ROCKINGHAM COUNTY, Va. (ROCKTOWN NOW) — A community staple in Bridgewater may get some long-overdue upgrades soon if it’s chosen for a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) this year.

The Rockingham County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to pass a resolution at their meeting Wednesday night that would give county officials the green light to apply for the grant, which would fund renovations to turn Briery Branch Community Center into a multi-use center and childcare facility. The goal is to turn the center into a community gathering space that could also support toddler daycare and afterschool care.

Specifically, the county will prepare an application for a CDBG Community Improvement Grant, which would need to be submitted in June, and award winners are expected be announced later this year. The Briery Branch Community Center is the first project for which the county has pursued CDBG funding in five years.

If awarded, Rockingham County could receive up to $1.3 million in aid to renovate Briery Branch without a local matching fund requirement. Work on the community center would begin in early 2025, and the county would have two years to complete the project.

Some of the proposed renovations include a fenced-in play area, landscaping beds and ADA-compliant infrastructure such as sidewalks and handicap parking spaces.

In order for localities to qualify for the grant, their proposed projects must meet one of three criteria:

  • Priorities activities for low-to-moderate income families
  • Help to prevent slums or blights
  • Include activities that could meet other community development needs.

In a presentation to the board, Jeremy Crute, a Senior Planner with the Central Shenandoah Planning District Commission, said the Briery Branch Community Center project meets two of those requirements.

“This project would prevent blight because you’d be renovating a building that’s more than 60 years old, and because 56 percent of families nearby who said they would use the facility qualify as low-to-moderate income,” Crute explained.

The Briery Branch Community Center opened in 1954, and has been a frequently-used gathering space since then. Activities and events that have been held at the center include wedding receptions, family reunions, birthday parties, and other community events.

District 4 Supervisor Leila Longcor, who represents the Briery Branch area, expressed her gratitude at the potential steps forward for the community center.

”Staff has worked really hard on this, so I and the people of Briery Branch can’t thank you enough,” Longcor said.

Following the vote, Rockingham County Administrator Stephen King suggested that, if the application is successful, the county should apply for more CDBG grants to fund other projects in the future.