Pier Park Pool in Grosse Pointe Farms: Rebuild Updates

Six months after crews began tearing out the old bathhouse at Pier Park, one of the new pools is already finished. At the September 14 City Council meeting, City Manager Shane Reeside reported that the competition pool was finished and the recreation pool's walls were formed and poured. Gutter work on the new pool was about to start. The bathhouse had its windows in, its roof was next, and bricklayers were due the following week. He also said the project remained on schedule and on budget.

Last summer, Farms families with a yellow or orange park pass drove to Lake Front Park in the Woods or to Windmill Pointe and Patterson Park in the Park, depending on precinct and date. Those families are getting back more than a replacement pool. Almost every design decision in the plans points the same way. The new complex is built to handle more kinds of swimmers at once, to stay useful past Labor Day, and to fit inside the city's existing debt payments.

How far the build has come since March

The past seven months, in order:

1. March 2026. Demolition was set to begin March 15. The city livestreamed the bathhouse coming down on March 18.
2. May 7. The old pool's demolition was livestreamed.
3. Late July. The Grosse Pointe News reported that the bathhouse's exterior framing was complete and both main pools were formed, with some concrete poured. The tot pool, the mechanical building and the pool equipment were still ahead, and equipment installation was planned for winter.
4. Late August. Reeside told C&G News, "We're on schedule. We're on budget. I think we've been fortunate with the weather."
5. Mid-September. The competition pool was done and the recreation pool walls were poured, according to the council minutes.

Grissim Metz Andriese Associates is on the design team. The Blake Company holds the bathhouse and mechanical building contract, and Baruzzini Aquatics is building the pools and splash pad. In March the city approved $3,489,693 for Blake and $5,253,379 for Baruzzini. The Grosse Pointe News reported that the council hired Barton Malow as the project's construction manager.

The old pool's problem was its length

The old pool was the wrong length for its main job. The Grosse Pointe News reported in August 2024 that its 33-meter lanes were longer than competitive swimming calls for. A January 2024 report in the same paper said the pool's lining had "lived its useful life." One tank also had to serve swim teams, lap swimmers and families with small children, all at the same hours.

The approved plan splits that one tank into separate pools, each with its own purpose:

• Competition pool. Eight 25-meter lanes, diving boards, deeper water at the starting blocks so swimmers can dive in, and more room for spectators.
• Recreation pool. Zero-depth entry, ADA accessibility, bench seating in one corner, and three more 25-meter lap lanes.
• Tot pool. About one and a half times the size of the old one, which the city considered too small.
• Splash pad. Back in the plan after residents pushed for it, on a somewhat smaller footprint than before.

The three extra lap lanes in the recreation pool give adults a place to swim laps during swim team practice. Reeside explained why when the council approved the preliminary site plan in October 2025, as the Grosse Pointe News reported:

"Our demographics have changed, so we're seeing not only young users, but older, more active seniors using the pool on a regular basis."

With those lanes, an adult can swim laps while the Barracudas practice next door. Last summer the Barracudas trained at Brownell Middle School and then Grosse Pointe South High School while Pier Park was closed. The plan also lets a parent watch toddlers in the tot pool and older kids in the other pools from one spot, a point Reeside made to C&G News.

The plan went through close to 28 revisions based on feedback from residents and the city's committee before the council passed it unanimously. A lazy river appeared in the 2024 conceptual design but is not part of the approved build.

Features meant for September and beyond

The old complex closed when the pool closed. Several features of the new one are planned to work outside the swim season.

The new splash pad will be fenced off from the other features. Reeside said in the Grosse Pointe News that it could be used "on a nice warm day in September, maybe October, with the weather we've had."

The bathhouse includes a separate restroom with a shower next to the beach that could stay open when the pool is closed. Reeside said beachgoers and kayakers could use it, and boaters could use it during the summer months. Inside, the building will have men's, women's and family restrooms and changing areas, so a parent can help a child get ready. It will also be air-conditioned for the first time, which Reeside said should help control dampness.

The bathhouse now has a second floor. A screened porch on its east side will face the beach and the harbor. "It'll be a nice area to sit in the shade and take in Lake St. Clair," Reeside told C&G News.

The Blake Company also built the Pier Park Community Building, and the new bathhouse is designed to match it. It will have a cedar-shake roof, this time made from a newer, more durable artificial material. The lifeguard station is moving into the old mechanical building on the pool deck, and a new mechanical building is going up.

How a $14.8 million project is being paid for

The city puts the total budget at about $14.8 million. The Grosse Pointe Farms Foundation has committed $4 million, and general obligation bonds cover the rest. Part of the Foundation's money came from its commemorative brick campaign, which has closed. Residents bought about 170 bricks and raised more than $100,000. Those bricks will become part of the new walkway to the pool.

The bond side depends on timing. Reeside told C&G News that the city held off on the project until bonds for two earlier Pier Park projects were paid off. Those were the Community Building, built about 24 years ago, and the harbor expansion about 23 years ago. The new bonds will be paid through the general fund, with no special millage. City officials expect tax bills to stay largely the same as the older debt retires. Reeside summed it up this way:

"We're basically just trading debt, with a similar payment schedule" of about 20 to 25 years.

The city paid for the park's last big upgrades the same way, and those payments are ending just as the new ones begin. Reeside also said there are "still opportunities for donations for elements of the project."

Between now and Memorial Day weekend

For the rest of this season, the parts of Pier Park outside the fence work as usual. The city has said the marina, the pavilion, and picnic and indoor rentals would keep operating without construction limits. Its summer operations plan also kept indoor space in the Community Building open during construction. The beach and the kayak and stand-up paddleboard area closed for the season on September 28. The Tot Lot playground, the beach stand-up shower and the south parking lot have been closed during construction. According to the March 2026 final plan, landscaping will remove six trees and add nine new plantings, a response to residents who asked the city to work around existing trees where it could.

Over the winter, crews will install pool equipment, and the tot pool and mechanical building are still to come. The Grosse Pointe Farms Foundation lists Summer 2027 as the reopening target. City officials told C&G News that weather and unexpected problems can affect any construction schedule. Parks and Recreation Director Chris Galatis gave the department's goal: "to be open next Memorial Day weekend." As of mid-October, the city has not announced 2027 membership details or a grand opening date.

Updates on the pool, the splash pad and the bathhouse porch will appear here over the winter. If you're wondering what a renovated community amenity like Pier Park could mean for your home's value, Closing and Toasting can give you an instant home valuation, and Megan is glad to talk through the numbers with you.