The City of Bloomington is making waves this week with the start of demolition at O’Neil Pool, clearing the way for a new aquatics project in its place.
Plans for demolishing the aging facility at 1515 W. Chestnut St. were announced earlier this year. The city said the work could begin as early as June, but that was delayed until this week. Like many other public pools in Illinois, O’Neil was closed over the summer because of COVID-19.
“During this pandemic, Bloomington has taken every challenge and shaped it as an opportunity,” said City Manager Tim Gleason. “This is a perfect example of that.”
The pool is 46 years old and has outlived its operational capacity expectation by 21 years.
“It’s exciting to see progress being made on O’Neil Pool,” said Bloomington Aquatics Sports Program Manager Nicole Culbertson. “It’s full of a lot of good memories for area families, and the new facility will be a beautiful destination for the community.”
The design of the new O’Neil facility has yet to be determined, along with total project cost. Design work was budgeted for this fiscal year in the amount of $738,000.
“Parks staff are interviewing design firms for this project now,” said Parks, Recreation and Cultural Arts Director Jay Tetzloff. “Council, the community and staff have made this project a priority.”
Final completion date for the project also is yet to be determined.
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