OCEANSIDE — After years of planning, the city has recently completed renovations of Brooks Street Swim Center, transforming the nearly 70-year-old pool into a like-new aquatics facility.
The city officially reopened the pool on Feb. 5 after it was closed last March for renovations, including a new deck, replaced heaters, a new shade structure, improved accessibility and drainage systems, and other structural repairs. Crews also gave the pool and its building a fresh coat of white and blue paint, sticking with the classic color scheme recognizable on many city buildings.
The pool has served the city’s District 1 senior citizens and low-income neighborhoods for decades. The pool is home to Oceanside High School’s water polo and swim teams, previously hosted El Camino High School aquatic sports before the new William A. Wagner Aquatics Center opened at El Corazon Senior Center, and provides the community with affordable swim lessons.
Mayor Esther Sanchez, who has been a vocal proponent of maintaining the Brooks Street pool as a local asset for the communities of Crown Heights, Eastside and other nearby neighborhoods, said she learned how to swim as a young girl at the Brooks Street pool.
“This is really, truly a work from the heart,” Sanchez said at a Feb. 26 ribbon-cutting ceremony. “It looks fantastic – it looks like we just rebuilt it.”
The city used a combination of federal, state, county and city funds to pay for the approximately $1.6 million project.
The project received a $600,000 state grant secured by Assemblymember Tasha Boerner (D-Encinitas), who previously represented Oceanside before redistricting; a $289,000 grant from San Diego County’s Neighborhood Reinvestment Program; and another $289,000 from American Rescue Plan Act funding.
According to Parks and Recreation Director Manuel Gonzalez, city resources accounted for the remaining $442,000.
“We were fortunate to be able to collaborate with all of these different agencies to work together and bring to fruition a critical project,” Gonzalez told The Coast News.
Gonzalez said municipal pools offer swimming lessons that help keep residents safe, and the city also provides a scholarship program to ensure affordable classes for low-income families.
“People need to understand how to be safe around different types of bodies of water, how to behave when in the water and what to do if they get caught in a rip current at the beach,” Gonzalez said. “Our lifeguard team is top notch, but at the same time it’s helpful for everybody to have that basic swimming ability.”
U.S. Rep. Mike Levin (D-San Juan Capistrano), County Supervisor Jim Desmond and District 1 Councilmember Eric Joyce, along with representatives from Boerner’s and Assemblymember Laurie Davies’ offices, also spoke at the ribbon-cutting ceremony, where students from nearby schools helped celebrate the newly renovated pool.
Desmond recalled Sanchez calling him several times seeking help with funding renovations at the Marshall Street and Brooks Street swim centers, both built in the 1950s. According to Desmond, the county provided $339,000 at both aquatics facilities.
“We’re happy to chip in,” Desmond said. “We’re your representatives and we want to get you the dollars when we can.”
In his comments, Levin said the mayor has been committed to restoring the Brooks Street pool.
In 2021, the pool almost closed to help pay for the new William A. Wagner Aquatics Center, but public outcry and reassurance from staff that there would be enough funds stopped those plans.
“I hope the lesson we learned from this moment is that value cannot be assumed from the outside, but we have to ask the community about the value of the spaces within,” Joyce said. “We need to continue these investments and listen to the voices of our community about where those investments should be – to invest in young people who will be here to swim 50 years from now.”
