South Bend plans new city pool at Kennedy Park after winning federal grant

SOUTH BEND — A historically underserved west side neighborhood will be home to a new city swimming pool and aquatic facility in the coming years after the federal government awarded South Bend a large grant.

South Bend won $7.5 million to fund improvements at Kennedy Park through a federal initiative that aims to help lower-income communities where residents lack access to outdoor recreation. The city will match the grant with $7.5 million, $5 million of which comes from a $34 million bond for neighborhood improvements passed by the South Bend Common Council earlier this year, according to a city spokeswoman.

In total, the National Park Service's Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership awarded $58.3 million to 14 different projects to renovate public parks and outdoor recreational areas, according to a March press release.

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The $15 million budgeted renovations at Kennedy Park — nearly on par with the $18 million cost of renovating downtown's Howard Park years ago — include plans for a larger pool with swimming lanes and separate recreational areas in the water for kids and adults. While Kennedy Park's existing water playground is 18 inches at its deepest point, a section of the new pool would be up to 9 feet deep, plans show.

Early designs include a middle area for water basketball and water volleyball that separates a shallow end, where young children would play, from a deeper portion, where people could swim laps, use a large drop slide or scale a climbing wall that hangs over the water.

The plans also call for a new concession stand and bathhouse. The 42,000-square-foot facility would have capacity to host about 560 people.

“This would allow more recreational use not only for youth, but teens and adults," Jordan Gathers, interim director of South Bend Venues, Parks and Arts, told The Tribune.

The reimagined aquatic area is just one of many renovations planned at the park. The city also envisions a new 10,000-square-foot playground, comparable to the 13,000-square-foot facility at Howard Park. There are designs for a dog park, pickleball and basketball courts, two fields for soccer and football, and a sustainable native habitat with walking paths and educational signage.

Gathers said the city hasn't yet received the grant money. A spokeswoman said the city expects construction to begin in summer 2025 and to finish in late 2026.

Gathers sees the project — paired with a roughly $27.3 million city investment to rebuild the Martin Luther King Jr. Dream Center and the Linden Avenue streetscape on the other side of the Kennedy Park neighborhood — as transformative for a historically Black area that's suffered steep economic losses.

Kennedy Park's population fell from more than 7,300 people in the 1960 census to less than 3,000 in 2020 amid a decline in manufacturing jobs. But the 2020 number did increase by about 100 people from the 2010 census, mirroring a citywide population increase after decades of decline.

The area's residents are 62% Black, and two of five households earn less than $25,000 a year, according to data in the recently passed Kennedy Park Neighborhood Plan. South Bend's median household income is twice that amount. Along with LaSalle Park, which lies just to its south, Kennedy Park is one of the city's poorest neighborhoods.

"We're not only focusing on one area or one side of town, but we're connecting our city as one," Gathers said. "We are one city, we're one people, and we want to continue to communicate that diversity in everything we do. This project speaks to that vision."

What about Potawatomi Park pool?

The news of a municipal pool in Kennedy Park comes two years after the city shut down the Potawatomi Park pool indefinitely to consider how to address structural issues that were causing it to leak water.

The pool definitely won't reopen this summer and may not reopen at all, Gathers said. He said the city plans to host public meetings with River Park neighborhood residents this year to discuss a final concept for Potawatomi Park.

When does Kennedy Park's water playground open?

At the intersection of Olive and Westmoor Streets, Kennedy Park's water playground opens Memorial Day weekend, May 25-27. Its regular season runs from June 1 to Aug. 4. Its extended season will last from Aug. 10 to Sept. 2, when it's open only on weekends.

A city spokeswoman said changes to the water playground's hours of operation and entry fees will be discussed during an April 15 meeting of South Bend's Board of Park Commissioners, which meets at the Howard Park Event Center at 219 S. St. Louis Blvd.

Last year, the water playground was open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Children ages 0-2 swam free. Children ages 3-10 had to pay $4 while children 11 or older paid $5. An individual season pass was $60 a person, while a family pass was $120.

Email South Bend Tribune city reporter Jordan Smith at JTsmith@gannett.com. Follow him on X: @jordantsmith09

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: South Bend plans new city pool at Kennedy Park