Backyard Buzz – Status of Landings Harbor Picnic Pavilion​ Exploration

Backyard Buzz: Status of Landings Harbor Picnic Pavilion​ Exploration

Q: Is The Landings Association’s Board considering turning the Landings Harbor Picnic Grounds into a resort event location that will change the character and usage of the area?

A: No. Your Association is exploring building a picnic pavilion at the Landings Harbor Picnic Grounds, a request which has been made by many community members over the years. The project design is a work in progress, and nothing has yet been finalized. TLA will seek community input before making any final decisions, including the option to not provide the covered picnic pavilion and keep the Harbor exactly as it is today. Your Board and TLA staff are committed to ensuring that any changes to the Landings Harbor Picnic Grounds reflect the needs and desires of our residents.

Highlights of Recent Exploration:

• The main idea is to provide a covered space where residents can enjoy picnics, relax, and escape the sun, bugs (with the help of fans), and pop-up rain showers.
• We created a task force that included individuals from the Board and community organizations to ensure our plans align with community desires.
• The task force decided that getting initial design ideas from SCAD would be cost-effective, supportive of this innovative local organization, and likely to result in a beautiful, functional facility that residents could enjoy for years, as well as boost the desirability of The Landings to potential home buyers.
• If a pavilion were built, there are no plans to sponsor weekly or monthly large events that would change the character of our community or compete with the offerings of our partner, The Landings Golf & Athletic Club.
• The facility would not be open to non-Landings members unless they are guests of a sponsoring resident, like with the rental of the Sunset Pavilion at Delegal Creek Marina.
• The proposed renderings of the various options that were published in the June Journal are not drawn to scale, and some items may appear larger than they would appear when built. SCAD designers were asked to consider the limited space and minimize the structure's footprint.
• The pavilion, if built, is expected to occupy roughly 5% of the picnic grounds and will be placed away from the river to preserve the views. Additionally, the designs include noise-reducing features to minimize the impact on the immediate neighborhood.

Landings Public Works staff are developing preliminary estimated costs, and TLA plans to share that information with the community when it is available. If this is a project the community wants to pursue, TLA will work to make that happen. If not, TLA will end this exploration.