Edinburg officials marked the beginning of a new construction that will upgrade facilities at the city’s municipal pool.
City council members and staff broke ground on a redevelopment project for the municipal pool on Friday.
The first phase of the $4.3 million project will replace the pool’s bathhouse which was first constructed in the 1950s.
“So I think it’s well overdue for there to be a new facility,” Edinburg Mayor Ramiro Garza Jr. said during the groundbreaking ceremony. “In a growing community, we need to have amenities, we need to have things that we can offer our residents and this is one of them.”
The new bathhouse will include climate control, a camera system, state of the art bathrooms and shower areas, according to Parks & Recreation Director Javier Garza.
Earlier this month, the city council awarded a $1.58 million contract to Gerlach Builders, LLC for the construction of the project which is expected to begin by the end of the month, according to project information available on the city’s website.
During the construction, City Manager Ron Garza assured the pool will remain open with the exception of a few days when the existing building will be demolished.
“We were creatively able to find a way to keep our pool actually operational during this construction process and do it safely,” Garza said, explaining that a “construction wall” will be in place to separate construction from the rest of the pool area.
The second phase of the project, currently under design, will be for the construction of an all-inclusive splash pad.
“This is going to be a great project that’s going to redevelop this area here,” the mayor said.
He reminded residents that city is in the process of developing their 2022 Vision plan, a process that includes a online survey where residents can provide feedback. That survey now is available at Edinburg2040.com.
