This house will be torn down to allow more space for the adjoining park. Photo by Mike Diegel.
Montgomery Parks plans to demolish a house the department owns at 8915 Colesville Rd. to expand Ellsworth Urban Park, which abuts the property.
The addition will expand the park’s acreage by about 30 percent, said Dominic Quattrocchi, planner coordinator for the department.
Montgomery Parks has owned the house for about 30 years, he said. A number of entities have occupied the house during that time, including a group using it as a home for developmentally challenged adults and one operating a halfway house.
“My roles include park planning, coordinating development review associated with projects that have park impacts or opportunities, natural resources management, and arboriculture,” said Quattrocchi, who’s been with the department about 15 years.
He expects the demolition to start in July, depending on when the various utility companies can cap the water, gas and sewer lines.
Interim features in the expanded park area will include a pavilion, seating, landscaping, a passive recreation area and decorative fencing, all to the north of the Ellsworth Dog Park.
Quattrocchi said construction should be completed by mid-fall.