Making Waves

Students take part in swimming lessons in the current pool at the Nir Family YMCA. The facility plans to add a second, Olympic-sized pool to its footprint. (File photo)

The YMCA of Southeastern N.C. has plans to add an Olympic-sized swimming pool to its facility on Market Street.

The project would add more than 28,000 square feet to the existing footprint of the Nir Family YMCA at 2710 Market St. in Wilmington. The proposed addition is part of a larger effort from the organization to keep up with ongoing growth in the Wilmington area, said Dick Jones, president and CEO of the YMCA of Southeastern N.C.

In addition to the 50-meter pool, the addition would include seating for approximately 500 spectators with a mezzanine overlooking the pool deck, additional parking and an outdoor program space between the facility’s existing and proposed pools.

The YMCA recently submitted project plans to the city of Wilmington for review, and Jones said he expects the pool project could break ground in the fall. Its estimated cost is between $15 million and $16 million, he added.

The project stemmed from the findings of an internal aquatic task force that convened a few years ago to study the community’s aquatic needs. It found a need for more pools, along with more space for swimming and lifeguard lessons, Jones said.

He said the Y began working on the pool project late last summer. The project is designed to accommodate swim meets – something that’s difficult on the limited deck space of the Y’s existing pool, Jones said.

“The facility that we have in place right now doesn't really lend itself well to (swim) meets of any size,” he said. “You may have a couple of teams swimming against each other on a Saturday, but it is not like the needs that the community has.”

The proposed addition will also include a larger ground-floor footprint for Novant Health, which has a rehabilitation and physical therapy office at the Y. The YMCA is also gearing up to break ground this summer on the expansion of the Midtown YMCA, which includes a new aquatics center, new sports courts and classrooms.

“I am optimistic that, after we get the Midtown project underway,” Jones said, “that we’ll turn our full attention to this project and get it to the point where we can break ground as well.”

Jones said the projects underway across local YMCA facilities are aimed at serving the needs of those who visit the Y daily and the growth of the surrounding community.

“When I think about the bigger picture of what we're doing at Midtown and now what we're hoping to do over at the Nir facility, it's about making sure we've got spaces for kids and families, childcare spaces. It's about making sure we have places for adults to gather and not be isolated, not to be lonely. It's a place to help people learn how to swim,” he said. “All of the projects we have underway, both in Midtown and then what we're contemplating at the Nir Y, are designed to sort of help us keep pace with meeting those sorts of needs in the community.”