At 6 p.m. on Friday, January 31, 2025, the Damascus Library closed for a renovation the county expected to take 20 to 22 months. The ribbon cutting is set for Saturday, November 14, 2026, at 10 a.m., about 21 and a half months later and within the original estimate. The Damascus Senior Center shares the building and reopens the same day.
The building on the corner of Woodfield Road and Main Street was rebuilt around one idea: giving people a reason to stay. Planners now want the same thing for the stretch of Main Street just outside its doors. The library is the first piece to be finished. The sidewalk out front is still on the planning table, and the community conversation about it starts this winter.
Most of the work went into the walls
The county posted progress updates on the MCPL Damascus Refurbishment Project page throughout the closure, and they show how much of the time went into systems no visitor will ever see.
| When | What happened |
|---|---|
| February 10, 2025 | Materials and equipment start moving out |
| March 20, 2025 | Shelving cleared from the library floor |
| June 25, 2025 | Interior demolition begins |
| Fall 2025 | Ductwork, insulation, piping, and framing for new rooms |
| December 15, 2025 | Mechanical, electrical, and plumbing upgrades |
| January 21, 2026 | New entry doors and lobby for both library and senior center |
| February to March 2026 | Exterior repairs, masonry, and new insulation through the winter |
| June 16, 2026 | Every system tested, from basement boilers to fire alarms |
| September 14, 2026 | Fire Marshal inspects the fire protection systems |
| October 16, 2026 | New furniture in, books boxed and waiting to be reshelved |
The county's own update on the ductwork put it plainly: "Updates to piping and ductwork may not be glamorous, but they are important." The project goes back further than the closure, too. A facility assessment in 2021 started it, design kicked off in March 2023, and the final design was locked in by March 2024. Montgomery County's Department of General Services lists Sheladia Associates as architect and engineer and Keller Brothers Inc. as contractor on the senior center side, and reports that side substantially complete.
The rooms you will notice
Most of the visible changes make the library a place to sit, work, and meet, and less a place to grab a book and go. The project updates confirm:
- New study and collaboration rooms, with new doors. MCPL describes them as a good place to "focus, work together, or just sit quietly and read."
- A redesigned customer service desk
- ADA compliance upgrades and a new all-gender restroom
- Replacement windows and HVAC updates
- A rebuilt entry and lobby with new flooring, shared by library and senior center visitors
- A new monument sign at the corner of Woodfield and Main
When the shelves came out in March 2025, MCPL said the goal was "a more open layout." New study rooms and an accessible front door suggest the same thing. The building is meant to hold people for an afternoon.
What moves back from Oak Drive
For nearly two years, much of what normally happened at 9701 Main Street moved to the Damascus Community Recreation Center at 25520 Oak Drive. That included the MCPL returns box, weekly storytime, and the monthly book groups. Senior programs moved there too. The center's October 2026 newsletter lists interim hours of 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Wednesday and Friday, and 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. It also warns that November schedules may change as the center gets ready to go home. For questions about senior programs, the county's Senior Programs line is 240-777-4925. Updates are posted on the Damascus Senior Center page.
The first program on the library's calendar after the reopening is the Damascus Daytime Book Discussion on Thursday, November 19, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The group is reading James by Percival Everett. Check the MCPL Damascus Library page for regular hours before your first visit. Staff were scheduled back on site in late October to reshelve the collection.
A Saturday morning around the ribbon cutting
The 10 a.m. ceremony falls in the middle of a Saturday morning, and the blocks around the library already offer plenty to fill the rest of it.
Before the ceremony, Tom & Ray's Family Restaurant at 9805 Main Street, Suite 206, serves breakfast, specialty coffee, and house-made desserts. The Safeway bakery at 9807 Main Street opens at 7 a.m. every day, if you'd rather pick something up on the way.
After the ceremony, Hornet's Nest Grille at 9876 Main Street posts its current hours and monthly specials online. Ledo Pizza shares the 9805 Main Street address with Tom & Ray's and takes online orders for a later lunch. Jimmie Cone is closed for the season, and its hours page lists a March 17 reopening.
All of these sit within a few blocks of each other, and they explain why planners are now looking hard at the sidewalks between them.
The street outside is the next renovation
In September 2026, Montgomery Planning announced a $100,000 Maryland Department of General Services FY27 capital grant to prepare a Damascus Streetscape Improvement Plan for downtown. State Senator Katie Fry Hester led the effort, with support from Senator Craig Zucker and Councilmember Dawn Luedtke. The plan will look at wider sidewalks, landscaping, street trees, pedestrian lighting, seating, and bicycle accommodations. The money pays for engagement, analysis, and design. It is not construction funding. A separate $50,000 Main Street Maryland grant, run by the county's Upcounty Regional Services Center, adds to it.
The grant announcement from Montgomery Planning states the goal as "a Main Street where residents and visitors will want to stay and gather and businesses can thrive." It traces the idea to the October 2024 Damascus Placemaking Festival. In the same release, Planning Director Jason K. Sartori said, "The Damascus community told us they wanted a more vibrant, attractive, and people-focused Main Street."
The streetscape work will be folded into the Damascus Main Street Sector Plan Amendment, which updates the 2006 plan. Its posted schedule runs:
- Fall 2026: scope of work and plan preparation
- Winter 2026 to Spring 2027: community engagement and visioning
- Summer 2027: preliminary recommendations
- Fall 2027: working draft
- Winter 2028: Planning Board public hearing
- Spring to Summer 2028: County Council hearing and review
- Fall 2028: target for adoption
Montgomery Planning says it will work with the Montgomery County Department of Transportation, the Maryland State Highway Administration, and a consultant team. The Planning Board is expected to consider the streetscape plan as part of the sector plan process. No meeting dates are posted yet. Montgomery Planning's Damascus e-letter is the official way to hear when the winter visioning sessions are scheduled.
The library planning started with a 2021 assessment and ends with a ribbon cutting in November 2026. Main Street is at its own starting point now, and the visioning sessions this winter are where residents can weigh in on what the sidewalk outside the new front doors becomes.
If you're thinking about how the changes along Main Street could affect your own corner of Damascus, I'm happy to talk it through over coffee at Tom & Ray's after the ribbon cutting. You can find me at Rosie Tomlinson or on my Damascus neighborhood page. Let's Connect.
