What you need to know about Portland’s new Rising Eddy Community Pool

Portland's Rising Eddy Community Pool, the long-awaited replacement for the former Kiwanis Pool, is set to welcome swimmers back in early July after more than a year of construction.

The renovated facility, located at 165 Douglass St., was originally scheduled to open in late June, but the city has pushed the timeline back slightly. According to Ethan Hipple, Portland's director of parks, recreation and facilities, the contractor is on track to hand the pool over to the city sometime this month, after which staff will spend a few weeks on mechanical and operational training before opening the gates.

"The contractor is turning over the pool to us in the month of June, and then we are conducting mechanical and facility training for a few weeks and opening in early July," Hipple said. He added that no specific opening date has been finalized, citing "moving pieces" within the project. The $12 million renovation remains on schedule and within budget.

The pool, which first opened in 1961, was renamed Rising Eddy following a survey of city residents. The overhaul has been years in the making. Construction crews broke ground in spring 2025, and the facility has been closed for renovations since 2024. During that time, Portland's Reiche Community Center pool has been the only public swimming option available, straining its capacity as residents sought relief during hot summer days. A third city pool, at the Riverton Community Center, has been closed since 2023 for a separate renovation that has faced its own setbacks and rising costs.

Perhaps the most striking change is the size: the new Rising Eddy facility can accommodate 400 swimmers, four times the capacity of the old Kiwanis Pool. To meet the demand, the city has introduced a program aimed at recruiting more lifeguards, a mostly seasonal workforce. Prospective lifeguards pay for their training up front and are reimbursed after completing a full season on the job.

Hipple emphasized that the renovation is about more than just adding space. The facility now includes enhanced locker rooms, an accessible area with easy entry for toddlers, splash features in the pool, dedicated lap lanes, two water slides, and a splash pad designed to resemble the landscape of coastal Maine.

"The new pool has areas where the community can gather and stay for the day, spreading out a blanket to enjoy the facility and meet their neighbors," Hipple said.

Like Portland's other community pools, Rising Eddy will require patrons to purchase either a day pass or a membership, with tiered pricing for adults, seniors and families. To help ensure that cost isn't a barrier, the local nonprofit Maine Community Swimming has been working to build a fund that subsidizes access for lower-income residents.

"As a nonprofit focused on water safety and access for all, we have been focused on raising funding to ensure that no one is turned away from the pool for financial reasons," said Brooke Teller, the organization's executive director. In April, the group hosted a documentary screening that raised $2,000 toward that effort.

Teller said the nonprofit is coordinating with the city's Parks, Recreation and Facilities Department on the logistics of tracking attendance and eventually distributing the donated funds. She anticipates the initiative will function much like the arrangement the Kiwanis Club once had with the pool, when the national service organization covered costs for children based on attendance records.

Hipple framed the project as part of a broader fight to keep public swimming accessible.

"Communities across the country have seen hundreds of public pools close, while private pools are only for those who can afford it," he said. "It's extremely important that Portland and our surrounding communities offer access to low-cost community pools where people of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds can come together to learn to swim and have fun in the water."

"Swimming is a lifelong skill that leads to increased water safety, fun and quality of life," he added.

As July approaches, Portlanders will soon have a second outdoor pool to choose from, and a much larger one than the city has seen in decades.