The Silver Spring Penguin

Construction on downtown Silver Spring’s civic center is running behind schedule, putting off its grand opening by at least three months, one county rep announced.

Blame crappy soil quality at the construction site on Fenton Street and Ellsworth Drive, Gary Stith, director of Silver Spring’s regional center, told members of the citizens advisory board Monday night. Crews had to dig up that dirt before starting on the hardcore construction, he explained.

The poor-quality soil, plus undisclosed issues with the county’s department of permitting services, translated to the building’s grand opening in March 2010, Stith said. The previous goal was to cut the red ribbon with oversized scissors in late fall or early winter 2009.

Stith still banked on a November 2009 dedication of a veterans memorial, which will sit towards Ellsworth Drive in a plaza adjacent to the civic center. However, most of the plaza — including the planned ice-skating rink — will remain closed to the public until construction on the site has progressed, he said.

It’s been a bumpy road for the project, made bumpier by a swath of grass carpet dropped on the site in 2005. The Turf (as it came to be known) was supposed to be a temporary thing. But when residents took to the open space, some in the hood began to question whether a paved plaza was the right idea.

After slugging it out in public forums and in front of the county planning board, the decision was made to move forward with the plaza, its veterans memorial and the ice rink. Workers tore up the Turf in September, two weeks before a groundbreaking ceremony on the site.

Photo courtesy of Flickr user Katmere.