Elizabeth Cotner, The Examiner
2007-06-11 07:00:00.0
Current rank: Not ranked

WASHINGTON -

Construction of the Ward 3 Aquatic Center in Tenleytown at the site of the condemned Woodrow Wilson High School pool could begin by December and be completed by spring 2009.

The Department of Parks and Recreation is funding the estimated $23 million to $26 million project.

Ward 3 hasn’t had a pool facility since the old pool, located on the high school’s campus, closed in July 2003 for safety reasons after part of an external wall collapsed, said Jackie Stanley, Capital Project Coordinator for the Department of Parks Recreation.

“The [new] pool is a great benefit to the community as well as to the ward,” Stanley said.

Department of Parks and Recreation Project Manager Cheryl Campbell said at an informational meeting at the high school Tuesday the old pool facility’s demolition is expected in late July or early August and it should cost under $1 million.

According to the project’s Web site, wilsonpooldc.org, the aquatic center will open to Ward 3 and District residents, and Woodrow Wilson High School swim teams will practice and compete there.

The facility could include a 25-yard-by-50-meter competition pool, a leisure pool, an adult whirlpool, spectator seating for 477, family changing cabanas and recreation rooms.

At 53,509 square feet, the new facility will be larger than the existing one, though federal wetlands surrounding the site limit its size.

Architects from Hughes Group Architects, a firm from Sterling, said they’re designing the facility according the U.S. Green Building Council’s rating system for environmentally sound construction.

The architects said the site lacks the plumbing to provide adequate water supply to the new building, so a pipe could be installed under Ford Drive to bring water to the facility.

Chevy Chase resident Julia Ulstrup, 42, said her son is a member of Woodrow Wilson swim team.

“As a neighborhood resident, I’m exited to see there’s a state-of-the-art facility for our families,” Ulstrup said. “It’s got [the children] motivated to continue to swim. They’re excited, they’re motivated, they’re ready to go.”