LYNNWOOD — Mark Rogers is a regular at the recreation center’s pool, where he’s been swimming laps since moving here from Seattle in 1985.
Twice, sometimes three times a week, he swims after work.
“You get addicted to it,” said Rogers, 54, who lives near Martha Lake.
Next week, Rogers and other pool users will have to find another place to swim.
The 33-year-old center, which city officials say is visited nearly 300,000 times a year, closes for good Saturday to make way for construction of a new, larger recreation center in the same location at 18900 44th Ave. W.
Major construction starts by February and city officials expect the new, $25.5 million recreation center to open in April 2011.
In the meantime, Rogers said he’ll swim weekends at the pool at Everett’s Forest Park.
“I am really looking forward to it reopening,” Rogers said. “Swimming is the best all-around exercise for me and it’s one I can stick with.”
The city will move classes to temporary locations during construction.
Most group exercise classes beginning Jan. 4 will be held inside the Lynnwood Senior Center, 5800 198th St. SW.
The center’s four racquetball courts will also close Saturday, to be replaced by two courts in the new center. The other racquetball courts will be replaced with a group exercise room.
Other classes, as well as the weight room and preschool program, will be housed inside the North Administration Building within the city’s municipal campus, 19000 44th Ave. W.
“We have made provisions for all the existing activities,” said Lynn Sordel, the city’s parks and recreation director.
Mountlake Terrace’s popular Recreation Pavilion is gearing up for Lynnwood’s closure.
“We have actually been working really closely with Lynnwood staff to anticipate the closure,” said Linda McKee, recreation supervisor for aquatics.
She said an open house is scheduled from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday at the pavilion, 5303 228th St. SW, to help newcomers get acquainted with the facility.
Recreation Pavilion hours will be extended to accommodate more family swimming times, McKee said.
When it’s complete, Lynnwood’s new recreation center will sport a partially retractable roof, two new water slides, new locker rooms and a vastly expanded fitness area.
Those amenities will be housed inside a building adhering to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification standards by the U.S. Green Building Council, Sordel said.
“It’s a fabulous project,” he said. “When it’s all said and done, this is going to be a huge asset for the community.”
The new center, which increases the size of the building from 28,570 square feet to 44,800 square feet, will feature five pools, each with different temperatures.
The existing lap pool will be upgraded and a new recreational pool suitable for families, with riverlike currents and a wading area, will be built. Other improvements include the addition of a warm-water therapy pool, a hot tub for families and a hot tub for adults.
Two new water slides, which will be visible from the facility’s north parking lot, will send swimmers into the recreational pool. A new fitness area will triple the existing weight room’s size.
More than 60 new parking spaces will be available to patrons, including some overflow parking in a new employee lot on the east side of 44th Avenue W. from the recreation center, Anderson said.
Bill Haugen, the city’s aquatics director, said improvements to the facility’s heating and air conditioning systems are long overdue. He’s looking forward to overseeing the new center but realizes growth brings challenges as well as opportunities.
Forty-five part-time and seasonal recreation center employees — 41 of them from the aquatics center — will lose their jobs when the center closes. When it reopens, Haugen estimates he’ll have more employees on hand than he does today.
“It’s going to be something real thrilling for the area,” he said. “I think it’ll provide quite the face-lift.”
As she walked out of her deep-water aerobics class, Annette Biggs of Everett said she was a little sad to know the recreation center will soon close.
At the same time, she’s look forward to the next phase.
“I’m sure it’ll be great,” she said.
Oscar Halpert: 425-339-3429, ohalpert@heraldnet.com
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