Columbus could soon be getting a new indoor pool facility.
That's after Columbus City Schools and the city Parks and Recreation Department signed a letter of intent to construct a new indoor pool and recreation complex on the Northeast Side after the school district transfers property to the city. The non-binding letter of intent was agreed to last month.
The new facility will be located on the current sites of Mifflin Middle School, Cassady Alternative Elementary School, and Howard Community Center and Northeast Park (which would become the site of the pool facility). The letter of intent also calls for a recreation and community center with a new Mifflin Middle School building attached to the facility, as well as new athletic fields across Cassady Avenue on the current site of Cassady Elementary.
Neither school is among the nine Columbus City Schools proposed in June for closure .
A new indoor pool would double the city's portfolio of indoor public pools , as it currently has only one at the aging Columbus Aquatics Center, located at 1160 Hunter Ave. in the Short North.
According to the letter of intent, the cost of developing the new indoor pool will be paid by the Columbus Parks and Recreation Department. It is unclear what the potential cost may be, or when construction could potentially begin. The city recreation department did not respond to requests for comment.
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Columbus City school board member Sarah Ingles told The Dispatch that she was excited for the partnership between the district and city to "leverage resources and work together to better our city."
“I’m really grateful for everyone who worked hard to make this happen, and I'm looking forward to opportunities that benefit the community and our families in the district,” Ingles said.
Columbus currently lacking indoor pools despite high demand
In 2023, 4,600 residents of the Northeast Side attended swimming classes at the indoor Short North facility, The Dispatch previously reported. While the city operates eight seasonal outdoor pools and four "splash parks," The Dispatch reported last year that Ohio's largest city offered far fewer swimming pools than other major Ohio cities and central Ohio suburbs on a per-capita basis.
Columbus has a ratio of one pool per 100,000 residents, which has led to overcrowding at the existing pools, a lack of nearby pools for many areas of the city and a lack of swim class options, competitive events and year-round swim opportunities for residents, according to a draft report by Legat Architects' Columbus office that was commissioned by the city in 2021.
What else is in the letter of intent?
The process of creating the indoor swimming facility and moving Mifflin Middle and Cassady Elementary schools would happen over three phases of property transfers, according to presented plans. The first phase would involve the aquatics center along Agler Road, and an existing park parcel on Cassady Avenue being transferred to Columbus City Schools.
After the construction of the aquatics and community center, phase 2 calls for the existing Howard community center to be transferred to the school district.
Phase three of the plan calls for the existing site of Cassady Elementary to be transferred to the city recreation department and turned into an athletics complex, including a track and several fields. Cassady Elementary would be moved to the current site of Mifflin Middle Schook, and Mifflin Middle would be moved to a new facility that connects to the recreation center and indoor swimming pool.
The park on the northeast corner of the parcel would also be expanded.
Cberhens@dispatch.com
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus, school district pick possible site for new public indoor swimming pool
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