anchor Description
This project will renovate Johnson's Local Park, located at 18000 Washington Grove Lane in Gaithersburg, to improve recreational opportunities, strengthen community gathering spaces, and celebrate the park's cultural and historic significance. Serving a diverse surrounding population, the park supports active recreation, social connection, and neighborhood cohesion. Park improvements will enhance access to quality recreational amenities, create safer and more inclusive spaces, and reinforce the park's role as a community anchor for the Emory Grove area.
anchor Justification
Johnson's Local Park has long been central to the historic African American community of Emory Grove, serving as a gathering place for community events, camp meetings, and historic baseball league games. Despite significant displacement during Urban Renewal efforts in the 1960s and 1970s, community advocacy preserved the park, which Montgomery Parks acquired and opened in 1974. The restoration of the park's name to Johnson's Park in 1995 reflects its continued cultural importance.
anchorFiscal Note
The Maryland General Assembly approved funding for Johnson's Local Park: $50,000 awarded in the FY25 Maryland Capital Budget Bill and $1,000,000 in the FY27 Maryland Capital Budget Bill.
anchorDisclosures
M-NCPPC asserts that this project conforms to the requirement of relevant local plans, as required by the Maryland Economic Growth, Resource Protection and Planning Act.
anchorCoordination
Expenditures will continue indefinitely