Swim center plans sinking

FORT LAUDERDALE — Support for a new city swim center is leaking fast, and the contractor chosen to build the project hasn’t been able to plug the holes caused by its higher-thanexpected price.

The company is proposing almost $5 million in cuts to reduce the $39 million cost, but a city advisory board says that’s too little, too late.

The Beach Redevelopment Board has recommended the city terminate its contract with Recreational Design and Construction and instead figure out how much it will cost to renovate the existing 50-year- old swimming complex. City Manager Lee Feldman has said the same thing, as have most commissioners.

The commission is expected to make a decision Tuesday.

But advisory board members are wary of spending dollars if the result is nothing more than a municipal swimming pool facility. They said the aquatic center needs to be brought up to international swimming and diving competition standards again, which means larger and deeper pools, because that’s what will attract tourists.

The city doesn’t have cost estimates for a major renovation, but Feldman has warned commissioners it could be as expensive as new construction. Despite the center’s poor condition, many colleges and international teams visit here to use the pools for training.

The beach board would like to see other possibilities considered if the renovation cost is too steep, but it’s not clear what else could go there because the state originally deeded the property to the city for municipal purposes and a swimming hall of fame. The International Swimming Hall of Fame has already announced it’s leaving for California because it couldn’t reach agreement with the city over its space in the proposed complex.

The advisory board said the city should immediately meet with the state to find out what it would allow on the property.

Several board members said an aquarium would be a great addition, because it would appeal to tourists and give them someplace to go when the weather’s bad.

“The weather is our best friend and our biggest enemy,” board member A.J. Yaari said.

The beach board fears the city may end up wasting a golden opportunity to create an iconic project for the beach. The center’s Seabreeze Boulevard site and D.C. Alexander Park immediately to the east gives the city a rare public property extending from the Intracoastal Waterway to the beach.

“That’s a prime piece of real estate,” board member Andy Mitchell said.

Still, the board agrees with commissioners, who don’t want to spend more than $25 million on the aquatic center project because it would take city re-