Pool and pavilion open at the Halifax Commons

Halifax Regional Municipality opened its doors to the outdoor aquatic centre in Halifax after a year of construction.

Before the doors to the facility opened, families lined up outside, eagerly waiting with their swim gear.

It wasn’t long until the vibrant pool area filled with echoes of laughter and cheer. “It’s awesome. It’s perfect for a hot summer day,” one girl said excitedly.

The pool is over 13,00 sq/ft, with a capacity for 300 people.

It features a new playground, a water plaza, a year-round community room with a kitchen, and a stage for performers.

The city said this facility is intended to be inclusive and accessible.

“We have the gender neutral universal washrooms, you’ve got the ramp entrees and one thing we’re applying for is the Rick Hansen certification facility’s accessibility standard,” said Greg Mackay, project manager for Halifax Regional Municipality.

It is a transformation from what the pool used to look like years ago. Mackay said, the old pool will not be missed.

“It’s a large improvement over the old pool,” he said. “I don’t think anyone is going to miss it.”

A picture of the old pool that previously was in the Halifax Commons.

The aquatic facility will also be net zero powered by solar panels on the roof of the pavilion.

“It’s carbon neutral. So there’s photovoltaics on the roof which means that the facility kind of pays for its own energies,” explained Alec Brown, one of the architects of the facility.

Despite the lifeguard shortages, the aquatics facility has thirty lifeguards, three of which will always be present watching poolside within the hours of operation.

The city’s manager of Aquatics and Inclusion Services, Patrick McGrath said to get ahead of the shortage the city has started hiring certified lifeguards that are 15-years-old and have made the position more appealing by introducing better wages and more courses.

“We pay minimum wage plus. So lifeguards make minimum wage plus $3 extra.”

McGrath said as minimum wage increases, so will the pay for lifeguards.

The facility is expected to remain open until Labour Day weekend, however, the city said it does have plans to extend operations next year from June to mid-September.

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