Coralville announces plan for new indoor pool to serve West, Liberty High

The city of Coralville and the Iowa City Community School District diving into a new pool project together, paving the way for a varsity swim program at Liberty High.

The city announced its intention to build a new competitive indoor pool at the local rec center, meant to accommodate a growing demand among local students.

The Iowa City CSD intends to divide Iowa City West's and Liberty High's joint team, per the Iowa High School Athletic Association's urging.

The current program holds practice at the aging indoor pool at the Coralville Recreation Center. The two schools compete as a single, combined unit, but growing enrollment at Liberty High has exposed a need for separation.

“The school district is really under pressure from the Iowa Athletic Associations for both boys and girls teams because both West and Liberty have grown to be large schools and both really should have their own swim teams,” Coralville Parks and Recreation Director Sherry Proud told council on Tuesday.

Northwest and North Central Junior Highs would also call the new indoor facility home. Additional space within the renovated facility would be available for community and recreational use.

The $150,988.94 price tag for pre-design services will be split amongst the city of Coralville and the Iowa City Community School District, with Coralville paying 60 percent and ICCSD handling the remaining 40 percent.

The Coralville City Council approved a first consideration to allocate roughly $90,000 toward the pre-planning phase of the remodel on Tuesday night. The payment will initiate the planning phase once the remaining approximately $60,000 is approved by the school board.

The pool is expected to be on the agenda during the board’s next meeting on Oct. 3.

The council did not reveal a total project estimate at Tuesday's meeting.

Coralville facility needs new lease on life

The rec center pool has reached the industry-standard 35-year lifespan, Proud said. City officials and the district sought proposals from Neumann Monson, the same company that developed the 2004 Recreation Master Plan.

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Preliminary blueprints indicate the available pool space would increase by building two 25-yard, competition-ready pools equipped for simultaneous practices. The city estimates that 32 swim meets will be held at the new facility each year.

The competition pools would take up about 10% of the total swimming space while the entire pool would fill 50% of the building, city staff said Tuesday.

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An aquatics facility renovation was not included in the city's 2004 master plan, providing an opportunity to consider the recreation center's future, ensuring the entire master plan reflects community desires nearly two decades after it was developed, Proud said.

Proud said that community members will have a chance to comment at upcoming open houses and events throughout the design phase.

The programming and planning workshops are tentatively scheduled for mid-November and early December. The developers plan to develop concepts by early 2024, with a final design expected by the first week of February. Bidding would begin in the spring and summer of next year.

Ryan Hansen covers local government and crime for the Press-Citizen. He can be reached at [email protected] or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @ryanhansen01.

This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: A new indoor pool will allow Liberty High to establish swim program