Mayor Wilson pauses demolition of Columbia Pool to explore funding options

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Days before a beloved community pool was set to be demolished, Portland Mayor Keith Wilson announced a pause on the construction.

Residents in the community are thrilled there may be a chance to save the Columbia Pool — once upon a time called the “Jewel of the North” —- that has been here for nearly a century.

Local parents say they like having a place for their kids to go cool off during the summer months. It’s also a space for families to teach their children water safety.

“I think any parent who has kids in Portland knows it’s very difficult to get into swimming lessons,” Community member Alyson Emmett said. “And, you know, having one less pool available to us makes it just that much harder.”

The city closed the indoor pool in 2020, initially due to Covid-19 restrictions. But in 2021, after an inspection, the building was deemed unsafe due to life-safety hazards and diminishing structural integrity

“We’ve had a lot of deferred maintenance at Columbia Pool for decades,” Portland Councilor Sameer Kanal said “It’s come to a breaking point where the pool is unusable, so the plan had been made under the previous former government to demolish the pool.”

But Mayor Wilson has chosen to pause the demo for one year — giving the city additional time to explore potential funding sources though it faces a near-$100 million budget shortfall.

Portland Council President Elana Pirtle-Guiney said the city doesn’t have the funds to reopen this pool on its own.

“My goal with the pause is to see if we can find a partnership to get it reopened,” she said.

Kamal said the relatively small project will not require hundreds of millions of dollars, adding, “We’re talking about, you know, in the low double digits.”

Meanwhile, community members around the park say this is worth the investment.

“I think it is absolutely important that those opportunities are still available to the kids today,” Conni Haffey said.