New, permanent public pool coming to Brooklyn Bridge Park
A conceptual rendering of the pool via Brooklyn Bridge Park
After five years of having a pop-up pool at Pier 2, Brooklyn Heights is getting its own permanent public pool. This morning, Brooklyn Bridge Park officially announced plans to build a pool at Squibb Park, above Pier 1 near the Pierhouse condo. Together with the NYC Parks Department, BBP will develop, operate and maintain the pool and future amenities. Tentatively, the pool is scheduled to open in 2020, with community planning sessions to be held this summer and fall ahead of issuing a Request for Design Proposals.
Photos of the pop-up pool in 2013, via Mélisande*/Flickr (top) and Yelp Inc./Flickr (bottom)
“New York City’s 53 outdoor public pools are some of our greatest assets and we love the idea of adding a new one in the Brooklyn Heights community,” NYC Parks Commissioner Mitchell Silver said in a statement released Friday. “While Squibb Park is an underused facility, it serves as a crucial access point to beautiful Brooklyn Bridge Park, making it an ideal location for a permanent outdoor public pool. We are grateful for our partnership with Brooklyn Bridge Park and we look forward to working with them to make this vision a reality.”
Construction costs of a pool at Squibb Park is estimated between $10-$15 million, funded by BPP (one-third) and the rest through a public-private partnership with the Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy. Midtown Equities, Alloy Development with Monadnock Construction, and DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners have also dedicated funds towards the pool.
The area of Brooklyn Bridge Park in the 1940s showing a pool, courtesy of Brooklyn Bridge Park
Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen commented, “Brooklyn Bridge Park has been one of the great New York success stories – and the forthcoming addition of a permanent swimming pool means it’s only getting better. As Gothamist notes, in the 1940s, what is now Squibb Park was once a wading pool.
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