Demolition of Hopkins Pool in DeKalb underway

DeKALB – The DeKalb Park District commenced with demolition of Hopkins Pool this month, with plans to wrap up that portion of an ongoing major pool overhaul projected to cost millions, in mid-February.

That work, which got underway this month is tentatively expected to ramp up the week after Thanksgiving. The district’s plans for the pool won’t be complete for some time, however, with a projected reopening date of 2026.

“It’s definitely an exciting time for us,” Executive Director Paul Zepezauer said. “It’s been a long process for the district and the different administration staff that have been a part of this project and the different board members that have been involved from the time this started to the time that we’re at now. But we’re excited to get the process going. We’re looking forward to seeing the project progress.”

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Hopkins Pool sits empty Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024, awaiting demolition so construction can begin on a new pool set to open in 2026. (Mark Busch)

The park district needs a construction permit from the Illinois Department of Public Health to start building a new pool.

Zepezauer said there may be a lull between the end of demolition in February 2025 and the start of construction to take into account.

“We hope that by the time June rolls around we’re in full new construction mode,” Zepezauer said.

Zepezauer said the park district is eying a 2026 season opening for Hopkins Pool, which means 2025 will be the second summer DeKalb residents won’t have a public pool to use. That leaves the only major public pool in DeKalb County in Genoa.

Once completed, the new DeKalb pool will have a number of new features and amenities, according to project plans. Those may include an outdoor entrance; newly renovated locker rooms; new concession stands; a main pool with six lanes of 25 yards for lap swimming along with a big section with zero-depth entry, which is a beach-style walk-in entry way; a kids area with a spray ground featuring a couple of water slides; a large bucket that’ll dump water; and a lot of spray features around the perimeter.

The pool’s construction drawings are not yet final, Zepezauer said. According to the latest pool drawings, the bather capacity is up to 826, up from 750 as previously reported.

“The construction drawing are about 50% complete and we’re aiming to have those 100% complete and submit to IDPH for permitting and going out to bid at the same time, which would be in mid-January,” Zepezauer said. “Hopefully, we would be officially be approving the bid sometime most likely towards the end of February.”

The total estimated cost for the pool project, which includes expenses for infrastructure coming to the site for the Hopkins Community Center and infrastructure for the locker rooms, is in the range of $12 and 15 million, officials said.

Zepezauer said working with Larson and Darby Group to finalize the construction drawings has been worthwhile.

“That part is actually going relatively smooth,” he said. “There’s always challenges throughout the process, but overall it’s a good team, a good group of people and they’re working through the problems as they arise. When you’re dealing with a site like this that has older infrastructure in place and then you’re trying to fit that new project on it, there’s a lot of different ways you can do things. We’re working through some of those challenges, but overall it’s going well.”