On Friday, Aug. 25, there was a ceremonial ribbon cutting and first look at the new aquatic and cultural centers at the Montauk Playhouse Community Center (240 Edgemere St., Montauk, 631-668-1124).
While the construction phase is ongoing, the public got a chance to see the Playhouse’s new first-floor aquatic center and second floor multi-use cultural center, an effort over 20 years in the making, according to the Montauk Playhouse Community Center Foundation president Jennifer Carney Iacono.
“After years of planning, partnership, and perseverance, the vision for the Montauk Playhouse Aquatic and Cultural Centers is finally coming to life,” Carney Iacono says. “This milestone is a tribute to the unwavering support of our community… We are deeply grateful for the generosity shown over the years and for our strong public-private partnership with the Town of East Hampton, which has made it possible to realize this essential project to complete the historic Montauk Playhouse for our community.”
(Photos by Barbara Lassen)
The new aquatic center will feature a four-lane, 25 yard lap pool along with what Carey Iacono calls a therapy pool, as it will be set at a warmer temperature, “so it’s a multi purpose kind of thing,” she says, noting it will be used for early swimming lessons. Additionally, there will be locker rooms, changing rooms a seating space. The aquatic center is slated to officially open for community members in about a month and a half from now. As the construction phase concludes, the Playhouse Foundation’s fundraising continues, to fully outfit the second-floor multi-purpose cultural center with lighting, sound, screens, and stage equipment, according to a press release from the Playhouse. Both new floors take up about 24,000-square-feet.
“This moment belongs to Montauk,” says East Hampton Town Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez in a press statement. “It reflects years of hard work, generosity, and belief in what this community can build together. The new Aquatic and Cultural Centers will be a gathering place for all, rooted in community, and shaped by shared effort.”
