The Cornelia Warren Outdoor Pool in Westbrook has been closed since 2020. Chance Viles / American Journal
The city is considering a hybrid indoor-outdoor swimming pool for the Westbrook Community Center that could be used year round.
The pool would replace the public pool at the Cornelia Warren Outdoor Recreation Area. The pool was initially closed in 2020 because of the pandemic, but it has remained closed because of its disrepair.
The city is pursuing a grant to fund a feasibility study for a new outdoor pool and will seek other grants for the project as well. In the meantime, it has been looking into potential designs.
Indoor access to the outdoor swimming pool at the Best Western in South Portland allows the heated pool to be used year round. Chance Viles / American Journal
“We’ve suggested, while doing our due diligence, that we consider funding a pool that can be used 12 months out of the year instead of just 10-12 weeks,” community center Director Greg Post said.
The pool would be “a hybrid of sorts that would feature outdoor amenities for summertime use and could complement the current indoor pool during the indoor season,” Post said. “What that looks like and what it may cost in relation to what we had, no one yet knows.”
The pool could be similar to the pool at the South Portland Best Western on Main Street, Post said. That pool is outdoors but swimmers can enter it directly from inside the building.
City officials will have a better idea of the project’s budget later this spring once it hears about what grants it will receive.
City Project Manager Robyn Saunders said she hopes the City Council will be able to sign off on the terms of the feasibility study in June.
“The city is very early in the process. Movement continues slowly,” Saunders said.
Post previously said there are no plans to fix or reopen the existing outdoor pool.
The foundation of the outdoor pool at the recreation area has shifted because of the terrain and the pool is cracked and has other structural issues. The cost to repair the pool and a new bathhouse was estimated earlier at $1.8 million, exceeding the expected costs by roughly $1 million, prompting officials to pursue building a new pool.
Originally, the old pool was going to be replaced with a splash pad but community members turned out at a council meeting in the summer of 2020 in support of a swimming pool, even if that meant a new location.
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