Rumsey Aquatic Center is one of the most heavily used Department of Parks and Recreation facilities in the District. It is slated for a modernization that would begin in early 2026. But that modernization might not measure up to what the community says it needs.
In the FY2025 city budget, Councilmember Charles Allen (D) secured additional funding to fully modernize the aquatic center while adding second floor space for seniors and other community programming, bringing the budget up to $37 million from its previous total of $25 million.
The new William H. Ramsey Pool Building will only have one floor, the DC Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) team told attendees at a March 12 meeting, held in the North Hall of Eastern Market (225 Seventh St. SE).
Presenting three designs — none of which included a second floor.
Councilmember Allen has created a sign-on letter to indicate the importance of this issue to DC DPR. If you believe the future of this site should include the second floor, sign on to this letter.
The single-floor design comes despite work by neighbors and Councilmember Charles Allen (Ward 6-D) to find $15 million in additional funding for the project specifically to facilitate additional community space on a second floor of the building.
But, DPR told the room, the total budget of $35 million was not enough to build a two-story pool building on the lot, given historic considerations.
Eventually, the $35 million project will see an entirely new building constructed on the site beginning in early 2026 with demolition of the current building and then construction of the new facility. The process is expected to take approximately 18 months.
This was the second community meeting to determine what features the project will include. The team presented three initial layout designs to illustrate the trade offs given the limited footprint of the space and facilitate discussion.
Option 1 offers a pool with 10 lanes and zero entry —a sloping floor that progresses slowly from the surface into the shallow end and can be used for wheelchair s —as well as a medium sized (900 sq ft) fitness room and 600 sq ft yoga room. Option 2 includes the same pool with 10 lanes and zero entry, but also a hot tub, and a single, but larger 1200 sq ft fitness room. Finally, Option 3 proposes a smaller pool with 8 lanes and zero entry, a separate learn-to-swim pool that could also be warmer in temperature and used for water exercise classes, leaving space for a smaller fitness room of somewhere between 500-600 sq ft.
At the meeting, architect Rick Schneider, Principal with Istudio Architects, said that the community had overwhelmingly asked for more water with fitness and community space. He pointed out the trade offs, “the more water you get, the less potential for fitness, yoga and community space,” Schneider said as he went through the layouts. “I just want to want you to see what those are, and then you also make informed decisions.”
But the community wanted to know where their second story went. “We in the community got together with Charles Allen’s Office,” one neighbor asked the team. “He got an initial 15 million for a second floor and you disregarded the second floor. So how does that impact the design?”
The project is expensive for its footprint. For starters, DC law says new construction must be built to strict environmental standards, to the point where it is net zero energy. There is a heritage tree on the northwest corner of the site, which cannot be harmed or removed, meaning that a needed reinforced foundation would be difficult to construct on that corner. The Historic Preservation Office (HPO) has instructed the team that the view of Eastern Market from the plaza cannot be obscured, restricting height on the front left of the building.
So a second story could not block the view of the market and so could not cover the full building foot print. Regardless, Schneider added, there are insufficient funds to take the building to a second story because it would be too expensive to protect the tree as well as reinforce the foundation to hold the weight.
The community pushed back, arguing that was not the purpose of the additional funds. “ I would just say that if the budget, you know, if the budget was put in there with theexpectation that there would be additional resources for others, particularly older adults. If those funds were found so that the program could expand, then that money should not be added to resources that are not going to go for that.”
Others were more philosophical. Lucinda F. said that it would be lovely to have a second floor but her primary concern is the pool. “All three designs were pretty good, and although they did listen to the last week, they still seem to be hanging on to some ancillary activities that, in my view, would be duplicated in other city services,” she said.
Similarly, Karyn Baiorunos, a member of the Water Wizards, said the DPR team kept the meeting calm. “I think they’re doing a very good job trying to present a plan that everybody will be happy with and unhappy,” she said, “and if everybody walks away unhappy, then they’ve done something right.” Baiorunos said her main desires are diving blocks and lap lanes that are large enough for flip turns. But, she proposed, “the question is, if we raised more funds, could they then do second story and then do the fitness center, giving us more room if they could?”
Allen’s office was not made aware of the change to the building configuration before the meeting. “Two years ago, I asked DPR and DGS leaders what it would cost to build a second floor to expand services and programs while modernizing Rumsey pool. They gave me an exact number, and I found that exact money – that’s the budget we have,” Allen said in a statement. “It’s clear from [the] meeting there’s not enough space on one floor to meet the needs of the community here, and I’m frustrated how quickly they’re trying to walk away from the fully funded second floor. I will work to get them back on track and believe we will find a solution to deliver the generational project everyone wants.”
Other of the Wizards said that if DPR would increase the pool size from 25 yards to 25 meters, they could have high school swim meets. The dream, they said, was to have a pool at least 25 by 50 meters, to facilitate those as well as international and college meets. “But there’s not enough space for that,” lamented Water Wizard Marvin Blount.
The DPR team emphasized that they were in the very early stages of determining what the project would look like and what was possible. The focus, they said, was building the key elements that the community wanted: more water with zero entry and community space. “The building is as big as we can afford,” said Schneider.
DPR Chief of External Affairs Tommie Jones said that the team would now take and come up with a response and refine designs. “We heard you loud and clear on the second floor, we heard you loud and clear on understanding some of the community comments that are important,” he said at the meeting. “So we’ll come back refine some of those,” But, Jones cautioned the community that anything they wanted would also have trade-offs. “We’ll answer some of your questions by not being able to do some things,” he said.
Stay updated on the renovation, see surveys and see slides from the meeting at https://dgs.dc.gov/page/rumsey-aquatic-center.
