway pavers), a library façade in the style of the old train station, the cab in the second elevator, a new annex downstairs for prisoner holding cells, a child-care room and kitchen, an atrium skylight, and curved bars to highlight the balconies in front. Certain decorative elements were eliminated, including concrete cornices and rooftop dormers.

Q. What caused the cost-cutting?

A. An extra expense of approximately $1 million was incurred for Phase One when Montgomery County chose to enforce a new flood-control rule at the site. Two six-foot-diameter pipes were already in place to handle flooding in front of the municipal complex, in compliance with the previous five-year standard, but the county insisted on upgrading to a 12 by 16-foot pipe and a protective wall to meet a new 100-year rule. A vigorous effort by the city to dissuade the county failed.

Q. How much square footage will be gained for office space compared to space for recreation, education, and other citizen uses?

A. City Hall is set up now primarily for administrative work; far less space is open for citizen use. When Phases One and Two are completed, the opposite will be true.

In the existing building, the upstairs room of 2,281 square feet is currently set aside for classes, meetings, and other events. Adding the planned new rooms will result in 9,827 square feet of new community space.

This total does not include the council chambers, which will become more useful for performances once the dais is removed. There will be only a small net increase in overall square footage devoted to administrative offices, from 6,644 to 7,341. (In these calculations, the hallways and lobbies were put into a separate category since they constitute neither office space nor community space.)

Q. What will the exterior look like?

A. The brick will be a traditional red, available for inspection in a mockup grotto on the library grounds. The roof will be a dark slate gray. Both colors match those on the original rendering the architects produced back in 2001. The railings will be black, and the doors and windows will be white, with concrete lintels and sills above and below. The main feature of the exterior will be a large brick tower, with four dormers on a curving pitched roof and topped by a cupola with the look of aged copper.

Q. How is the City paying for the project?

A. A majority of the funding is in the form of grants designated for the Community Center, although the City also is contributing a significant portion. The grants include $2 million from the County, $2.1 million from the State (including Program Open Space funds), and $750,000 from the federal government (including reallocated Community Development Block Grant funds).

The City’s share includes a $2 million bond and about $500,000 in general funds. In addition, the County paid $350,000 toward the flood-control work, and the City is paying the rest out of a separate fund established to finance storm-water improvements.

Q. Is there a way to stay abreast of new developments?

A. Weekly updates are provided at the beginning of every council meeting, and a written version is available at the city website–www.cityoftakomapark.org.

Bruce Williams is the Community Center project liaison for the Takoma Park City Council, and Howard Kohn is president of the Citizens Liaison Committee.