Years after losing a beloved public pool, North Portland is on track to receive a brand-new city aquatic center. The planned North Portland Aquatic Center will open in Northgate Park by 2030.
The 93-year-old Columbia Pool shuttered at the start of the pandemic in 2020, and the city announced its permanent closure earlier this year. According to Portland Parks & Recreation, which oversees city pools, a building inspection of the indoor pool discovered serious structural issues that could create life-threatening hazards. The city estimated it would cost between $5 million and $10 million to repair. Prior to its closure, the pool had been operating at a $450,000 loss annually that was projected to grow, according to the city.
City officials decided it would be less risky to replace the outdated pool with an indoor aquatic center in the same Portsmouth neighborhood. In June, the city announced it would be building the North Portland Aquatic Center in Northgate Park on N Fessenden Street and N Geneva Avenue. The park is a mile northwest of the old pool in Columbia Park.
An aerial view of a design rendering for the future North Portland Aquatic Center at Northgate Park.
Courtesy of Portland Parks & Recreation
The city has secured $31.7 million in funding to build the facility. Those dollars come from a combination of development fees collected by the city, as well as state lottery dollars. The project is estimated to cost at least $50 million. City Commissioner Dan Ryan, who oversees Portland Parks & Recreation, is responsible for finding the rest of the money.
In a press statement, Ryan emphasized the importance of investing in North Portland, a community that’s more racially and economically diverse than other areas of the city.
“The new aquatic facility will address historical gaps in access and service quality for North Portland communities,” Ryan said. “The area north and west of Portsmouth hasn’t had a major parks public infrastructure project like this in decades. The Northgate Park site will be accessible and transformative for a densely populated neighborhood with a significant number of neighbors who earn low incomes.”
The city selected Northgate Park after months-long deliberations by a volunteer group called the North Portland Aquatic Center Project Advisory Committee. The committee originally recommended that the city choose University Park for the new facility, but noted that Northgate would be a good second choice. It’s not clear why the city rejected their initial recommendation.
Still, members of the committee say they support the final decision.
“I’m very excited for the project to keep moving forward, and for Northgate Park to be the future home of one of the biggest projects in Portland Parks & Recreation’s history,” said Jenny Eckart Hoyt, a member of the advisory committee.
The aquatic center will take years to develop. The city estimates that site construction won’t start until late 2027 at the earliest and is set to wrap in 2029. That means North Portland residents won’t have access to an indoor pool until at least 2030.
Columbia Pool was the only indoor public pool in North Portland. The city runs two outdoor pools during the summer in nearby Pier Park and Peninsula Park.
It’s unknown when the Columbia Pool building will be demolished.