Kalamazoo County Family YMCA has three program centers in Kalamazoo and Portage. The Portage Program Center had an existing outdoor pool which was well used from June through August, but did not address the needs of the community for swimming lessons and fitness activities in the fall, winter and spring.

This project displaced the outdoor pool and small bath house with a 25 yard, 6 lane pool and natatorium, locker rooms, office, storage and mechanical spaces. A new lobby located near the center of the existing parking lot makes access more convenient for patrons. The corridor linking the new lobby to the existing spaces has observation windows giving views into the gymnasium/track activities.

An existing power transmission line cuts through the southwest part of the site and severely reduces the number of potential building locations. This project was designed with a future addition of two larger locker rooms in mind. An area adjacent to the natatorium and small locker rooms is available for that addition when membership growth demands.

The roof/ceiling of the natatorium is formed with precast concrete double tees. The tees are sloped and stepped to both increase the ceiling height at the shallow (more populated) end of the pool and to mimic the roof slope/shape of the existing facility's tennis and gymnasium barns.

A mechanical dehumidification system serves the natatorium and helps reduce the high humidity normally encountered in such spaces. Indirect lighting in the natatorium gives diffuse, even levels of light, without glare on the water surface.

Portage, Michigan

Budget
$1,400,000

Owner
Kalamazoo County Family YMCA

Consultants

Structural
Stuart Eddy, P.E.
Portage, Michigan

Mechanical
Engineering Plus, Inc.
Kalamazoo, Michigan

Construction Manager
CSM Group
Kalamazoo, Michigan