By Tara Fischer

Staff Writer

(Aug. 20, 2026) Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) visited the Eastern Shore this week and stopped in Berlin to present a check for $1.4 million to the town for its community center initiative.

Berlin officials announced in January that the Berlin Community Center project received a $1.4 million federal grant through the Fiscal Year 2026 Agricultural, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act.

The funds, administered through the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development, will help launch the first phase of Berlin’s community center project. The money will pay for work such as site preparation, project design, and future construction for SHORE UP, Inc. programming and facilities.

Van Hollen and Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.) requested and secured the federal funding.

In April, the Berlin Town Council advanced the project by approving a local funding match of $7,000 required to secure the $1.4 million in federal support. Berlin Mayor Zack Tyndall confirmed at that time that the municipality’s contribution would come from its community center fund.

The project has taken shape over the past few years, beginning with the acquisition of four parcels of property on Flower Street to be used as the site for the center.

That milestone was achieved through a collaboration between the Town of Berlin, the Berlin Community Improvement Association (BCIA), SHOREUP! Inc., and the Worcester County Commissioners.

Van Hollen spoke about the project’s importance last Thursday

“This is the vision,” he said. “…It is a vision of a community center taking shape at this historic site. This historic site of Flower Street School … It was also a school that was operating during the painful period of segregation so the community center will tell part of that story.

“But the best part of the story is the end of the story. The story is bringing people together to build opportunities for every person … It’s wonderful that we’ve got the after-school programs and … computers, hopefully an aquatic center. A place for people to come together from all ages and all backgrounds and to build opportunities for the next generation.”

The senator thanked town officials and other project advocates.

“You did all the work, you laid out the vision,” Van Hollen added. “We at the federal level, we like to take our lead from the folks in the community … We are very pleased to be here for the start of this project and look forward to coming back one day when this vision rises out of the ground.”

Last summer, Daniele Haley of Haley Architecture presented a community center feasibility study. The wish list for the facility includes a pool for high school competitive swim meets, water aerobics classes, and lesson; a gymnasium for events and indoor sports; a fitness room; an indoor walking track; a health services station for physicals, vision, and hearing exams; special event spaces; a technology lab; a community kitchen; Head Start program classrooms and Head Start spaces, kitchen, and offices.

If the building incorporates every desire, the project would cost over $30 million. Haley noted during her presentation that the wish list would be scaled back from the pricey endeavor but would still meet the community’s needs.

The federal funds will allow the project’s first phase, or preconstruction, to commence. The town has also found creative ways to raise additional revenue.

Last summer, Berlin auctioned off its retired speed limit, stop, and other road signs to raise money for the center. Sara Gorfinkel, Tyndall’s executive assistant, spearheaded the auction, which brought in over $10,000.

The town hosted another auction over the winter, offering 11 ideal parking spaces for the crowded Christmas Parade. That event raised just under $1,000 for the proposed community center. ˚