ELLICOTT CITY, MD – Howard County Executive Calvin Ball today joined the County’s Department of Recreation & Parks’ Bureau Chief Nicola Morgal to break ground on the County’s new Ilchester Park and Recreation Center. Photos from the event can be found on the County’s Flickr website.
Located on the former site of the Girl Scouts of Central Maryland’s (GSCM) Camp Ilchester at 5042 Ilchester Road in Ellicott City, Howard County Government purchased the 21-acre property from the GSCM in June 2022. At the time, GSCM hoped to find a buyer what would preserve the stie as green space instead of transforming it into a 105-housing unit development. As preserved open space part of the County’s recreation and parks system, Recreation & Parks plans to utilize the space to expand its recreational program offerings to residents and visitors.
This property has long served as a place where people of all ages, especially Girl Scouts young and old, could gather, explore, and connect with nature. Now, through our new Ilchester Park and Recreation Center, we will continue the site’s legacy, welcoming people of all ages and abilities. Whether through outdoor programs beneath old-growth trees, classes and events inside a newly renovated recreation center, nature walks along scenic paths, or time spent at gathering spaces under renovated pavilions and brand-new playgrounds, this site will remain a cherished community resource.
The first phase of this transformational project includes renovating the property’s former Clementine Peterson Activity Center into a recreation center, installing a preschool playground adjacent to the building, widening the entrance and driveway to two lanes, creating an additional parking lot, building an exterior restroom/shower facility, replacing a pavilion, and performing utility upgrades. Weather permitting, the first phase is expected to be completed by summer 2026.
With our experience – particularly through managing the Robinson Nature Center and our current outdoor programming efforts in other parts of the county, I’m confident that we will offer successful and meaningful recreational opportunities here for all ages,” said Morgal. “Thanks to planned updates – such as a dedicated preschool playground, ADA-compliant parking, and restroom facilities, including an adult changing table, we’re proud to say that our programs will be accessible and welcoming to individuals of all ages and abilities.
Set to begin at the conclusion of the first phase, the second phase of Camp Ilchester’s transformation includes installing a second, nature-based playground, constructing a second pavilion, opening a multi-use space and creating a movable partition within the existing activity center, and creating various walking trails. Later phases to Ilchester Park and Recreation Center include the construction of a kitchen space at the center and other identified improvements.
The County’s purchase of Camp Ilchester builds upon Ball’s efforts to preserve land for environmental and agricultural purposes throughout the county. Since taking office in 2018, Ball’s administration has added more than 205 acres of open space and parkland to the Recreation & Parks’ more than 10,000 acres of permanently preserved land. This preservation of land allows for the protection of wildlife habitat, trees, and meadows, maintains natural and manmade ecosystems, enhances recreational opportunities, creates community gardens, and conserves historic structures.