At its May 7, 2013, meeting, the Eden Prairie City Council approved a contract to begin the architectural design phase of a proposed upgrade to the Community Center aquatics facility.
Originally installed in 1983, the Community Center pool has hosted thousands of Eden Prairie residents for everything from swimming lessons to competitive swim meets. And in the past few years, participation in aquatics programs has increased significantly. This is largely due to a facility remodel in 2008, after which Community Center memberships quadrupled
“With the exception of the pool, the entire Community Center facility was remodeled in 2008,” said Jay Lotthammer, parks and recreation director for the City of Eden Prairie. “Since that time, Community Center memberships have quadrupled – so the pool is seeing more use than ever, and it has become evident that the current aquatics area is in need of an upgrade to support this usage.”
In response to indications that the existing aquatics facility was becoming inadequate, a feasibility study was conducted with the goal of identifying and resolving facility deficiencies, addressing challenges in programming and user group access, and evaluating demographic trends to plan for future programming.
This study resulted in a set of recommendations, which would address the aquatics facility’s inadequacies.
In all, the cost of these upgrades are estimated to be nearly $16.5-million, and the funding will come from revenue bonds issued by the City – a source which will not result in a tax increase.
“Replacing our current aquatics facility is really a necessity,” said Lotthammer. “Not only due to the increased demand for pool space, but also because we currently have about $1-million in repairs which must be completed to bring the pool up to code.”
Following the design phase, and with City Council approval, the City will move forward with the planning and construction phases – with an estimated completion sometime in 2015.
For more about the Community Center aquatics facility, visit edenprairie.org/aquatics.
