Plans progress for Chesapeake’s long-awaited first public pool

CHESAPEAKE — Plans are falling into place for Chesapeake’s first public swimming pool at the Dr. Clarence V. Cuffee Community Center in South Norfolk.

But it’s been a long time coming. Since the city’s founding in the 1960s, it has never anchored a public swimming pool despite requests for decades from community leaders and even former Mayor William Ward himself.

Some community members, until now, believed the project was another unfilled promise made to an area that’s battled and pleaded with city leaders for more investment and revitalization over the years. Even original plans for the Cuffee Community Center, which opened in 2007, included a pool that was eventually scrapped from the final product.

But thanks to a combination of federal, state and local funds, the design of an eight-lane indoor public swimming pool is finally underway. And city leaders say the $20 million project investment is a boon for quality of life improvements, education and recreational opportunities.

In addition to the $3 million that U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott delivered in a check to city officials Thursday, local legislators have secured $9 million in state funding for the project, which the city has matched.

Parks, Recreation and Tourism Director Michael Barber said the city is “very close” to having some design concepts from Virginia Beach-based HBA Architecture and Interior Design that can be presented to the public for feedback in the coming months and to City Council this fall. However, no dates are scheduled at this time.

Barber said though “very tentative,” construction could start in late 2024, with a potential opening in 2026.

City staff say designers are drawing inspiration for the pool from the Kempsville Recreation Center in Virginia Beach and Morrisville Aquatics and Fitness Center in Morrisville, North Carolina.

Deputy City Manager Brian Solis said the eight-lane pool will extend off the existing community center and include temperature-controlled amenities with 25-yard and 25-meter capabilities. The former aligns with what’s used by local swim leagues, for example, while the latter is used in Olympic or international swimming competitions.

It will also feature a diving well, splash pad, playground and fountain area, with ADA-compliant ramps and bathrooms.

The New Chesapeake Men for Progress, a nonprofit that works to support and mentor Black youth and elevate Black leaders, is one group that’s advocated over the years for the city’s first public pool. Board member George Reed said since 2021, the group has worked with city officials to obtain funding and make it happen.

“It’s a great day for kids,” Reed said.

Another proponent is Del. Cliff Hayes, who, as he spoke at Thursday’s event, recalled a 9-year-old version of himself riding his bike to the Berkley Community Center pool and jumping in to “imitate his friends” before almost drowning. He sees the issue of learning how to swim as a matter of life and death.

“(This) is very much needed in our city, in this community,” Hayes said. “(These) kids can actually have a place in their community where they can learn how to swim and thrive.”

Drowning is a leading cause for death among children aged 1-4, according to the American Red Cross. And the rate of Black children between the ages of 5 and 19 who drown in swimming pools is more than 5 times higher than that of white children in the same age range. Almost 80% of children in households with incomes less than $50,000 have few, if any, swimming skills.

“There’s been a fight at different points to where we are today,” Hayes said. “So I just get full when I think about what’s here today.”

Hayes credited the ordinary, “drylongso people” who worked through the years to make the pool and the Cuffee Community Center happen, like local civic league leaders Roland Thornton and Harry Powell. He also praised Ward for his past attempts to fund the project and his work to petition for federal and state support to make it happen.

“I can still see (former Mayor Ward) in disappointment as it was stricken from the budget,” said Hayes, a former Chesapeake council member from 2004-2012. Ward served as mayor until 2004.

“In his words — and I’m sure he’s looking down today as well — is that some communities have to continue to sell cakes and pies to try to make things happen that the city and our government should be investing in.”

At Thursday’s event, Scott called the pool a “constructive alternative” for children seeking something to do during the summers. He also sees it as an opportunity to gain job skills, particularly for lifeguards, which are in short supply throughout Hampton Roads.

Mayor Rick West calls the pool a quality of life improvement for residents of the city.

“(The) greatest day will be the day when we see the first child jump in the water,” West said.

Natalie Anderson, 757-732-1133, natalie.anderson@virginiamedia.com