AURORA | It was a rush of water to his face after coming out of a 181-foot-long, lime-green water slide that delighted 8-year-old Joshua Borja.
“It’s my favorite part,” he said to his mother Laura, who was sitting at a table nearby under an umbrella with her sister in early June.
The family, which lives about five minutes away from the pool, were counting down the days for the newly revamped Del Mar Park and Family Aquatic Center to open to the public.
“When we first came here, it was not nice. Everything was really outdated and dirty,” Laura Borja said. “It was not fun. It was just a boxy-looking pool.”
For the past two years Del Mar Pool — built in the 1950s as the city’s first outdoor swimming pool — has been undergoing major renovations. For decades, the dilapidated pool went without any.
Del Mar Family
Aquatic Center
The Del Mar Park and Family Aquatic Center is part of the 39.9-acre Del Mar Park at 12000 E. Sixth Avenue. Drop-in fees are $3.50 for youth and $5.00 for adults. Learn more at www.auroragov.org/aquatics.
The completely updated pool and aquatic additions finally opened over Memorial Day weekend, said city parks spokeswoman Sherri-Jo Stowell, after being closed for the 2013 and 2014 summer swim seasons.
In addition to the water slide, improvements include a 25-meter lap pool with diving boards, a new bathhouse and outdoor lockers, and a concession stand.
The new layout allows visitors to stake out a spot nearby or reserve a cabana-like picnic shelter with tables and shade.
Next to the pool is a spray park playground that opened last year. It’s replete with its own 100-foot-long slide, a mid-length slide and a toddler slide, as well as a giant red bucket that splashes water down to cool off visitors every few minutes. The playground’s design looks more like something one would see at Water World than what is normally found at a public city pool.
“It’s my favorite part,”
Joshua Borja, 8 year old
Tom Barrett, Aurora’s Parks, Recreation and Open Space director, said that since the pool opened to the public, admissions have been at capacity, with long lines out the door on a daily basis.
The aquatic center was designed by local firm Ohlson Lavoie Collaborative to accommodate hundreds each day. The total renovations for the pool and park cost about $7.75 million, which included design, permits and construction.
“The total renovations for the pool and park cost about $7.75 million, which included design, permits and construction.”
Just wait until someone gets hurt (or worse) due to some sort of negligence on the part of staff or faulty equipment and then sues the city for $7.75 million.
OMG! I see Joe Hardhat all over this sentinel, whining and complaining, it’s old folks like you we don’t here in Aurora. And of course the thugs, pimps, and drug dealers. People like should fall under that category, always complaining about something
Hey sonny, nary a whine or a whimper from me. My comment was meant as sarcasm with tongue firmly planted in mouth. Sorry for offending your civic sensitivities. However, when municipal pools take on additional accessories and slides and become more like ‘water parks’, surely there will be more opportunities for accidents. Admission fees to private water parks reflect increased patron risk.
Joe, please, you are trying too hard, calling me ‘sonny’. It’s an eastcoast term and with so much passion about Aurora, I doubt you are an eastcoast boss. Just sayin’
Half of the cost was picked up by the Colorado Lottery.
Del Mar is really nice now with the remodel of the Senior Center too.
Nice work Aurora. You make me proud.
Stop that negative feeling and be happy a lot of kids will love it. There are very few safety problems at public pools.
Such a great addition to the neighborhood. This place is a blast for the kids!
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