Alameda has officially kicked off construction on its long-planned aquatic center, with the City of Alameda announcing that work has begun on the all-electric pool complex rising at the west end of Jean Sweeney Open Space Park. The project pairs a 30-meter competition pool with a separate activity pool, along with spectator areas and a support building meant to serve swimmers of all ages for years to come.
The update came via a City of Alameda - Local Government Facebook post on Tuesday, which announced that construction has begun on the new facility. The city has said it expects the aquatic center to be completed by late summer 2028, though the timeline has shifted before as the project evolved. A separate Alameda Post report from July 2025 noted the project had been projected to open by January 2028, underscoring that the exact completion date has moved around in city communications.
Design-wise, the facility is being built to run without natural gas entirely. Per the Alameda Post's coverage of a July 2025 council vote, the revised design calls for electrifying the facility and eliminating gas use altogether, while folding the pool complex into the surrounding parkland. That same report noted the final design integrates with Jean Sweeney Open Space Park and preserves existing trees on the site, rather than clearing the lot for new construction.
Contracts and a Climbing Price Tag
The scale of the project came into sharper focus this past July, when the Alameda City Council unanimously approved a $32.4 million construction agreement with Wickman Construction, Inc., according to the Alameda Post. Councilmembers also signed off on contract amendments totaling $484,798 for Griffin Structures, Inc. and $171,470 for ELS Architects, the same report states.
Those approvals came alongside a notable jump in the project's overall price tag. The Alameda Post reported that the project is expected to have a total cost of $40.5 million once contingency and soft costs are factored in — a sizable climb from the $35.5 million budget the council approved in a 4-1 vote back on July 1, 2025. That figure itself represented an increase from an original $30 million funding amount for the aquatic center, according to the city's own project page.
Parking, Transit and Access Near Sweeney Park
Getting to the facility has also been a point of ongoing planning. The city's aquatic center project page places the site on the western side of Sweeney Park, near Atlantic Avenue and Constitution Way. Under the revised 2025 design, on-site parking was reduced from 93 spaces to 67, with 67 spaces used for permitting and bidding and a 50-space configuration retained as an alternative, according to the Alameda Post.
To ease pressure on the lot, the city struck a shared-use arrangement involving a neighboring College of Alameda and Blue Rise Ventures property that would add 126 additional parking spots during evenings and weekends, the outlet reported. The shared-use arrangement is part of broader planning for how visitors will access the site.
What the Finished Facility Will Offer
Beyond the two pools, the finished aquatic center is set to include mechanical and administration buildings, parking for 50 cars and bicycle parking for more than 100 bikes, per the Alameda Post's July reporting. The project will add a new aquatic center for residents.
For now, Alamedans can track the project's progress through the city's dedicated aquatic center project page, where officials have said they will continue posting updates as construction moves forward at the Jean Sweeney Open Space Park site.
