The Municipal Pool in the City of Grandview Heights will be celebrating its 40th birthday next year in a really big way… by being completely replaced with a brand new swimming facility. Community leaders have been working toward that goal for nearly two years, after coming to the conclusion that the current pool was in need of a major overhaul.
“The existing pool was built in 1977 to 1978, and we typically we get about 30 years out of municipal pools, so it’s a bit long in the tooth both in terms of design and function,” explained Grandview Parks & Recreation Director Sean Robey. “We have numerous leaks, we have accessibility issues, and we have other problems both mechanical and programmatic. The design from 1977 was great for that time, but the community agrees that it’s time to upgrade.”
To that end, the Grandview Parks Advisory Board began to convene regularly in late 2014 to start the process of determining what types of features and amenities were most important for a new facility. The group eventually contracted Ohio-based MSA Architects to help lead the process with Grandview residents and draft the design that was presented at a public meeting in March.
“Through that process, we found a great deal of agreement among residents,” said Robey. “We heard that they wanted a lot of open water with diving boards and swimming lanes, and wanted waterslides, but not a full blown waterpark. They also wanted less concrete and more green space.”
The current site plan includes a wading pool for infants and toddlers, a zero-entry edge for better accessibility, and retains one of the half basketball courts on site as well. Robey said that the next public meeting taking place later this month will focus on the buildings and structures on site, and will begin to finalize some of the costs for the project.
The current Grandview Heights Municipal Pool will open for its final season on May 28th, closing a few weeks early on August 14th so that demolition can begin before Labor Day.
“Our goal is to open by Memorial Day Weekend in 2017,” said Robey.
For more information on the project, visit www.grandviewheights.org.
All renderings and visuals via MKSK / City of Grandview Heights.
