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Replacing the Crystal Pool is a wasteful, uncreative solution to problems that could be addressed through a less costly retrofit.

FINALLY, on New Year’s Eve I was able to do my one-kilometre swim again at the Crystal Pool after its 6 weeks of maintenance. I miss the Crystal during these annual closures. I find most other public pools cramped and busy by comparison to the Crystal.

I am now faced with a probable 4-year closure, as well as significantly higher taxes for the next 20 years.

The city’s refrain has been the pool is “at the end of its productive life.” Yet there’s a pool in Winnipeg I used to swim in that is now close to 100 years old. Yes, it had to close for a major refurbishment lasting about 4 years and costing all of $4.2 million (2017), but the community is happy to have saved it.

Another pool in Edmonton, the same age as the Crystal, is currently being refurbished for $46 million. Read about it here.

Looking at past City of Victoria reports shows a frustrating lack of imagination and political will that has kept the far more environmentally responsible and less costly repair option off the table in recent years.

Back in 2015 engineering firm Stantec said $6.3 million in repairs would keep the pool operating. Later consultants estimated around $13 million for repairs that would see the current pool through another 20 years. Then further in-depth studies showed that a complete overhaul, with, for example, new reduced-GHG forms of heating, could be had for $41 million. Or such a retrofit-plus-expansion would cost $56 million. These retrofits would have a 30-year life expectancy. In 2024 Evoke Buildings Engineering Inc. was retained by the city to do a condition assessment on the current pool. All the repairs added up to about $13 million, with only about half of the repairs needing to be done in the next year or two.

In 2018, the city council voted to build a new aquatic centre for the then price tag of $69 million. Now, six years later, despite many changes and new civic needs—and a tripling of costs to $216 million (likely more), necessitating borrowing approximately $170 million—the new council chose not to revisit any of the retrofit options.

This was imprudent and a grave disservice to the community.

For years now, the pool has been only grudgingly and minimally repaired. A June 2024 staff report states, “Over the past five years, the City has continued to invest in only the most critical repairs to maintain service, while awaiting a definitive long-term plan.”

Despite the neglect in recent years, I can attest it’s a wonderful pool.

crystalskylights.jpg.da3bfaf92fc41f04277d6cbb0ab01f2c.jpgThe Crystal Pool features 2 large domed skylights.

Designed by renowned Victoria architect John Di Castri, and built only 54 years ago (1971), the Crystal Pool is 50 metres long. Above the pool are two huge, beautiful domed skylights. When it’s sunny, the water shimmers beneath me as I plow along. Those skylights are the most expensive structural item in need of replacement. Estimated cost, according to consultants (2015 and 2024)—$3 million.

There’s a steam room, sauna, and a large hot tub. The change rooms and shower areas are generous in size, easily accommodating people with walkers. There are lifts for wheel chairs. There’s a good-size separate pool for parents and young children.

When I go, usually mid-day, none of the facilities are crowded. I often have a long swimming lane to myself; there might be a dozen people in the big pool—total. (City consultants have stated the pool is not used to full capacity.) There are also areas used for yoga, pilates, and art, as well as exercise machines and weight-training. There’s decent parking—I’ve never had trouble parking on the lot, and the streets surrounding the pool have 2-hour spots readily available.

crystalparking.jpg.9f6df32cca7222e1af1aa171c0dd7382.jpgThe Crystal Pool has adequate parking in a lot and nearby streets.

Sure, accessibility can be improved. As can spaces for non-aquatic uses. With a little ingenuity and political will, I believe the current facility could be rejigged to accommodate all comfortably. The largely unused bleachers on both sides of the current pool seem an obvious place to gain significant space. Also, the older city-owned Crystal Gardens on Douglas Street, which staff describe as “under-utilized” and plan to employ for fitness and other activities if the current facility is closed for construction, could be put into service soon and perhaps permanently.

The city’s argument that the Crystal Pool is at the end of its useful life is lazy, expensive nonsense.

Let’s look at another argument for replacement: the current Crystal Pool is the biggest green house gas emitter of all city-owned buildings.

This can be fixed—and could have been fixed years ago if the City hadn’t been so determined to replace it altogether.

A recent publication put out by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, entitled Retrofitting Your Indoor Swimming Pool to Net Zero, lays out how to do that—mostly by replacing gas heaters and boilers with air-source heat pumps, as well as by relatively simple operational measures like covering the pool when not in use, finding and maintaining best air temperatures and adjusting ventilation.

The current pool could be retrofitted to reduce operational GHG and avoid the huge embodied carbon costs associated with a new build—the extraction of resources, manufacturing of concrete and steel, transportation, demolition and disposal.

In fact, consultants told the city in 2017 that “it might be found that retrofitting the existing building with lower emissions based technology and improving energy efficiency through improved building envelope would possibly result in the highest level of GHG reductions.” They said further detailed study of the amount of embodied energy was needed. According to a city spokesperson, this has not been completed.

In 2024, the Globe and Mail reported on a lifecycle assessment case study of six buildings in Toronto, Edmonton and Vancouver, which found that retrofitting or building onto existing structures led to up to 70 per cent less carbon emissions for the life of the building compared with demolition and new construction. An engineer involved said, “It’s really important to prolong the life of materials we’ve created, as we’ve already invested the carbon into those and anything we can do to maximize those materials is a great carbon decision.” He also noted that retrofitting needs “a little bit more innovation and thinking instead of the lazy approach [of demolishing and replacing].”

Crystalpool.jpg.601c228c6c762640de92c8ec42b39f48.jpgIt is less wasteful and carbon intensive to retrofit the Crystal Pool than replace it.

So are we really going to let the city charge each and every Victoria household an average of $4,600 (at least) over 20 years (and businesses much more) on top of all the other foreseen and unforeseen tax and utility increases? How is that going to help on the affordability crisis?

Note that the current price of $209-216 million is a very rudimentary estimate, and close to $170 million of it has to be borrowed. Another $47 million will come out of city reserves. A proper repair job would leave funds available for other needs—road work, housing, shelters, parks, police, arts and culture, libraries.

Like virtually all infrastructure projects, replacing the Crystal is almost guaranteed to cost us a lot more than the projected amount. Recall the Johnson Street Bridge replacement was sold to council in 2009 for $35-40 million. Citizens forced a referendum and the price was raised to $69 million. The eventual cost was around $110 million and the promised design quality and seismic protection never materialized.

I am all in favour of good, accessible, affordable swimming and fitness facilities for Victorians, one where they can learn to swim and be safe around water and keep healthy. I grew up poolside in my youth, learning to swim at community pools and enjoyed early jobs as a lifeguard and swim instructor. I get it.

But given the costs—both financial and environmental—of tearing down the current facility, and the questionable need for a new, larger aquatic centre, I will vote “No” in the February 8 referendum. If a majority vote “no”, the city has promised to go back to the drawing board.

Focus editor Leslie Campbell lives in a 128-year-old house in Victoria and swims at the 54-year-old Crystal Pool.

Voting information can be found here.

For more analysis about the Crystal Pool issue, see earlier articles by Ross Crockford here and here.

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