Raleigh negotiating design for swimming complex

RALEIGH -- Raleigh leaders have decided to approach a Chapel Hill architectural firm with plans to begin building a new public aquatics center.

The Raleigh City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to begin negotiating a design-plan contract with Szostak Design Inc. for an indoor swimming complex proposed for Buffaloe Road Athletic Park.

The plan would cover the first phase of the $24 million aquatic center, focusing on recreational features such as an indoor pool with lap lanes for fitness swimmers, a water slide and "splash areas," according to a news release issued this morning by the city's Parks and Recreation Department. Construction of the first phase is scheduled to be completed in the spring of 2011, the release said.

Future phases "could include" a 50-meter competition pool with spectator seating, locker rooms and other amenities, the release added.

Szostak Design was one of 12 firms that submitted to the city a request-for-qualification for consultant services, according to the release.

The Buffaloe Road proposal marks the first project undertaken since the city completed an Aquatic Facilities Study last year. The study laid out a 25-year expansion plan including more than $130 million in aquatics projects spread out across Raleigh.

Buffaloe Road also would be the first public pool built since 1992 in Raleigh, which lacks public swimming facilities in the city's fast-growing northeast and northwest areas. In public forums earlier this year, however, residents raised concerns about the new center increasing traffic along Buffaloe Road.

Those concerns prompted the city to have a consultant conduct a traffic impact analysis of the area. The analysis called for improvements to be made to the park entrance and Buffaloe Road intersection to alleviate traffic, particularly during times when events are being held at the park.