It?s being called the Taj Mahal of community centers.
Complete with an Olympics-worthy gymnasium, 300-seat theater, indoor pool, track and technology center, the $13 million facility is 4 1/2 times larger than originally proposed. Giddy with excitement, Randallstown residents joined Baltimore County Executive Jim Smith and other local officials Monday to kick off construction at the future site of their long-awaited 58,000-square-foot center.
“I fought for it,” said Councilman Ken Oliver, who represents the area. “I didn?t want the standard community center.”
The center also will be the county?s first green community center, with several federally certified improvements to reduce energy consumption. At least 75 percent of the project?s construction waste will be recycled, and the center?s roof will be ultra-reflective to reduce heat island effects, officials said. Construction is expected to last until June 2009, but residents said they didn?t mind the wait.
“We are all so full and excited about the promise of this building,” said Cheryl Pasteur, principal ofRandallstown High. “… Over the next two years, we get an opportunity to see this community center go up and reflect on what it means.”
The county combined its own funds with $2.9 million in state and nearly $400,000 in federal funds.
Smith touted the event as the continuation of Randallstown?s “renaissance,” citing other projects such as a new Home Depot and Ruby Tuesday. Earlier Monday, he attended a ribbon-cutting for a new community sign at McDonough Road and Brenbrook Drive, funded through the sales of cookbooks organized by the Randallstown Association for Residents? Awareness.
That group has vocally opposed the expansion of public transportation in Randallstown neighborhoods, which some activists said would be necessary to bring youth to the new community center.
