“If we had isolated ourselves with just residential and not included recreational, it wouldn’t have been as attractive to the retail,” Jump said. Jump’s organization, 201 Corridor Management, has invested millions in the area and has said it will lay out tens of millions more in the coming years.
The pool will attract people to the area along State Route 201, said Amanda Horine, Exective Director of the Huber Heights Chamber of Commerce. And business is attracted to people, she said.
“It’s really just the start of what’s happening here,” she said. “Locals will come but also probably out from a wider radius.”
Then the guards blew their whistles, the gates were opened, and the line inched forward, relieving a few at a time from the scorching sun.
Sister and brother Jaleah and Julian Stiner, 8 and 9 years old respectively, arrived with their mother at least an hour before the opening, at noon.
“I’m excited about everything!” Julian said. “And also because it’s new.”
The complex has a zero-depth entry pool, in which sits a water-filled playset. There’s also a tube slide, a lap pool with diving board and a fenced area for infants and toddlers to play in. The concession stand helps the city with revenue.
“We had great weather through the winter” during construction, said Huber Heights mayor Ron Fisher, “and we’re having great weather for the first weekend.”
Construction started in the fall. Before that, the local YMCA began hiring the 85 people needed to keep the pool running. While the city owns the property and is funding it in part through tax increment financing, Fisher said, the YMCA has contracted to manage it for $15,000 a year plus the salaries of non-managers.
“We couldn’t touch it for that kind of price,” Fisher said. “Some people say there’s nothing to do in Huber Heights over the summer months, but you can’t say that anymore.”
Fisher and others have said that with sponsorships like the one by Kroger, the pool will turn a small profit, unlike most municipal pools.
His biggest concern going forward? Overcrowding.
About the Author