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Groundbreaking ceremony held for Middle Branch Fitness and Wellness Center at Reedbird Park

Posted at 6:29 PM, Sep 21, 2020
and last updated 2020-09-21 18:33:54-04

BALTIMORE — Construction began on a ‘super’ recreation center in Baltimore Monday.

Baltimore City Recreation and Parks held a groundbreaking ceremony for the new $23.1 million Middle Branch Fitness and Wellness Center at Cherry Hill’s Reedbird Park.

The center is BCRP’s first regional recreation complex.

The fitness and wellness center will have three pools, a community room, fitness studios, a gymnasium with a basketball court, a maker space, an indoor walking track, and more.

Future plans for the site include grass fields, a playground, walking trails, a fishing pier, a dog park, basketball courts, new lighting, and a field house.

This is all part of a long-term plan to transform 11 miles of shoreline along the Middle Branch of the Patapsco.

"I often say that we spend a lot of time in Baltimore talking about young people and needing to support them but the reality is for much of my lifetime we've been investing int he failure of young people and not their promise," said Baltimore City Council President Brandon Scott. "This is an investment into the future and the promise of young people in Baltimore City."

The fitness center is set to open in 2022.

An 83,000-square-foot synthetic surface field is being built next to the center as well. It’s the 100th park constructed by The Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation, and its partners across the country.

BCRP will operate after-school sports programs and the Ripken Foundation will run its Badges for Baseball program there.

The field should be complete by the spring of 2021.