Rockville City Officials to Receive Presentation on Final Concept for Re-Imagining RedGate Park

Background and Process Summary: In March 2020, the Mayor and Council voted to retain the entire 131-acre site, formerly RedGate Golf Course, as a public park. The Mayor and Council requested that park elements include both active and passive recreation, as well as natural open areas. The Mayor and Council also advocated for significant community engagement to help identify and prioritize the elements that would ultimately be included in the park plan. Following the Mayor and Council meeting, staff finalized the Scope of Work. A detailed Request for Proposals was then issued to secure a multi-disciplinary team to conduct a master plan process for the site. Mahan Rykiel Associates, Inc. was procured in January 2021 to join the project team as its consultant.

Since January 2021, the project team has worked on a number of tasks to complete the master plan. The overarching tasks included:

1. Project Kick-Off and Data Analysis
2. Existing Conditions Analysis and Base Map
3. Community Engagement
4. Recommended Elements Report
5. Develop Conceptual Plan Alternatives
6. Concept Plan Refinement
7. Presentation of Final Park Plan Concept

Staff believes that the Plan process has been thorough, engaging, inclusive, equitable, and reflects the vision expounded by Rockville residents, and thus is ready for adoption.

Final Master Plan

The Plan envisions the park as an Arboretum comprised of new and existing forest, feature landscapes including new meadow areas and varied gardens, environmental site design, interpretive signage, public art, and passive areas/lawns with new and existing pathways. Approximately ninety percent (90%) of RedGate Park is designated for passive recreation and natural habitats, and ten percent (10%) for more active recreation. This factor is representative of the Mayor and Council’s feedback and direction, as well as being consistent with the desires expressed by many Rockville residents during both phases of community engagement and throughout the project. The active recreation elements in the Plan include a playground, a picnic area, a dog park, community gardens, an amphitheater with a deck overlook, and a new visitor center. Plan details are provided in the Master Plan Report, Attachment A.

Clubhouse Assessment and New Visitor Center
Whitman, Requardt & Associates (WRA), the subconsultant, developed an assessment of the existing clubhouse to inform the City on whether the existing clubhouse building should be renovated to accommodate a new use, or whether it should be demolished in its entirety and a new building or facility constructed for a specific use and function on the site. After their site visit and assessment of the building, WRA estimates that the cost to renovate the existing building would exceed the cost to construct a new building. The price to construct a new building is approximately $3.8 million and the price to renovate the existing building is approximately $4.06 million. Therefore, WRA recommends that the City demolish the existing facility and provide a similarly-scaled new building that is universally accessible, simpler in plan and roof form, and that could support a functional multi-purpose event space with efficiently- configured support areas.

Following the completion of the assessment by WRA and the feedback received at Mayor and Council, Robbie Sabbakhan, Chief Building Official, visited the clubhouse for an internal review to gauge its existing conditions and whether it could be re-occupied. Based on observed conditions, Mr. Sabbakhan recommends both exterior and interior repairs to the building before use and re-occupancy for temporary meetings and activities. Exterior repairs include the deck, doors, exterior lighting, and street numbers posted on the building. Recommended interior repairs include sprinklers (assuming assembly occupancy use, including gatherings for civic, social, religious functions and recreational), mechanical systems and HVAC, restroom facilities and plumbing fixtures, some water damage, kitchen equipment, and some electrical outlets, to name a few.