Denver just turned up the heat on year-round fun in Elyria-Swansea, cutting the ribbon last Wednesday on a brand-new indoor pool at the Swansea Recreation Center. The sparkling natatorium replaces the center's aging outdoor pool and now offers a 25-meter lap area, a zero-entry shallow end for play, a lazy river and a two-story waterslide that loops out of the building before splashing back inside. Mayor Mike Johnston joined Denver Parks & Recreation officials and neighborhood leaders to officially open the doors.
At the ceremony, Johnston called the project "an investment in connection, health and opportunity," while Denver Parks & Recreation Executive Director Jolon Clark said the pool boosts access to high-quality recreation for residents of all ages, according to Mile High CRE. That reporting also notes that before the upgrade, the nearest indoor recreation-center pool was nearly four miles away, a gap this new facility is designed to close. Neighbors and youth leaders were involved in outreach that helped shape which amenities made the final cut.
Features and layout
Per the Denver Parks & Recreation project sheet, the natatorium combines a 25-meter pool with three lap lanes on one side and a zero-entry leisure area on the other. It adds a lazy river, spray features and a party room available for community use. The document also details new locker rooms, changing areas, office space, chemical rooms and other back-of-house upgrades to support expanded programming and daily operations. Site plans show the waterslide shooting outdoors before looping back in and a pool footprint that is meant to serve both dedicated lap swimmers and families looking to play.
Design and community input
HDR reports that the design grew out of multilingual outreach and community workshops, which helped guide choices for finishes, signage and a community room that opens directly to the adjacent park. The firm describes a roughly 28,000-square-foot transformation that includes a 15,000-square-foot natatorium, along with features such as a pool lounge with a garage-door style opening to allow for flexible events. HDR's materials emphasize connecting the new addition to the existing building's massing while creating bright, daylit interiors inside the aquatic space.
Funding and timeline
Local reporting and city materials show that the project received support from Elevate Denver, which contributed about $22 million, along with additional funding from the Parks Legacy Fund, according to the Denver Gazette. City project documents list an overall budget figure and a construction budget for the addition and set a target for completing the work this spring, with operations expected to ramp up in summer 2026, per the Denver Parks & Recreation project sheet. The decision to replace a seasonal outdoor pool with an indoor natatorium was framed as a way to increase year-round access to swimming lessons, lap swimming, and family-friendly recreation.
What to expect next
Denver Parks & Recreation is slated to post swim hours, lap-lane schedules and lesson sign-ups on its recreation web pages as the center shifts into regular operations. Young Denver residents with a MY Denver Card generally receive free access to city recreation centers and youth programming, according to DPR materials and a city hiring posting for seasonal staff that lists Swansea among pool locations. For now, neighbors say the new indoor pool answers a long-standing local need and stretches options for lessons, fitness, swimming and family days far beyond the limits of the old seasonal schedule.
