Hampton council OKs design-build agreement for $29.5 million aquatics center
By: Lisa Vernon Sparks, lvernonsparks@dailypress.com
Daily Press
HAMPTON — Hampton City Council gave its blessing to a developer agreement Wednesday, setting the stage for a $29.5 million aquatics center near the Coliseum.
City officials say building the venue will help Hampton’s effort to attract sports tourism and allow it to host larger swim tournaments.
Claudell Clark, president of the Hampton Roads Sport Commission, urged the council to approve the center, noting that with the coming Junior Olympic tournaments, it would help make the region more attractive.
“It definitely will be an enhancement for our district,” said Raymond Tripp, who heads the Coliseum Central business improvement district. “It’s a site on a long time underdeveloped property that will now see it to fruition.”
The venue would be built on a 5-acre lot on Coliseum Drive and Pine Chapel Road.
Tripp added, once the venue is up and running, it will bring economic benefits and “heads and beds,” to the area.
The agreement cements a relationship that began in 2018 when design team Clancy & Theys Construction Company of Newport News and Williamsburg-based GuernseyTingle submitted an unsolicited proposal.
The public hearing held Wednesday, along with council approval, was required because the project was submitted under the Public-Private Education and Infrastructure Act guidelines — informally known as PPEA.
Enacted in 2002, the public-private partnership law allows developers to submit unsolicited proposals on important public projects, allowing for early feedback before making them competitive.
At least two other proposals were submitted for this project, officials said.
The planned design would be inside a new two-story, 64,000 square-foot building and feature a 10-lane competition pool, a community pool, four diving boards and a splash park.
The design also incorporates a roughly 26,500-square-foot splash park that can accommodate 375 bathers. The facility would have a lobby, locker and changing rooms, a whirlpool, a kitchen and offices.
The venue would have seating capacity for about 1,500 people and 237 parking spaces.
The topic of Hampton having a competitive swim venue has long been on the city’s radar, even before consultants Counsilman-Hunsaker Inc. did a cost analysis.
Historically, it has been a point of contention among some council members. It partly was because of a fluid price tag in earlier versions and whether this need for an aquatics center was as urgent as other city concerns.
Mayor Donnie Tuck and Vice Mayor Jimmy Gray did not vote for it initially. Councilman Steve Brown had campaigned against it in 2018.
In the end, all the council united around the idea, approving the funding and the plan design.
“There are other projects that are more important … reducing crime, increasing our housing stock and creating more programs for our young people,” Brown said ahead of the vote.
Last year, when the funding sources had been identified — $15.8 million for a community pool, a splash park at $4.5 million and $9.15 million for a competitive venue — in the city’s capital plan, Gray wanted it removed from the current capital plan for further discussion.
“The funding for the aquatics center is already approved. It doesn’t serve any purpose at this point to fight over it,” Gray said ahead of the vote.
Supporters also say Hampton needs the venue to accommodate high school teams and other groups since the Olde Hampton community pool was closed.
The earliest this agreement may be in effect is a month following the public hearing, or Feb. 22, according to PPEA state guidelines.
City Manager Mary Bunting said using the PPEA path greatly reduces the time frame for construction and eliminates the need to continue seeking bids for work. It would take roughly two years for a venue to be completed.