Planning Commission approves Armory Pavilion site plan for Prince Frederick; pavilion to reuse armory bricks and receive state grants

The Calvert County Planning Commission voted June 18 to approve detailed site plan SPR 143255 to redevelop the former Prince Frederick National Guard Armory site into a publicly owned open‑air pavilion and a renovated storage building.

Planning staff described the proposal as a combined public building and park facility on two parcels in Prince Frederick totaling 4.886 acres in the Newtown subarea. Christine Fenimore, principal planner, told commissioners the application proposes “a publicly owned and operated open air pavilion, just over 13,500 square feet, façade and interior updates to the existing storage building just under 5,000 square feet for a total building square footage of 18,298 square feet.” She said the Department of Public Works had reviewed and approved the project’s traffic impact analysis in May 2025, and that the site plan had agency comments attached for final plan approval.

The project includes parking (64 spaces required per staff calculations), green space, a memorial element incorporating salvaged memorial bricks, stormwater management, and reuse of the existing building for restrooms, storage and flexible space. Jared Kosko, director of public works, confirmed plans to incorporate the salvaged bricks into a memorial feature and said roughly 600 bricks had been preserved.

Planning staff recommended conditional approval with three standard conditions: that commission approval be conditional pending final site plan engineering review, that all outstanding agency comments be addressed before final approval, and that the conditional approval expire after 24 months if final approval is not obtained. Commissioner Freeland moved to approve SPR 143255 with the staff recommendations; the motion was seconded and the commission voted in favor. The clerk noted one commissioner had logged off during the vote; the final tally recorded in the minutes was 6‑0 in favor with one member absent.

Why this matters: the pavilion is a publicly owned recreation and cultural facility in the Prince Frederick town center area and was awarded four state grants for demolition, design and construction. Parks and Recreation staff said the facility will be managed primarily by Parks and Rec, with Economic Development and other county departments supporting events such as farmer’s markets, food trucks and seasonal uses including a potential winter ice rink under the pavilion.

Commissioners asked about site circulation for vendor and food‑truck events, retaining walls and rear maintenance access, incorporation of a bronze plaque from the original armory, and whether crosswalks or pedestrian signals would be provided at the Armory Road access; staff said the intersection will remain unsignalized (a three‑way stop) but will include crosswalks as part of the Armory Road improvements associated with nearby development. Planning staff noted the site plan packet was an engineering document (35 pages) and that final engineering and agency comment resolution would occur before issuance of any building permits.