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Wider pool, diving board coming tentatively in summer 2014

As much as area residents may have wanted to take a dip recently, the Hollywood Pool on Cole Avenue is closed, and will remain so until at least 2014, when renovations are expected to be complete.

The Hollywood pool will be closed next summer as contractors complete a $4 million project to bring the facility up to code. (photo by Aaron Blevins)

In about two weeks, workers will demolish the pool and its bathhouse to bring them up to code, making them more energy efficient and improving their surroundings. The $4 million project, which also includes gym renovations, will be financed through the State Quimby Act and Prop. K funds.

“It will be back better than ever,” said Trish Delgado, who oversees the pool’s operations for the city’s Department of Recreation and Parks.

One of the city’s oldest pool facilities, the Hollywood pool will be widened by five yards and will have the “deep end” in the middle, creating two shallow areas for recreational swimmers and programming. Workers will also install a diving board, which the pool has gone without for approximately 30 years.

In the bathhouse, contractors will section off portions of the showers so that each individual has their own space, project manager Sashi Bhakta said. Before, there was nothing blocking water from a different shower from moving into another.

Bhakta said the design is being modified to include pool heating and indoor ventilation. The pool will be ADA-accessible, as will the bathhouse, he said.

“I think it’s going to be much, much better than what we have now,” Bhakta said, adding that seismic upgrades will be made to the building.

He said renovations were not an option for the department, as the facility does not meet building and health code, much of its equipment is obsolete and the pool is leaking. It also consumes more energy than necessary.

Bhakta said the work and timeline is subject to change, but officials hope to have the pool ready for summer 2014. This year, the pool had more than 15,000 visitors, Delgado said, and more are expected with the new construction.

“The pool will be missed,” she said. “Hopefully, the way things are projected, we should only be shut down for summer 2013. … It’ll be nice to have a facility that’s up to compliance.”

Delgado said pool patrons may be able to seek refuge from the heat next year at other department pools, such as the Pan Pacific Park Pool, the E.G. Roberts Indoor Pool, the Cheviot Hills Pool and the Griffith Park Pool.

When the Hollywood facility reopens, patrons will be able to utilize its typical programming: novice teams sports like swimming, diving and synchronized swimming; swims lessons, from beginner to advanced; and other permitted uses, such as day camps.

Tags | Cole Avenue, Hollywood Pool, Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks