ALLENTOWN, Pa. - Allentown City Council voted Wednesday to spend $1.2 million on a new Irving Pool.
The new East Side facility at 731 Irving St. will replace the aging old one demolished last year.
"They're rebuilding it from scratch," said city Controller Jeff Glazier. "If you go by the old park, there's nothing there anymore."
- Allentown City Council agreed to spend $1.2 million dollars on a new Irving Pool
- It will include swim lap lanes, a whirlpool and a bathhouse
- Construction was originally set to start in 2019, then pushed to last year. It has not started yet
"Now that you know what it's gonna cost, now you've got to find the money for it," Glazier said. "And so they're taking it from a variety of places."
Glazier said some of the money is coming from a "pools and spray park project fund," and the rest from the Auburn Cross Trails Project. He didn't have the exact numbers or an itemized breakdown of the costs.
The costs have risen since the idea for replacing the public pool was first proposed.
A 2017 media release from the city said the entire demolition and construction would cost around $1 million and finish by 2019. It also said that the pool was the oldest in the city, and "at the end of its useful life."
Glazier said he actually worked at the old Irving Pool in 1977. "That's where I heard Elvis died," he said.
Allentown has five other public pools and spray parks: Cedar Beach Pool, Mack Pool, Bucky Boyle Spray Park, Old Fairgrounds Playground Spray Park and Valania Park Spray Park.
The new Irving Pool is set to include an activity pool with a "beach front entrance," a wading area, as well as a whirlpool, swim lap lanes and a bathhouse.
A completion date hasn't been given.
Resident season passes for city pools cost $75 per person or $200 per family. Seniors or veterans and active military pay $25.
