The construction of South Silver Spring Urban Park is set to move forward.
Located at 1110 East-West Highway in downtown Silver Spring, the new park will offer various amenities, including a multi-sports court, a multipurpose lawn and picnic area, a pollinator garden, stage and shelter, and a nature play area with a terrace.
Bethesda Magazine reported this week that construction will begin in late March or early April.
The site is the former home of a National Tire and Battery auto center, which the Maryland-National Capital Parks and Planning Commission purchased in 2021 after the Montgomery County Council approved the acquisition for $7.5 million.
Montgomery Parks would like to acquire the neighboring property currently occupied by the Iglesia De Dios Pentecostal church to potentially double the size of the new urban park, although the current owners are unwilling to sell.
The park’s concept is based on recommendations from the Silver Spring and Adjacent Communities Plan and public feedback collected during an open house and an online survey conducted in 2022.
Initial construction began in the fall of 2023, during which Montgomery Parks demolished the vacant National Tire and Battery building and remediated contaminated soil from the site’s previous use.
“Now that the soil is clean, the upcoming park is expected to feature native trees and pollinator-friendly plants to enhance the urban ecosystem,” Montgomery Parks planner Ching-Fang Chen told Bethesda Magazine this week.
South Silver Spring Urban Park is planned to open in spring 2026, following the debut of Gene Lynch Park in 2023. A naming contest for the new park will begin later this month.
Montgomery Parks Graphic