SILVER SPRING, MD (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — The Birchmere concert hall has long attracted crowds to Alexandria, Virginia, but may soon draw music fans to the Maryland side of the Potomac River as well.
County and state leaders have said they are committed to providing taxpayer money to create a second Birchmere in Silver Spring, Maryland, on a renovated department store site in the downtown area, according to the Washington Post.
Under the outlines of the deal, the county and the state would each provide $4 million over two years to build the music hall behind the history art deco façade of the former J.C. Penney building.
A group of residents have pushed lawmakers towards the new venue through their Web site, Silver Spring Forward, collecting more than 1,200 “expressions of support” through a petition and emails.
Birchmere owners said in a statement that they hope to open a Maryland club by 2009, though negotiations are still being finalized. –by CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
