The City of Frederick’s Parks and Recreation facilities provide a wide range of benefits to the community and local economy. In addition to active & passive recreation & play, our parks are centers for arts, culture, and events, and contribute to environmental sustainability. By supporting a desirable living environment, these amenities not only serve residents, but also local companies. Firms hoping to recruit and retain top talent often prioritize local quality of life in site location decisions. Businesses benefit from locating where its workforce wants to locate.
A well-designed parks system can also increase tourism and generate sales activity. Restaurants and businesses located near parks commonly experience an increase in customers when games or events are held. Larger destination parks with top quality sports amenities have an even greater ability to attract tournament play and high volumes of out-of-town visitors & spending.
Recognizing the positive impact a strong parks system has on our economy, below we explore two exciting Parks and Recreation development projects currently under way in The City of Frederick:
West Side Regional Park
Activating 135 aces of City-owned land, Westside Regional Park offers critical open space and recreational opportunities to residents. During 2020, the City invested in park road infrastructure, road access, mass grading of 8 multi-purpose fields, and Phase I of Sophie and Madigan’s Playground with Phase II on the horizon thanks to a $50,000 State Capital Project Grant. Further expansion and development of the park is needed as the City aims to stimulate the local economy and improve quality of life on the west side of the City.
Parks and Recreation Master plan
To ensure that our parks and programming grow along with our community, the City has embarked on a Parks and Recreation Masterplan with the support of GreenPlay, LLC. The plan will provide guidance for future development and redevelopment of the City’s parks, recreation programming, and facilities.
This master park plan will include significant opportunities for public involvement to ensure parks investments reflect the desires and growth of the community. The plan will incorporate energy efficiency and sustainable strategies, evaluate collaborative opportunities with other entities, and explore accessibility opportunities within the current infrastructure.
Findings from the initial research conducted with 150 key stakeholders was shared in a public meeting on March 30, 2021. A recording of the meeting, as well as information on upcoming phases of the project can be found here.
