Work has resumed after COVID-19 delays

COMING SOON!

Work resumed on building the new Leisure World Pool and Spa on June 25 as crews pumped out water from a hole that is the only reminder left of the 1960s-era facility.

The pool was drained early this year, but ocean intrusion due to a high-water table meant more water had to be pumped out before the hole could be filled. Lhat happened June 25.

Once the water was gone, the hole was lined with a special geotextile soil cloth, in keeping with the soils engineer’s recommendation (see photo lower left). Crews filled the hole with gravel and dirt, and compacted the ground for grading, leaving the site ready for construction of the new pool and spa, according to GRF Physical Property Manager David Rudge.

The facility will boast a pool with five swimming lanes, a 30-by-30-foot activity area with a volleyball net, a 9-by-25-foot spa, new locker rooms and a lounge area in a reconfigured space to maximize potential.

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Work is now underway on the pool and spa reconstruction project. Starting June 25, crews, working under the direction of a soils engineer, drained and filled the hole left by the old pool, laid fabric cloth (lower left) and gravel before compacting the site (lower right). The pool will be relocated to make the most of the site. The facility will include a pool with five swimming lanes, an activity area and a spa, among other features.

The project is expected to be finished in late September.

COVID-19 has delayed the project as engineered plans and permits stalled amid virus lockdowns and employee reductions. The process is moving forward through video meetings, phone calls and emails.

Work onsite resumed in earnest last week. Now that the grading is finished, the new pool is being excavated; the dig process is expected to move quickly.

The next steps involve installing a steel rebar cage around the pool, pouring concrete to form pool walls, and installing tile and coping. Once this is accomplished the deck will be poured and finally topsoil regraded.

The plumbing, sewer and electric will be installed once the pool is excavated. Coordination with the architect and engineers is ongoing, and permits are on the way.

Hydraulic engineers have designed pumps to handle 96,000 gallons of pool water that has to be filtered and recycled completely every six hours—and the spa every half hour—to meet the commercial pool code section 3124B.

Construction on the locker rooms will soon begin with sandblasting to remove paint on the interior locker room walls.