Hyattsville is moving ahead with a new teen center.

The city received funding from the state of Maryland to develop a teen center in a building at the intersection of Nicholson Street and 40th Avenue, a few blocks from Hyattsville Middle School.

A conceptual design by Johnson, Mirmiran and Thompson includes a kitchen, three small meeting rooms, several study carrels, two informal breakout spaces and a long “genius bar” like table where laptops can be used.

The exterior would incorporate nearby Nicholson Park, currently a grassy knoll, adding picnic tables, a slide and obstacle course for younger kids, a wall for handball, and small touches like tall bird houses for chimney swifts and interactive art.

Built in 1920, the 3,000-square-foot one-story commercial building was home to a hair salon and an office before the city bought it for $500,000 in 2019. In recent years it had been vacant, frustrating neighbors on the street.

The city will refine the designs this year as it seeks additional grant funding, but work is expected to begin on the interior later this year.

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