UPDATE: THIS MEETING DATE HAS BEEN CORRECTED. THE MEETING IS DEC. 19, RATHER THAN DEC. 12.
A meeting on the renovation of the William H. Rumsey Aquatic Center (635 North Carolina Ave. SE) is scheduled for the North Hall of the Eastern Market (200 Seventh St. SE, at North Carolina Avenue SE) Thursday, Dec. 19 from 6:30 to 8 p.m.
The public is encouraged to attend.
In July, the District Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) held an online meeting providing an update on all Ward 6 DPR construciton projects, including Rumsey. Capital Projects and Design Manager Brent Sisco outlined where the Rumsey modernization stood.
There is not yet a website for the renovation. However, construction costs have been set in the budget by DC Council and DPR has issued an RFP for design build services. The project has been alotted total of $37 million. $25 million was the initially budget; in October 2023, another $12 million was added after Councilmember Charles Allen (D) and DGS Director Delano Hunter worked with neighbors to add a senior wellness component with fitness, classroom and community hub.
The pool is in the very early design phases, the DPR team cautioned. A typical design process takes a year, but given that Rumsey is a historic building adjacent to historic Eastern Market, Sisco said this process could take siginificantly longer.
Design is expected to begin with this meeting in Fall of 2024 and extend through next summer; the pool is expected to remain open throughout the planning process. The community will be engaged throughout the process and decisions about matters such as non-aquatic services will be made in collaboration with the community.
In response to a question at the August meeting about whether Rumsey would be renovated or replaced, Sisco said that decision has not yet been made, but added, “think the overall goal is that we understand this facility is is so old at this point just from a customer service standpoint, from an amenity standpoint, from an energy use standpoint, you know what we would love to see here is a brand new facility.”
You can watch the presentation on Youtube. Discussion around Rumsey appears at about minute 17:45. The projects planned for Ward 6 are presented in alphabetical order.
For more information and to RSVP, please visit:
https://rumsey.splashthat.com/ For additional information about the project, please visit: https://dgs.dc.gov/page/
To sign up for updates about this project, please visit http://dpr.dc.gov/stakeholder
