The renovation at 5900 Executive Boulevard was not about the pools. Montgomery County describes a 50-meter competitive swimming and diving pool, a diving tower, a 200-foot water flume, and a separate leisure pool with two hydrotherapy areas. These are features of the building that opened in 1989 as the Montgomery Aquatic Center. It was renamed the Eunice Kennedy Shriver and Sargent Shriver Aquatic Center on Oct. 23, 2011.
The county's facility page puts the reopening on Monday, Nov. 23, with a ceremony at 2 p.m. followed by recreational swim. Most of the work done during the closure is now out of sight, inside the walls, above the ceiling and in the mechanical rooms. The change you'll be able to see from Executive Boulevard is the surface parking lot turning into a park, and that hasn't started.
The building had a moisture problem older than most of its swimmers
The county's capital budget document for the project is titled "Building Envelope Improvement," and the name fits. An indoor pool fills a building with warm, wet air. At Kennedy Shriver, that air had been working its way through the exterior masonry walls for decades. The county's description of the problem is plain:
"Since its opening, the center has had problems related to the movement and condensation of moist indoor air through the building's exterior masonry walls, resulting in roof leakage throughout the building."
That language comes from the FY27 capital project description. The original plan dealt with the building's outer layers. Crews would remove and restore the windows and louvers, strip the 4-inch masonry veneer block from the whole facility, fix the flashing around wall penetrations, and spray on insulation that works as an air and vapor barrier. A new exterior masonry veneer would go over that, and the roof would be replaced.
The scope grew from there, one finding at a time. A structural review during design showed that the exterior walls needed much more structural work than anyone had known. Engineers also found that the pool equipment and the HVAC systems were at the end of their useful life and needed full replacement. The county's ADA compliance office then did a full review and designed fixes for every non-compliance issue in the building.
That's why the work doesn't show. New HVAC systems, new pool equipment, and a rebuilt wall system meant to stop humid air from moving through the masonry are mostly hidden behind finished surfaces.
How the closure kept getting longer
The county's estimates of how long the building would be closed kept growing as the scope grew:
| Planning document | Construction start | Minimum closure estimate |
|---|---|---|
| FY24 capital budget | FY24 | 18 months |
| FY25 capital budget | FY25 | 18 months |
| FY26 and FY27 capital budgets | FY25 | 24 months |
Montgomery Community Media reported in February 2024 that the center would close on June 28, 2024. From that date to Nov. 23, 2026 is about 29 months. That's five months longer than the latest minimum and nearly a year longer than the first one.
The budget followed the same pattern. The FY27 document puts the total at $34.919 million, all of it general obligation bonds. That's $1 million more than the previous year's estimate of $33.919 million. The county gives two reasons for the most recent increase. One is general cost escalation. The other is "unanticipated conditions in the KSAC pool flooring." The money went to the building's shell and machinery, and the last surprise turned up under the pool itself.
The county planned the closure around other pools
Closing a 50-meter indoor pool for more than two years puts pressure on the county's other pools, and the county planned for that from the start. The capital budget says the Silver Spring Recreation and Aquatic Center was fully running before Kennedy Shriver closed. Construction started in FY25 "in coordination with" that opening. The county also added a water heating system at Glenmont Outdoor Pool and planned better weatherization of its shower rooms. That lets Glenmont run before Memorial Day and after Labor Day, so programs that would otherwise have stopped had somewhere to go.
Annual passholders were told their passes would work at White Oak, Olney, Germantown and the new Silver Spring center. For about two and a half years, the nearest lap lane for many North Bethesda swimmers has been a drive up I-270 or across to Silver Spring. On Nov. 23, it goes back to a short trip down Executive Boulevard.
Opening week, day by day
The county has posted these hours for the first week:
- Monday, Nov. 23: ceremony at 2 p.m., then recreational swim 3 to 5 p.m. and lap swim 3 to 8 p.m.
- Tuesday, Nov. 24: lap swim 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
- Wednesday, Nov. 25: lap swim 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Thursday, Nov. 26: closed for Thanksgiving
- Friday, Nov. 27: lap swim 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
- Saturday, Nov. 28, and Sunday, Nov. 29: lap swim 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
After the Monday afternoon session, the first week is all lap swim, so families with young kids waiting on the leisure pool and the flume should plan around that. The facility page lists classes in diving, fitness, swimming and water safety. It also lists fee-based swim team, dive team, masters swimming and scuba programs. The same page notes that the center is hiring lifeguards and swim instructors ahead of reopening.
The county's aquatic pass page lists daily admission at $7 for resident adults, $6 for resident seniors, $5 for resident youth and $20 for nonresidents. One-year all-pool passes for residents range from $320 to $550 depending on category. These are the county's standard rates across its pools.
The change you'll see outside has to wait for a garage
What happens outside the building depends on a separate county project with a separate timeline. The Wall Park Garage and Park Improvements plan would move the surface parking off Wall Local Park and the aquatic center into a garage on private land next door.
That land belongs to Stonebridge. According to the county's capital budget, Stonebridge has approvals for three life sciences buildings totaling roughly 660,000 square feet, plus a parking garage. As a condition of those approvals, Stonebridge has to build the garage and lease 104 spaces to Montgomery County for 50 years. Those spaces are for visitors to the aquatic center, Wall Local Park and the Josiah Henson Museum. The county also gets access to another 150 spaces for special events. The garage would use the aquatic center's current entrance on Executive Boulevard and connect to the building and the park by a public drive and pedestrian paths.
Once the garage is done, Stonebridge removes the surface lot and builds an interim park with large green spaces and loop trails. The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission would plan a fuller urban park in a future capital budget.
The county lists the project as "Planning Stage," and the start of construction depends on the developer's timing. The county's project page says Stonebridge received its site approvals in 2023. For now, swimmers on Nov. 23 will park in the same surface lot they used in 2024, and the loop trails are still a plan.
The same lot serves the museum across the street
The surface lot is also where visitors to the Josiah Henson Museum and Park, across the street at 11410 Old Georgetown Road, are told to park. Montgomery Parks sends visitors to the Wall Local Park lot at 5900 Executive Boulevard and has limited accessible parking at the museum itself. The museum is open Friday through Sunday. Its fall calendar has a few dates worth knowing before the pool reopens:
- Nov. 14 and 15: Remembrance and Reconciliation Weekend, with free admission, archaeology tours and family activities, according to the Montgomery Parks Fall 2026 program guide.
- Nov. 19, 6 to 7 p.m.: a paid History Hour, "Woodlawn Manor and the Underground Railroad," for ages 12 and up.
- Dec. 30 and 31, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.: special holiday hours, listed on the Montgomery Parks events calendar.
The pool and the museum are why both the 104 leased spaces and the future park are in the county's plan, and this lot is where the two already meet.
Where to eat after a swim
Pike & Rose is a short trip up Old Georgetown Road from the aquatic center. Its dining directory lists these spots near the pool:
- &pizza, 11626 Old Georgetown Road, the closest stop on the way north
- bartaco, 950 Rose Ave.
- Caruso's Grocery, 11820 Trade St.
- Julii, 11915 Grand Park Ave.
- Summer House, 11825 Grand Park Ave.
- Melina, 905 Rose Ave., which Bethesda Magazine included in an Oct. 30 roundup of Montgomery County restaurants
The opening weekend's 9 a.m. lap sessions end in time for a late breakfast nearby. The weekday sessions run to 8 p.m., which leaves room for dinner at Pike & Rose.
If the pool's return or the planned park on Executive Boulevard figures into how you think about your corner of North Bethesda, Sarro Georgatsos Group follows projects like Wall Park closely and is happy to talk through how they could shape the blocks around them. Contact Us when you'd like to talk.
