‘Exciting, but bittersweet’: Wheeling aquatic center won’t open this summer because of construction

For more than 30 summers, the laughs and screams of kids having fun on water slides, in pools and on play structures have echoed through Wheeling’s Family Aquatic Center.

But not this year.

The 4-acre facility at 105 Community Blvd. won’t open to the public as usual because a planned multimillion-dollar demolition and replacement should be underway, Wheeling Park District Executive Director Jan Buchs revealed Monday.

“It’s exciting, but bittersweet, too,” Buchs said. “The Family Aquatic Center has served so many in our community and the region.”

Day camps at the nearby Community Recreation Center will be held, but the kids will take field trips to water parks in other towns instead of crossing a parking lot.

Buchs’ disclosure came during a presentation of the plan for the new aquatic center to the village board at village hall.

The new aquatic center could cost between $27 million and $32 million, depending on the final design, officials have said. An updated cost estimate is expected late next month, Buchs said.

Funding will come from district reserves.

The centerpiece of the plan is a large swimming pool with a zero-depth area, a diving board in the deep end and other amenities.

A play structure, two body slides and a drop slide are proposed for elsewhere on the property, as is a resort-style pool designed for grown-ups.

A splash pad, a bath house, a concession area, party shelters and a space featuring cabanas that could be rented are among other proposed amenities.

A May 2027 opening is being eyed, Buchs said.

Buchs and Terry Berkbuegler, a senior principal with the Confluence landscape architecture and planning firm, presented the proposal to the village board Monday for a site and concept review. It’s just one step in what already has been a monthslong planning process.

Several village officials seemed pleased that the new aquatic center’s entrance and parking area will be on the west side of the property, rather than the current east side location. That should improve traffic flow and make it easier for people heading to village hall or the recreation center to find convenient parking.

“I think the parking change is tremendous,” Trustee Ray Lang said.

Aside from informally approving the plan, the village board took no action. The next step is a formal review by the village’s plan commission, and then it’ll go back to the board.

Meanwhile, the park district board is finalizing the details of the project, including the eventual demolition of the current aquatic center.