KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Summer in Kansas City will be a lot cooler with the groundbreaking of a new city pool.
The pool is set to open by summer 2025 and will be located outside the Tony Aguirre Community Center.
The announcement is already making a major splash in the Westside neighborhood, which hasn't had an outdoor pool in years.
"I have to drive quite a bit away, paycheck dollars, you know, to go swimming somewhere else in a community that's not mine, and I think it just takes away from multiple things, including building community," said Monique Arrellano, who has lived in the Westside neighborhood for the majority of her life.
Features of the new $4.3 million pool include a deep water pool with a diving board, climbing pool, water slides, zero-entry pool and more.
The new pool will also replace the former Jarboe Park Pool which has been closed for years.
Councilman Crispin Rea, who represents Kansas City's 4th District-at-Large, said the new pool is a direct result of feedback his office received during community engagement sessions.
"This project is a result of people in the Westside and the neighborhood residents fighting for resources and amenities," Rea said. "For years, they've been asking for this, and we're finally going to deliver outside of that."
The Kansas City Parks and Recreation Department continues to work on its annual budget, but there's an ongoing push to add affordable swimming programs and resources at the new facility while catering to the neighborhood's Hispanic population.
According to a 2024 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, drowning rates among children who are Black or brown are higher.
"That's what we want in Kansas City, neighborhoods that have amenities that attract families, and so this is a big part of that," Rea said. "Separate from that, we see that drowning rates for inner city children are often very high where they don't have access to a pool in the backyard or a pool in the subdivision."
The groundbreaking ceremony will be held at 2 p.m. Wednesday at the Tony Aguirre Community Center.
"I think this community was well deserving of a pool and a pool that's efficient for our community. I'm just excited," Arrellano said.
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KSHB 41 anchor/reporter Daniela Leon covers transportation-related issues in Kansas City. Share your story idea with Daniela.
