The Fitch Family Indoor Aquatic Center will break ground later this spring, bringing to Ames a facility that will meet the indoor swimming needs of the community. The new 38,900 square foot facility will be located on Lincoln Way, west of Grand Avenue, across from the Iowa Department of Transportation headquarters, built on the property of the old St. Cecilia Church and School.
Prior to March 2022, the Municipal Pool, located at Ames High School, provided indoor swimming opportunities for the school district and Ames community. That facility was closed and demolished in spring 2022 as the new Ames High School was opening. This left the community without an indoor swimming option.
“For years, Mayor Haila and the Ames City Council have explored options to provide year-round indoor aquatics to residents,” said Parks and Recreation Director Keith Abraham. “From planning to location to funding, moving this project from concept to implementation has taken determination, creativity, collaboration, and leadership. The new facility will fill a significant recreation and wellness void for Ames.”
Fundraising for the project began in 2021 and was led, in part, by Ames Chamber of Commerce President & CEO Dan Culhane. “When we started talking about this project to prospective donors, the response was tremendous,” said Culhane. “The business and community leaders were quick to support this project because they all knew that it was an amenity that our community needs not only for today, but for our future growth.”
In February 2023, the Ames City Council thanked the 42 donors who gave a total of $10.4 millions for the project. Rich and Mary Fitch, who own Furman Realty in Ames, and their family gave $3 million toward the project.
The Fitch Family Indoor Aquatic Center is being planned to take advantage of the State of Iowa’s Reinvestment District Program (RDP). This program allows new state sales and hotel/motel taxes generated by new developments constructed within a City Council-created Reinvestment District to be rebated back to a municipality over a 20-year period. The Ames City Council created a Reinvestment District that includes the aquatic center property along Lincoln Way, much of Downtown Ames, and new development proposed on property north of Lincoln Way from Clark to Kellogg avenues (called “The Linc”). The City of Ames has submitted an application to the Iowa Economic Development Board to receive a rebate of up to $10 million based on any new revenue generated by the proposed development.
The facility’s base bid was estimated at just under $28.4 million. The city has $20.5 million set aside for the construction, which has been estimated to cost just under $20.3 million. A handful of multi-purpose rooms and a walking area were added to the blueprints for an additional $1.5 million, bringing estimates to the $32 million mark. In December 2023, the project was awarded a $500,000 Community Attraction and Tourism (CAT) Grant from the Iowa Economic Development Authority.
When complete, the project will provide year-round recreational swimming opportunities in the community. It will support aquatic education classes and include a lap pool, recreational pool with play structure, have a current channel, and an indoor/outdoor water slide.
Construction for the aquatic center will start in the spring of 2024, with the official opening expected for 2025. Demolition of the existing buildings on the property is already underway. Construction will continue through October 2025 with the grand opening taking place in November 2025.
