The vitality of a community is greatly influenced by the social and economic growth that occurs within it. Enhancing a community’s development, through the addition of recreational resources and opportunities, helps to establish it as a welcoming place for people to learn, work and play. We regard this project as an opportunity to develop a concept for a community-based resource, with our goal being to enhance the community’s growth and development. We plan to do this via the construction of a brand new aquatic center in the heart of the Waldorf, Maryland quarter of the Southern Prince George’s County. To honor and identify the region of its location, the center will be called “Southern Maryland Aquatics Center”. Many aquatic centers exist throughout the Maryland Area. These include facilities such as the Prince George’s County Sports and Learning Complex, The Theresa Banks Swimming Pool, and Greenbelt Aquatic and Fitness. These facilities have met much success over the course of their operation, and provide numerous aquatic-based activities to the local community. The aforementioned PG Sports and Learning has been home to various swimming competitions and has served as a place of practice for many local, scholastic swim teams. One of the great benefits of these facilities, is the employment opportunities they provide to members of the community in which they are located. It is these benefits that we wish to transfer and subsequently impart upon residents of the Southern Maryland area. Although this area is currently undergoing pivotal changes such as housing growth, the major component of recreation is missing. These brand new residential developments need a support system, one that will offer stability, vitality and recreational substance for the community members... Our center will serve as an employment resource, and recreational outlet for members of the local community. In fact, the center will be designed specifically to engage young members of the community, who are often affected by unemployment the most, with long-term employment, designed to promote career success. We will implement a training program, designed to offer local residents access to our key positions such as life guard, center manager, swim instructor, and front desk clerk. This employment initiative will enable local residents to become proudly invested in the community in which they live, through their work at the center. It will also invite the opportunity for them to grow with a career aimed at providing longevity and career success. Our goal is to also offer educational enhancement opportunities through the employment program at the aquatic center. Working with the local school system, we plan to engage local school children in the center, to develop a successful athletics program. As the Learning Complex does in Landover, our center will supplement many of the schools’ interscholastic athletics. While not compensating for other major educational shortfalls, it does offer the chance for schools that lack the proper facilities to create their own swim teams and compete against others in the area. This facilitates an environment of friendly competitions which will afford students to learn lessons of sportsmanship, teamwork, and camaraderie.
Our planned aquatics center also offers a great opportunity for us to implement innovative and environmentally responsible resources into the design of the center. We plan to make the center the first, fully energy efficient aquatics center in Maryland. We will incorporate solar paneled roofing units, to capture heat from the sun, on the roof of the facility. Our research indicated that this will greatly reduce our energy usage, particularly during the fall and winter, when the center will require a considerable amount of energy to be heated. Also, we will utilize recycled resources when possible to further equip the center – we plan to use reclaimed rubber materials for the floor areas of the center, as well as artwork made from recycled materials, to enhance the center’s appearance and vitality. We will strive to make the aquatics center a destination of innovation, environmental responsibility and social leadership through all of our combined efforts.
We recognize the demographics of this area, offer a racially and culturally diverse group of people. We also plan to utilize the center, to offer aquatics as a recreational option to African Americans and Latinos, who have often been underrepresented in the sport of swimming in the competitive world. We will infuse our marketing initiatives and public relations strategy with music and arts, such as hip hop, to energize the area’s members and offer an inviting opportunity for them to enjoy the benefits of swimming.
Any facility, regardless of its nature or location, is subject to financing and by extension, a capital structure. Taking into account the overall goal of our aquatic center, we believe it best to use Tax Increment Financing. This particular method of public financing is specifically tailored to community development projects in underprivileged areas. The debt and its repayment rely heavily on the success of the facility in the areas of job creation, sales, revenue, and overall productivity. Such conditions will not be a problem for our center to create, and will simultaneously spare residents many of the indirect cost associated with area development projects. In fact, it will only serve to increase the values of their own property, as they now possess a new income-providing commodity. The building itself will range from seven to ten acres, with about a third of that land dedicated to parking. The interior will be divided into three sections (1) A competition pool, (2) a shallow water pool, kids’ area and (3) traditional swimming area. These will be in addition to two office and conference areas to be utilized for staff meetings, candidate interviews, and event scheduling. Also included will be a lobby, complete with a front desk. As the facility itself develops, there are also future plans to include any number of popular vendors. These franchises will provide additional cash flows.
The main sources of revenue will be a regular, flat-fee for in-state residents and a higher fee for non-residents using the pool facility and additional fees for hosting events (ranging anywhere from swim meets to children’s birthday parties), and enrollment fees for swimming classes and water aerobics. The flat-fee alone would provide thousands of dollars per-month to the facility, in the end, equating to millions of dollars a year. When the additional revenue sources are considered, this number grows exponentially. Children will also stand as large contributors to the overall success of this facility. A major concern of not only members of the Southeast community, but also the community at large is children. This special group represents hope, change, and most importantly, the future of our society. As such, they must be nurtured and provided with the chance to adequately grow and develop in order to become successful adults. Part of this development process is providing them with sufficient recreational activities. These activities help to provide both mental and physical stimulation as well as facilitate creative growth. Our aim is to use children as a vector to improve the community at large. With a built-in splash pool section complete with a full water slide, children of all ages will be able to enjoy our aquatic center and share in the benefits of having a local recreation area. Questions of viability are bound to arise for our facility, especially given the backdrop of the current economic conditions in the United States. Both my partner and I have explored every possibility and have found that by using the aforementioned tax increment financing method, our project is sheltered from the interest rates of debt instruments, such as bonds, and their fluctuations. Also, because the cost will be incurred directly by the taxpayer, the equal distribution of burden for the project will lessen the hardships faced by our development team. With an easier road to travel, our project will be placed in the best position possible to fulfill its promise of improving the community. As with any establishment, trials and challenges lay ahead for The Southern Maryland Aquatics Center. However, with the full support of the community as well as the legislation, working hand-in-hand, our center will stand as one of the great success stories of the Southern Maryland Area. We look forward to creating a lasting legacy, as a successful, locally operated business, designed for, and by, the people of the area.