Prince George's County announced a $30 million wellness hub for the Temple Hills Community Center in October 2025, but the county's parks department has already named the Marlow Heights Community Center on St Clair Drive one of its pilot "Live Well Community Wellness Hubs." The Temple Hills center on Temple Hill Road is still in design and still open its full weekly hours.
So this fall, the neighborhood has two county centers in two different phases. One is a finished building already running wellness programming. The other is an older building whose big change hasn't started yet. Each one works differently for you over the next year.
The Hub That's Already Open on St Clair Drive
The Prince George's County Department of Parks and Recreation has picked three facilities as pilot Live Well Community Wellness Hubs. One is in each part of the county: Langley Park in the north, John E. Howard in central county, and the Marlow Heights Community Center in the south. The department says the hubs focus on "physical health, mental well-being, intergenerational connection, and active aging." It points residents to each facility's page for the month's "free and low-cost wellness, fitness, and lifestyle activities."
At Marlow Heights, the late-October Live Well calendar settled into a weekly rhythm:
| Class | When it ran | Price, resident / nonresident |
|---|---|---|
| Tai Chi: Beginner with Hero | Thursday, Oct. 22, and Tuesday, Oct. 27, 11 a.m. to noon | $30 / $39 |
| Tai Chi: Intermediate with Hero | Tuesday, Oct. 27 | Listed on the center's calendar |
| Aerobics: Adults with Sheryl | Sundays, Oct. 25 and Nov. 1, 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. | $36 / $47 |
| Chair Aerobics: Cycling with Darlina | Mondays, Oct. 26 and Nov. 2, 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. | $24 / $32 |
By this Thursday, the October sessions have already run, which leaves two classes on the published calendar. Sheryl's adult aerobics runs this Sunday, Nov. 1, at 2:30 p.m., and Darlina's chair aerobics and cycling runs Monday, Nov. 2, at 9:30 a.m. The center's Live Well listing ends there for now, with no December dates posted yet. The class list on the facility page is where the next round will appear.
Chair aerobics with cycling is meant for anyone who wants a seated workout. The department's description reads "Sit and still get fit!" Tai Chi is billed as "meditation in motion" for balance, stretching, muscle tone and flexibility.
Why Marlow Heights Could Take the Role First
Marlow Heights didn't have to wait for a renovation because it already had one. The original center was built in 1961 and closed in 2023 for major capital work. The new building reopened with a ribbon cutting on Saturday, April 19, 2025, according to the department's reopening release.
The new building has more than 20,000 square feet. It includes a weights and fitness room, a group fitness studio, multipurpose rooms, and a regulation basketball gym that converts to volleyball or pickleball. Outside there's a 5,000-square-foot inclusive playground, a 1,500-square-foot splash pad, resurfaced tennis and pickleball courts, and walking trails. Beyond the Live Well lineup, the regular class list includes basketball, hand dance, futsal, cosmetology, Tae Kwon Do and ballet.
Two pieces of public art on the grounds were built from neighbors' own words:
- "Dance with Me" by Baltimore artist Mary Ann Mears is a painted aluminum sculpture 14.5 feet high on a granite base. A community poem written by local voices is inscribed in the base.
- "Seat of Joy" by the Baltimore team Empact Art is a glass mosaic bench covered in mantras and encouragements gathered from residents. Students and community members helped make it in hands-on workshops.
Two parts of the building aren't fully working yet. The splash pad is "temporarily closed and will be out of service until further notice," and the department says it will share reopening updates when it has them. The Senior Club, a midday program for people 60 and older, is still listed as "Coming in 2026," with no start date posted as of late October.
The Temple Hills Center Is Running Its Full Schedule
The Temple Hills Community Center at 5300 Temple Hill Road remains open ahead of its overhaul, and its facility page lists regular public hours:
- Monday to Thursday: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
- Friday: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., then Teen Night from 7 to 10 p.m.
- Saturday: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Sunday: noon to 5 p.m.
Those hours match Marlow Heights exactly. The Temple Hills page has no notice about closing, relocating programs or starting construction. Its basketball courts, tennis courts, playground, grills and classrooms are still part of the everyday neighborhood. The photos on its page also show past events, including a Roaring '20s senior party in the gym and a Night of Gospel Music & Dance.
What the $30 Million Plan Changes, and When
The plan for this building is ambitious. The County Council's October 16, 2025 announcement describes a partnership with the Boris L. Henson Foundation, founded by actress and mental health advocate Taraji P. Henson. Together they would turn the Temple Hills Community Center into a Healing Arts Integrative Wellness Hub. The foundation would oversee programming such as hip hop therapy, arts and yoga. The center would also work to reduce social isolation among seniors, and residents could use it free of charge. DC News Now reported at the time that county officials were finalizing designs.
The county's own planning document gives a newer timeline. Here are the two side by side:
| October 2025 announcement | FY 2027–2032 Proposed Capital Budget | |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Partnership announced | "Design Stage" |
| Construction | "Expected to begin in 2026" | Estimated for fiscal 2027 |
| Completion | Not stated | Estimated for fiscal 2028 |
| Cost | $30 million | $30 million |
The proposed capital budget also spells out what the money would build. It lists a music studio, a dance studio, art classrooms, outdoor space for performances and wellness events, and therapy and wellness rooms. It describes the project broadly as a "renovation, expansion, or replacement."
At Marlow Heights, the old building closed in 2023 and the new one opened in April 2025. The Temple Hills project is a step behind that. Its estimated dates are budget-year targets, not calendar dates, and no groundbreaking has been announced. For now, the Temple Hills center is open as it has always been, and the wellness programming the county is piloting runs at Marlow Heights.
Fridays at Both Centers, and a Busy First Saturday in November
Both buildings run Teen Night every Friday from 7 to 10 p.m. It's a free drop-in program for ages 13 to 17 with no registration. The department's countywide Teen Nights listing includes Temple Hills as a year-round Friday location. Coming up are Friday, Oct. 30, then Nov. 6, 13, 20 and 27. Holiday weeks can change, so check the center's page around Thanksgiving and late December.
Saturday, Nov. 7, has two nearby library events:
- Surratts-Clinton Library is holding a free paper-shredding and electronics-recycling event in its parking lot from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Details are on the Prince George's County Memorial Library System calendar.
- Oxon Hill Library is hosting a Friends of the Oxon Hill Library book sale from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Oxon Hill calendar also lists a line-dancing program with instructor Dot Hicks on Wednesday, Nov. 4, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.
If you start that Saturday at Surratts-Clinton, you can fit in the book sale afterward. At Marlow Heights, the Senior Club and the splash pad reopening are the next two dates to look for. At Temple Hills, it's the first construction notice on the facility page.
New neighborhood amenities like a rebuilt Marlow Heights center and a planned Temple Hills wellness hub can shape how homeowners think about their next few years in the area. If you'd like to talk through how these changes fit your own plans for buying, selling or staying, Platinum Partners Realty is glad to help. Schedule a free consultation with Yolanda Burgess and her team.
