Ilchester Park And Recreation Center Project Breaks Ground

ELLICOTT CITY, MD — Officials broke ground Tuesday on the county's new Ilchester Park and Recreation Center, which is located on the former site of the Girl Scouts of Central Maryland's Camp Ilchester.

Located at 5042 Ilchester Road, the property was owned by the GSCM who had hoped to find a buyer who would preserve the site as green space instead of developing it into a 105-unit housing development. The county recreation and parks department intends to use the space to expand its recreational programming and preserve the ground.

“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,” Howard County Executive Calvin Ball said at the groundbreaking ceremony. “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 the 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 should 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 Nicola Morgal, bureau chief, county department of recreation and parks, at the groundbreaking. “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 of the Ilchester Park and Recreation Center renovation project include the construction of a kitchen space at the center and other identified improvements.