by Liz Daube
Staff Writer
Local nonprofit Every Jacksonville Child a Swimmer announced updated proposed plans for a Downtown, public Aquatic Health Center on Tuesday. The center has been in the works for years and organizers envision a multi-purpose aquatics facility that would serve the public as well as many of Duval County’s schools.
EJCS spokesman Allen Poucher said the proposed indoor/outdoor, three-pool facility would help “drown-proof” Jacksonville’s children. Poucher said the First Coast has seen 13 drowning deaths this year.
“We have very tragic, unnecessary deaths from drowning,” said City Council President Kevin Hyde. He attended with representatives from the Arthritis Foundation, the Jacksonville Urban League and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation to show support for the proposed project.
“We’ve raised between one and three million dollars so far,” said Poucher, adding that the estimated $20 million to $25 million needed should be “easily attainable” through a combination of City and private funding.
The price tag is an adjustment for EJCS, which has been lobbying for a City-funded, $40 million pool facility for years. The center would require at least seven acres and house an Olympic-size pool and diving facilities as well as a recreational area for kids. Aside from Poucher, two of of the driving forces behind the center include former Olympic swimmer Nancy Hogshead-Makar, a professor at Florida Coastal School of Law, and former world-class swimmer Tiger Holmes. Holmes has said in the past that the center could also easily house high school swim meets where several teams could compete at one time.