Potomac — Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett, County Council members and other officials joined residents on Oct. 22 to celebrate the ribbon-cutting for the new Nancy H. Dacek North Potomac Community Recreation Center. The facility is located at 13850 Travilah Road.
The facility is named in honor of the late Nancy H. Dacek who served for 12 years as a member of the County Council from 1990 until 2002. Following her service to the council she served for more than a decade on the Montgomery County Board of Elections appointed by Governors Bob Ehrlich and Martin O’Malley.
While on the council, Dacek advocated for education, public safety, preservation of open space, and the environment. Among other efforts, she offered her support that a Community Recreation Center be included in the area master plan for North Potomac. Dacek died in 2015.
“My family is honored to have such a beautiful facility named after my mother,” said Kim Dacek Barnes. “My mother was a big supporter of the Recreation Department and valued and appreciated sports and physical activity.”
This 48,000-square-foot facility features an expansive full-sized gymnasium, auxiliary gym, rock climbing wall, exercise and weight room, spacious social hall, commercial kitchen, multi-use community room, arts/kiln room, game room, meeting rooms, offices and more.
The 11-acre site provides a new organic multipurpose turf field, playground, bus stop at the facility, two outdoor multi-purpose courts, preserved wetlands and parking spaces for up to 185 vehicles along with six accessible spaces.
The building is built with renewable, local and recycled materials to achieve a minimum LEED Silver certification. It uses energy-efficient heating, ventilating, and air conditioning, lighting and plumbing fixtures. The roof is a 50 percent vegetative green roof.
The cost of the center was approximately $19 million. Grimm and Parker served as architect. The construction was done by Dustin Construction, Inc.
Programing at the new center will include out-of-school youth activities, sports leagues, weight room memberships, special events and community activities.
The center will also include the North Potomac Senior Center, a full-service senior center with a wide-range of programs and services for adults 55 and older.