The long-planned Capital Region Aquatic Center has finally found a home in Schenectady.
The $41 million dollar swimming complex will be built on a downtown parcel owned by Schenectady County and Schenectady County Community College, located on the block between State Street, South Church Street, South Ferry Street and Fuller Street.
Schenectady County Attorney Christopher Gardner spoke before the county legislature, which ratified a joint agreement Tuesday.
"The Aquatic Center is approximately 80,000 square feet. It has an NCAA compliant eight-lane Olympic size 50-meter pool, diving well, instruction pool therapy pool, seating on deck for 600 plus or minus athletes, spectator seating to accommodate about 1,200 spectators, locker rooms, restrooms, showers, multipurpose areas, cafe, concession space retail space, and a contiguous parking deck to accommodate about 300 parking spots. It would be constructed on land purchased by the county adjacent to SUNY Schenectady dormitory. So that's the project in a nutshell," Gardner said.
Planned for a decade, the project is being supported by $15 million in state and federal funding, and more than $6 million in private pledges.
Originally envisioned to be located in Mohawk Harbor, it was announced last July the facility would open at a shopping mall in Rotterdam, a plan that never materialized. Schenectady Mayor Gary McCarthy says the city will not reauthorize $2.5 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding it had earmarked for the aquatic center since committing to a new ice rink for Union College now under construction at the harbor.
McCarthy says he is looking forward to working with the aquatic center. "It's been something where it's trying to get the right site, get the financing lined up. So they've looked at a couple of options. This seems to be the most serious and the most realistic scenario. And I think it's going to have the biggest impact, not only for Schenectady, but for the region," said McCarthy.
The project will now move into the architectural design phase to determine how it may best occupy the site in downtown Schenectady.
Gardener said "This would be a championship swimming facility, which would attract many thousands of visitors each year, energizes our economy with sales tax revenue, bed tax revenue, and most importantly, enhances the stature of SUNY Schenectady, while providing a valuable resource to our community by helping teach all of our residents to swim. The project will also enhance the visibility of college and provide a direct connection with the entire community, particularly our youth and should have a very positive role, impact upon enrollment."
Construction is expected to begin next year, with an opening eyed for 2027.
