A Montgomery County Council committee today approved $89 million for construction of a new Strathmore concert hall in North Bethesda.
The Health and Human Services Committee also voted to cap the amount the county will contribute to the planning, design, and construction of the project to $44.4 million. The state of Maryland will contribute the other half of the project�s capital cost.
"Strathmore Hall is something that should be held to the standard of good spending habits," said Councilmember Blair Ewing, who chairs the Health and Human Services Committee. "We have the obligation as the decisionmakers on the budget to act wisely with taxpayer dollars."
The Strathmore Hall project will include a 2000-seat concert hall and an education center on the grounds of a historic mansion. The concert hall would serve as a venue for concerts and as the second home of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. The hall also would house other Montgomery County arts organizations.
The committee voted by 2 to 1 against Councilmember Ewing�s proposal to scale back the project from $89 million to $86 million, with Councilmembers Steve Silverman and Marilyn Praisner opposed
"We capped the county�s contribution and laid out possibilities for cost controls, " said Councilmember Praisner. "This was a complicated project from the beginning because the County Executive introduced cost estimates prematurely.
We then had to grapple with the getting the project under control."
When originally proposed the project was estimated to cost $68 million, a figure that rose to nearly $89 million earlier this year.
The County Council will take final action on this project on May 10.