Baltimore’s Cherry Hill community welcomed the new Middle Branch Fitness and Wellness Center.
With connections to existing trails, including the Gwynns Falls Trail and the Middle Branch Trail, the new facility was designed to be a central location for recreation, fitness, and wellness in South Baltimore.
The $23.1 million project years has been 11 years in the making, under then-City Council President Jack Young, and required funding and support from the city, the state, and the South Baltimore Gateway Partnership.
“This rec center took a village and a half,” said Senate President Bill Ferguson. “This is proof that when the community organizes, when the community comes together and says this is what we demand, this is what we deserve. We can get it done.”
The 35,000-square-foot facility is equipped with a community room; fitness studios; a gymnasium with a basketball court; a maker space; an indoor walking track; three pools with a slide, lap lanes and a kiddie pool; and more.
Future plans include playgrounds, a field house, outdoor walking trails, a dog park, and more.
“When you think about this $23 million facility and what it is a shining example of, it is what is possible when we invest in the potential of our community,” said Mayor Brandon Scott. “Especially in areas like Cherry Hill, where for far too long, they’ve felt ignored or that they were invisible, that South Baltimore did not exist when it comes to its city elected officials. This building showcases that those days are long behind us and that we see Cherry Hill and we invest in Cherry Hill.”
The Middle Branch recreation center is free to use and is the latest facility to open with five new rec centers in design across the city of Baltimore.
The Middle Branch Fitness and Wellness Center is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Where in Cherry Hill is this located?