Advocates call for an independent study
A successful Friends of Columbia Park (FOCP) public records request to Portland Parks & Recreation produced documents showing what advocates believe could be erroneously high estimates for the cost of restoring Columbia Pool to service.
While a PP&R internal study in 2019 showed Columbia Pool could be repaired for $4.425 million, the bureau’s new estimate for converting the now-closed facility into an outdoor pool is $21.5 million and conversion to a year-round pool $27.2 million.
The PP&R memo dated Feb. 25, 2025, provided the $21.5 million estimate and concluded that its figures were based on staff experience with current projects. The memo also outlined that hiring a consultant to “formally estimate repair costs” would be roughly $50,000 to $70,000.
Architects working with FOCP believe the PP&R estimates could be safely lowered. Jamin AAsum of AAsum Design said PP&R budgeting $2.6 million for community engagement to restore an existing structure might be an example of an unnecessary expenditure. AAsum helped author a FOCP report in 2019 on the city’s failures to adequately maintain the pool.
FOCP chair Chris Manno said the city needs to invest for an independent study to provide the mayor and city council with answers in deciding Columbia Pool’s future.
Then Commissioner Ivancie shown swimming with local kids.
Mayor Keith Wilson dramatically halted PP&R plans to demolish Columbia Pool in March, just three days before bulldozers were to raze the building. The mayor’s decision rebuked PP&R’s effort to demolish the structure over the objections of FOCP, Friends of Peninsula Park Rose Garden, Friends of Pier Park, and Arbor Lodge and University Park neighborhood associations.
The city’s planned $102 million aquatic center at Northgate Park in the Portsmouth neighborhood won’t open until 2029 or 2030. In the meantime, FOCP coalition members see reasons for converting Columbia Pool for summer use, including
• providing swimming access for the 60,000 annual users who formerly used Columbia Pool;
• providing a second pool for North Portland if PP&R permanently closes Pier Pool (PP&R officials have said Pier Pool might need to be completely rebuilt in five to 10 years or risk permanent closure, leaving Peninsula Pool the only remaining summer pool in North Portland;
• helping to meet city goals of creating more summer “cooling centers,” such as swimming pools, particularly for elderly and low-income people; and
• restoring the pool building to save the embodied carbon in its building materials that would be wasted by demolition.
FOCP coalition members note that if an independent study shows that restoring the pool is not feasible, the pool could be in-filled and the architecturally significant building converted to a community center.
Wilson and Council President Elana Pirtle-Guiney have previously mentioned the possibility of a private partnership helping with pool restoration or alternative uses. AAsum and Manno believe restoration could also qualify for Portland Clean Energy Fund support.