1st look at Pasco’s $40.4 million aquatics center taking shape at Broadmoor
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- Pasco voters agreed to tax themselves to build an aquatics center
- Bouten Construction is building the recreation facility in western Pasco.
- The Pasco Aquatics Center has a target opening date of Memorial Day 2026.
The future Pasco Aquatics Center took a giant leap forward when workers began building walls this month.
The walls will contain the future natatorium — the indoor swimming area that comprises 60% of the facility.
The natatorium is the heart of the aquatics center and will give patrons a place to swim year-round.
The $40.4 million aquatics center has a target opening date of May 25, 2026 — Memorial Day.
Matt Watkins, who is leading the project as manager of the Pasco Public Facilities District, said the rising walls make it more visible to the public. They also beg an explanation.
Walls come first
He expected the contractor to build the indoor features, including pool, first, then wall it all in. Instead, the work proceeds in reverse.
Watkins said workers are building from the outside in — walls first, then steel trusses, then the pool.
“You don’t see any pool on the inside, but that is on purpose,” he said.
Watkins flagged another fresh development on the west side of the construction site.
An outdoor shower is being built with rammed earth walls.The builder is incorporating materials from throughout the region to give it a Tri-Cities look. Watkins called it an important design element that ties the project to the community.
Pasco voters approved the aquatics park in 2022 when they approved the facilities district’s request to raise the local sales tax by two-tenths of a percent, or two cents on a $10 purchase.
The district settled on two parcels totaling 13 acres in the area west of Broadmoor Boulevard, closing the $4.7 million deal about a year ago.
New road construction
Its address will be 5204 Road 108 once the new road comes into existence. Watkins expects to paving to begin this fall.
The city of Pasco is extending both Road 108 and Sandifur Parkway into the greater Broadmoor area amid a development blitz that’s adding homes and in time, retail, to the 1,200 acres between Broadmoor and the Columbia River.
The city is funding infrastructure and street development by selling bonds it will repay with the increased property values through the state’s newish Tax Increment Financing (TIF) program.
The city has pledged the roads will be ready when the aquatics center opens.
The project includes nearly 47,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor features. There is an indoor leisure pool, an outside activity pool, a party room, classroom, concessions area and locker rooms. Future phases will add more amenities, including an outdoor competition pool.
Bouten Construction is the contractor. NAC Architecture is the designer.
Follow the project on Facebook or go to pasco-wa,gov.
This story was originally published June 20, 2025 at 11:08 AM.