HIGH POINT, N.C. — Some pool goers will have to find another place to swim for the third summer in a row as construction and renovation continues at High Point City Lake Park.
The pool first shut its gates in 2020 during the pandemic, but it stayed closed when the city started the project to improve and renovate the pool area in 2021.
“We’ve had plans in the works for many years to look at possible renovations here at City Lake Park. City Lake Park is one of our oldest park systems, one of the oldest park systems in North Carolina and there have been several concerns over the years with maintenance and renovation needs that we have within the park,” said Lee Tillery, Director of Parks and Rec. in the city of High Point.
Construction started in May of 2021, according to Tillery, after the city began planning and designing the project during the pandemic.
“We expect to be done mid-summer. That’s what we’re looking at, mid to late July right now, of course, that’s tentative. Plans can change, but right now we’re dialed in on that completion date. The pool will not be available for use this summer, unfortunately, with that late of a finish, so the pool will be open in May 2023,” he said.
The project will include a new multi-purpose building to hold meetings and events, a great lawn with a stage, a lazy river, and a splash pad.
Tillery said part of the delay is due to the workload crews have on their hands.
"City Lake Park is a park that’s about 90 years old so we have a lot of infrastructure needs here, a lot of infrastructure maintenance needs here, but we didn’t know a lot about the totality of the project just because of the history and the age of the park," said Tillery, "We did get into that once we started demolition and started construction. We found more concrete underneath the pool surface than we ever thought we had, so that’s just an example of a delay both in the schedule and some increase in costs."
Tillery said he's confident the wait will be well worth it when the city's most popular park is fully open again.
"It is certainly OK with us. We wanted to open the pool as soon as we can but we want this to be a beautiful project in the end. We want everything to be done right, so we’re OK with the time that it takes to complete the project," he said.
The City of High Point has other pools visitors can use in the summer. He said surrounding municipalities like Greensboro and Winston-Salem have similar public amenities that can be used as well.
"Just be patient, it’s going to be great. We won’t remember the delays down the road. We'll just recognize what a beautiful and awesome project this is going to be in the end, so I think once we get to that point it’s going to be really exciting and I’m sorry we’re not able to open the summer but I feel good about where we are with the construction team with the schedule with the type of project we’re going to have in the product that’s going to be here," said Tillery.