North Tonawanda, NY (WBEN) - Contracts have finally been approved by the North Tonawanda City Council to begin work on a pool and splash pad that will replace the Memorial Pool on Payne Avenue.
Planning on what to do at the site began over six years ago The Memorial Pool was shut down in 2023 because it was deemed structurally inefficient and unsafe. Construction on a new facility was originally thought to begin this past fall, but was pushed back.
"We were expecting (construction) to start in full force last year, but a lot of times when you get these funding sources there's a lot of red tape," said North Tonawanda Mayor Austin Tylec. "We're planning to start in the next month and it will take about nine months to complete the project, so we are looking at swim season summer of 2027."
The new water area will include two pools, water slides, a splash pad and more.
So far there's no concrete plan on what to do with the existing Memorial Pool. Tylec said that was a conversation that could be pushed back in order for construction on the new facility to begin.
"Ultimately we don't want to end up spending millions of dollars to repurpose the building, so we're trying to find the most efficient way to make something great out of it."