The $9.3 million overhaul of the Norridge Park District pool complex is expected to be completed “at some point during summer,” said Annemarie Flaherty, executive director of the park district.
“Right now we do anticipate opening at some point during summer, but we won’t know the exact date until 30 days before that date,” Flaherty said on May 17. “I don’t have a status of construction. I don’t have a percentage of what’s done. They’re continuing working on outdoor features and finalizing the lap pool at this time.”
During the week of May 20-24, crews were completing the majority of the north end of the project and then begin focusing on the south side, she said. They have poured concrete for the diving well, a splash pad and the leisure pool, and will next pour it for the new lap pool, Flaherty said.
The project, which is being funded with $5.5 million in bonds approved in a 2021 referendum, a $600,000 state grant and $3.2 million of park district funds, was initially scheduled for completion in late June, she said.
“That was a year and a half ago before they started construction,” Flaherty said. “After moving forward and entering the permit process, it took a little bit longer. Then it was scheduled for the middle of July. But through construction with different changes in the weather, the most recent update was sometime in August.”
Now park officials will not know the exact date until the project is 95 percent complete, she said. “Then we will announce the official date.”
The new complex will feature three pools and a splash pad, Flaherty said. The main pool will contain a diving well with a 3-meter diving board, a 1-meter diving board and a drop slide, she said.
The pool will allow for deep water exercise, scuba diving and use by the local swim team, Flaherty said. The splash pad will contain a platform raised a few feet and a “water walk” consisting of five floating “lily pads” anchored to the floor of the pool, she said.
“The lily pads are floating and there is a rope system above them,” Flaherty explained. “You can walk and jump from one side of the pool to the other. They’re kind of moving as you move one foot to the next pad.”
Two water slides will empty into a 4-foot-deep section of the pool, she said.
The leisure pool will grow from 0 feet deep at entry to 4 feet deep, Flaherty said. The lap pool will provide six lanes and range from 3.5 feet to 5 feet in depth, she said.
Park district officials have been “very happy” with construction work so far, Flaherty said. The weather and the site layout caused most of the delays in the project, she said.
“With weather and the logistics of a small site, you could not dig and pour all the vessels at the same time,” Flaherty said. “You have to go in a certain order. Heavy rain or freezing cold compounds it a little bit.”
According to a December 2020 survey, 59.5 percent of Norridge residents visit the complex at least once a month during pool season.
“Our community pool has been an important part of Norridge residents’ lives for nearly 60 years,” said Norridge Park District Board President Thomas Lorscheider.
Flaherty said the area community is “very excited” about the opening.
“There’s only one pool in Norridge,” she said. “Our neighbors in Harwood Heights do not have one. The community enjoys the pool and is very excited and looking forward to it.”
The park district committed $5.5 million of a $6.3 million bond issue to the pool, Flaherty said. The remaining $800,000 will be used for other capital projects throughout the district, she said.
The bond issue will cost the owner of a $300,000 home an additional $50 a year in property taxes for 20 years, Flaherty said.
