The Richmond Park and Recreation department is taking over the former Washington Commanders training center, which has been renamed Midtown Green. (Jack Jacobs photos)
The future of the former Washington Commanders training camp facility in Richmond includes a new name and a new tenant.
Richmond Parks & Recreation is gearing up to move its headquarters to the facility formerly known as the Bon Secours Training Center at 2401 W. Leigh St.
City officials held a ribbon-cutting event there Thursday to commemorate the pending relocation and unveiled the center’s new name, Midtown Green.
About 50 parks employees are expected to move from the department’s current headquarters at 1209 Admiral St. in Northside near Virginia Union University. The department has leased that space for about 11 years.
Parks department Director Chris Frelke said the group is targeting a summer 2025 move-in date.
The training center was built as a practice venue for the Washington Commanders football team and was named for the Bon Secours health system. However, the football team no longer practices there and Bon Secours plans to relocate its onsite medical offices to the nearby Whole Foods-anchored Sauer Center development.
Frelke said the training center property was desirable as a new parks department headquarters because the existing sports fields can be used as a sports tourism venue and location for local teams to play. He said the venue already has hosted youth tournaments in addition to local sporting events, and expands the city’s sports tourism offerings.
“You can do soccer, you can do football, you can do lacrosse,” he said. “This will give us a really beautiful competitive edge.”
Another perk of the former Commanders training center is that it is centrally located and provides an opportunity to open a park in the city’s 2nd District that’s larger than its current recreational spaces.
“We’ve been trying for multiple years to have a park in the 2nd District. They have a lot of pocket parks … but they don’t really have a robust community center for their citizens to have meetings, and this would be great for that,” Frelke said.
City officials held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday for the future headquarters of the parks and recreation department at the former Washington Commanders training facility.
The city has budgeted $1 million to renovate the facility and convert the existing medical offices into spaces better suited to the parks department. Frelke said the building’s existing meeting space and locker rooms would be retained.
“We’re already doing design and working on that, so we can go out to bid to convert the doctors’ offices,” Frelke said. The project is expected to go out to bid later this year or early next year.
Additional recreational improvements to the outdoor areas of the 15-acre property are expected in the future.
The state-owned property is leased to the city’s economic development authority, which is leasing the facility to Bon Secours until the end of the year. The city parks department has maintained the facility since January.
Mayor Levar Stoney, Frelke and other officials shared remarks at Thursday’s event.
The Richmond Park and Recreation department is taking over the former Washington Commanders training center, which has been renamed Midtown Green. (Jack Jacobs photos)
The future of the former Washington Commanders training camp facility in Richmond includes a new name and a new tenant.
Richmond Parks & Recreation is gearing up to move its headquarters to the facility formerly known as the Bon Secours Training Center at 2401 W. Leigh St.
City officials held a ribbon-cutting event there Thursday to commemorate the pending relocation and unveiled the center’s new name, Midtown Green.
About 50 parks employees are expected to move from the department’s current headquarters at 1209 Admiral St. in Northside near Virginia Union University. The department has leased that space for about 11 years.
Parks department Director Chris Frelke said the group is targeting a summer 2025 move-in date.
The training center was built as a practice venue for the Washington Commanders football team and was named for the Bon Secours health system. However, the football team no longer practices there and Bon Secours plans to relocate its onsite medical offices to the nearby Whole Foods-anchored Sauer Center development.
Frelke said the training center property was desirable as a new parks department headquarters because the existing sports fields can be used as a sports tourism venue and location for local teams to play. He said the venue already has hosted youth tournaments in addition to local sporting events, and expands the city’s sports tourism offerings.
“You can do soccer, you can do football, you can do lacrosse,” he said. “This will give us a really beautiful competitive edge.”
Another perk of the former Commanders training center is that it is centrally located and provides an opportunity to open a park in the city’s 2nd District that’s larger than its current recreational spaces.
“We’ve been trying for multiple years to have a park in the 2nd District. They have a lot of pocket parks … but they don’t really have a robust community center for their citizens to have meetings, and this would be great for that,” Frelke said.
City officials held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday for the future headquarters of the parks and recreation department at the former Washington Commanders training facility.
The city has budgeted $1 million to renovate the facility and convert the existing medical offices into spaces better suited to the parks department. Frelke said the building’s existing meeting space and locker rooms would be retained.
“We’re already doing design and working on that, so we can go out to bid to convert the doctors’ offices,” Frelke said. The project is expected to go out to bid later this year or early next year.
Additional recreational improvements to the outdoor areas of the 15-acre property are expected in the future.
The state-owned property is leased to the city’s economic development authority, which is leasing the facility to Bon Secours until the end of the year. The city parks department has maintained the facility since January.
Mayor Levar Stoney, Frelke and other officials shared remarks at Thursday’s event.
I’m so happy for all my friends at the City of Richmond Parks & Recreation department! Plus, finally getting more use for those fields. Good luck.
This will be a wonderful resource for the neighborhood, but I have to say that it makes the loss of that little forest of massive old oak trees at the far edge of the site seem even dumber now. They ended up planting some trees there that will be great in 30 years, but there was just no reason to take those down.
Those are nice grass fields, but they will not hold up to steady use. The city should consider replacing the grass with artificial turf if they’re serious about trying to utilize them. Downtown Tyson’s Corner has a couple of turf fields within all the development there, and they get used all the time by local rec teams for practice and games.
Not sure why this comment was downvoted. There are many privately owned soccer, LAX and other club sports teams that are almost always looking for practice, game or tourney fields. Add some outdoor restrooms for the public and the city will have another means by which to support the cost of this facility.
A good decision to relocate Parks and Recreation to a park setting.
Great move. It will be great to see more activity in that space.
It will be interesting as maybe it is not clear but the building will be park’s department HQ (and if you go to the one now like many government buildings) is not open or really used by the public. It will be interesting to see what they do with the field but what are the plans for bathrooms. The site has no permanent bathroom outside of the buildings. Are they going to build new ones or re-arrange for the public to use the ones inside. Without some better facilities for public events, it will probably have as much success as… Read more »