Des Plaines moves closer to building $9 million indoor pool

Des Plaines Park District has hired firms to design and oversee construction of a $9 million indoor swimming pool, while plans are underway to close an aging outdoor pool on the city's south side.

Park district commissioners last week approved a contract with architecture firm Cordogan, Clark & Associates to design the facility to be added onto the Prairie Lakes Community Center. Downers Grove-based Corporate Construction Services will be the construction manager.

Proposed designs for the facility include an eight-lane, 25-meter pool, therapy pool, splash pad, multipurpose room for community events and locker rooms. The amenities will not be finalized until designs are approved, community input is being gathered and construction bids are approved, officials said.

"We intend to provide all of the aquatic programs and activities you would expect to be available in a pool of this size," Des Plaines Park District Executive Director Don Miletic said in a news release Tuesday. "All of us at the park district are excited to be bringing a year-round indoor pool to the community."

The project will be paid for with $4 million in reserve funds and $5 million in bonds. No new taxes will be levied to pay for the bonds, which will be paid by 2025.

If the bonds were not issued, property taxes would not drop because the park district would continue borrowing money within its current debt structure to pay for construction and renovation at facilities, officials said.

The park district plans to start construction in fall 2018 and complete the facility by fall 2019.

Meanwhile, the park district plans to close Iroquois Pool, 2324 Maple St., after the 2019 summer season. The pool is 50 years old and past the normal life span of an outdoor pool built in that era, park district spokesman Gene Haring said.

City code requirements restrict reconstruction of a pool at the site, Haring said. There isn't enough land to accommodate requirements for stormwater detention, mechanical, safety, disability access and locker room standards, he said.

"At some point in 2018, we expect to begin gathering community input for some type of water activity area on the south side of Des Plaines," Haring said in an email.