Beltsville-Laurel Senior Center
Construction of the new Beltsville-Laurel Senior Center is expected to start by the end of this year. The senior center will be located at 7120 Contee Road on the campus of the Laurel Regional Hospital. A wide array of activities will be offered to seniors in the 23,000 square foot center that will be dedicated to senior programs and include an auditorium that can be divided into classrooms, computer room, meeting space, fitness rooms, craft rooms, billard room, lounge, catering kitchen, and restrooms. Opening is expected in early 2010.

Brentwood Arts Center
A new Art Gallery with classroom space is coming to Brentwood. A 3,500 square foot space at the new Brentwood Arts Center in the midst of the Gateway Arts and Entertainment District will be renovated as part of a joint project involving the Gateway Community Development Corporation and the Arts and Cultural Heritage Division of the M-NCPPC. Gateway will own and operate the building, and they will fund the renovation of individual studio space to be rented by artists. M-NCPPC will contribute funding toward the renovation of classrooms and an art gallery. The art gallery will feature exhibitions of work by regional artists and will also have a retail area for fine craft items. Classrooms will be used for art classes and children's summer art camps.

Fort Washington Forest Community Park School Center
The eagerly-awaited Fort Washington Forest Community Park School Center is scheduled to open in the Fall of 2008. The new 22,000 square foot single story community center will be built adjacent to and attached to the existing Fort Washington Forest Elementary School located at 1300 Fillmore Road in Fort Washington, Maryland, on land owned by the M-NCPPC.

The Forest Knolls Neighborhood Association, Inc., worked with the Department of Park and Recreation on this new facility. The school, which does not currently have a gymnasium, will benefit by using the gymnasium portion of the community center during school hours, and M-NCPPC will operate the facility after school hours and on weekends.

Interior spaces will include a central reception counter, game room, exercise room, arts and craft room, computer room, multi-purpose hall and high school size gymnasium with beacher seating.

Typical programs that will be offered by the new community center addition consist of Kids' Care, providing before and after school programming; holiday and summer camps; summer playground activities, Xtreme Teens and Xtreme Pre-teens programs; sports leagues; and a variety of classes and workshops year-round.

This unique new community center is certain to provide an enhanced educational and recreational experience for the Fort Washington Forest community. For information about the community center call Southern Area Operations Division at 301-203-6000, TTY 301-203-6030.

Glenarden Community Center/Theresa Banks Aquatics Center
This complex will be closing in December 2008 for renovations and improvements, with a projected reopening date of September 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:

• New meeting rooms, multipurpose rooms, a fitness room, a game room, and an arts and crafts room;
• New handicapped (ADA) accessible bathrooms;
• New entrance, lobby, and a collegiate-sized gymnasium;
• New landscaping and accessories; and
• The pool will have new glazing systems.

Greater Gateway Port Towns Senior Center
In November 2008 the senior programs offered by M-NCPPC at the Cora B. Woods Center in Brentwood will be moving to a new home at 4009 Wallace Road in North Brentwood. This building was formerly the First Baptist Church and now is owned by the Town of North Brentwood, who uses the second floor for the Town's office and has leased the first floor to M-NCPPC for the senior center. Renovations are under way on the first floor to transform 6,000 square feet into a large meeting area that can be divided into two spaces, crafts room, restrooms, and storage. In addition, the senior programs will be able to use the gymnasium, fitness room, and classroom located next door in the North Brentwood Community Center. With more space available, program offerings will be expanded to appeal to a broader range of seniors in the area.

North Forestville Community Center
A new gym addition has been designed for the North Forestville Elementary School and construction is underway. This gymnasium will not only provide space for the physical education program at the school but will also serve the community by providing gym space for basketball and many other athletic/recreational programs. The project is projected to be completed in 2008.

Vansville Community Center
The Board of Education is building Vansville Elementary School next to Vansville Recreation Center Park. The project includes a community center attached to the school. The community center will be 12,000 square feet and include an entry lobby, gymnasium, exercise room, administrative office and storage areas. The exercise room, entry lobby and restrooms are designed in a manner that will allow the community access even when school is in session. This center will open in the Fall of 2008.