Englewood Recreation Center pool, locker rooms scheduled to close Aug. 31

The Englewood Recreation Center’s pool and locker rooms are scheduled to close Aug. 31 for renovations, with construction scheduled to begin Sept. 8. The closure will affect pool users, winter swim lessons and more than 20 seasonal aquatic workers.

The work is part of Englewood’s $41.5 million Renew and Recreate general-obligation bond program, which voters approved in November 2024 for improvements to eight parks, the Recreation Center and Pirates Cove Water Park, the city’s bond progress report says. The bond total is not the cost of the aquatic renovation. The program requires 85% of the work to be completed within three years, with most projects expected to be finished by 2028.

A Parks and Recreation notice calls the work a “massive makeover” but does not provide a reopening date. The city’s Renew & Recreate page lists the Recreation Center among facilities receiving work through the bond program and warns that construction may cause temporary closures.

The bond report lists the Recreation Center project as “On Track.” It says the pool is scheduled to close and drain Aug. 31 and construction is scheduled to begin Sept. 8. The report also says the city ordered a storage pod for aquatic equipment. It does not provide a project-specific aquatic budget, detailed construction scope or reopening date.

At the Aug. 3 Malley Center Trust Fund Board meeting, Parks and Recreation staff told the board that the aquatic area would remain closed during the renovations. Staff said the broader Recreation Center project was expected to begin Aug. 26, but the Aug. 31 notice is the stated pool and locker-room closure date, and the newer bond report schedules construction to begin Sept. 8.

Staff said the center’s east side would remain as open as possible for exercise, basketball, classroom use and gym access. The city planned to use signs, social-media updates and the project page to alert visitors to restrictions. Staff encouraged residents 55 and older to use the separate Malley Recreation Center, but did not identify an alternate swimming pool or replacement location for winter lessons.

Staff said more than 20 seasonal aquatic workers had been notified they would not have jobs when the closure began. A couple would remain with modified duties, while the others were invited to return in the spring. Staff cited salary savings from the affected positions amid broader budget challenges. The record does not establish whether the workers’ status is a layoff, non-renewal, reduced scheduling or another arrangement.

The bond report also flags long purchasing lead times for the Pirates Cove water slide, finishes and an Xcel gearbox, as well as the Recreation Center’s children’s slide. It does not describe the children’s-slide concern or indicate that it will delay construction or reopening. The record does not establish how long the pool and locker rooms will remain closed, whether the concern will affect reopening, or when a detailed project budget and construction scope will be released.