As part of a move to revitalize community resources in D.C.’s Ward 5, Mayor Muriel Bowser, alongside other District leaders, broke ground on the Fort Lincoln Recreation Center and Early Childhood Education Center on Monday.
The ceremony was part of a project designed to bring vital facilities to the Fort Lincoln area.
The event also marked a significant step from Bowser’s 2019 commitment to repurpose former school sites and bolster community resources, emphasizing education and child care.
“It fits nicely into our strategy to increase child care facilities across the city using government buildings, and so that’s why we’ll have child care here,” Bowser said at the ceremony.
The Fort Lincoln project is a $49 million investment covering a 44,000-square-foot space to enhance recreational and educational opportunities for residents.
The mayor’s vision for the community includes tearing down the former Thurgood Marshall School, which she said “had not only become a blight but also” a danger, and creating a functional early childhood education center.
The upcoming center will feature many facilities, including a full gymnasium with an elevated track, a senior lounge, multipurpose rooms, arts and crafts spaces, a teen lounge and ample on-site parking.
Alongside the new construction, enhancements to the existing 20-acre park will see refurbished playgrounds, the addition of new pavilions, improved walking paths and resurfaced tennis courts, all intended to enrich the community experience.
D.C. leaders attended the groundbreaking ceremony, including Council members Anita Bonds, Kenyan McDuffie and Zachary Parker, Department of General Services Director Delano Hunter and Department of Parks and Recreation Director Thennie Freeman.
“In 2019, I promised that we would expand child care in the District of Columbia,” Bowser said. “And one thing that we can do to impact the cost of child care is to use our own buildings to help quality child care providers provide spaces for our kids.”
The site is scheduled to open in the spring of 2027. It will be the third new child care center in a former D.C. school building or recreation center, Bowser said.
‘Fort Lincoln is a movement’
Fort Lincoln has experienced significant growth and development in the past few years, beyond the new recreation center.
“This is a movement, Fort Lincoln is a movement,” DPR Director Freeman said.
Some of the notable plans and projects include residential expansion, retail spaces and parks and green spaces.
“You’ve got world-class retail and shopping that’s happening here. And you’ve got one of the best parks of any park in the District of Columbia,” Council member McDuffie added.
The community is attracting young families and longtime residents as new developments spring up, according to officials.
“There’s senior housing here, there’s new construction, single-family housing here. … And that has attracted a lot of young families,” Bowser said.
With the influx of new residents, the demand for facilities that promote active and healthy lifestyles is paramount. The new recreation and education center aligns with the city’s goal of creating inclusive and accessible spaces.
The center is set to become a key hub for residents, providing vital amenities and services that will enrich the daily lives of families in the area.
“It feels good to be here in Fort Lincoln to celebrate this project; it truly reflects the boldness of the community,” Freeman said.
“This is very special for me,” said DGS Director Hunter, who grew up in Fort Lincoln and recalled the discussions he heard as a kid about building up the area. “They would have community meetings, and they would talk about all of these grand plans. For a shopping mall and additional housing, more recreation amenities. And many of them have been realized.”
There is ongoing development of retail outlets and commercial spaces to cater to the increasing population.
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