When the Forest Hills Public Schools Community and Aquatic Center was established, it was seen to be one of the best aquatic centers of its time, featuring an 8-lane pool and a brand-new timing system with which other facilities couldn’t compare. But as the years went on, and other facilities started to get better innovations, like multiple pools in their natatorium, or bleachers that can hold an entire state-championship meet, the relevance of the Forest Hills aquatic facility lost its value. But a few months ago, Forest Hills Public Schools announced that in the winter of 2028, there would be a new aquatic center that would be ready to use. The new facility will prove to be substantially better than the outdated aquatic center that has been in use for years.
Mike Holter, who is a notable contributor to the design of the facility and a part of the active design committee and planning board, has high expectations for what is to come of the natatorium.
“Because the old aquatic center was so outdated, the main goal of [the new aquatic center] is to build a state-of-the-art facility that can host big meets and be comparable to other big pools in the state, like [the] Holland Aquatic Center and Jenison[‘s aquatic center],” Holter said.
Compared to big facilities such as Holland and Jenison, the Forest Hills facility seems as though it’s ancient. It has bad lighting and a minimum number of lanes to host a meet. There would be no possibility in its current state that there would be an invitational-like meet. But with the new features of the upcoming facility, the idea of hosting large meets won’t seem like an unreachable achievement. The idea of having a natatorium capable of hosting large meets because of the bigger pool space is not the only concern, though. Many of the swimmers on the high school teams have opinions on the comfort level the current aquatic facility offers.
Senior Allison Meny, who was a member of the design committee, made sure to make her ideas stand out to ensure a more welcoming environment than the current facility.
“There’s going to be a lot more lighting [in the natatorium], so it’s going to be a lot brighter and a better environment,” Allison said. “The locker rooms will also be bigger, and they will have closed-off showers, which is nice because we don’t get that at the aquatic center right now.”
The new aquatic center, for the most part, is going to be the most exciting for competitive swimmers on teams like those of FHC or Forest Hills Northern-Eastern (FHNE), but the primary audience isn’t just them. The main purpose of the aquatic center is to provide the Forest Hills community with all of the necessities, no matter how much swimming background a person has. The thought put into benefiting the whole community is mainly shown through the innovations that the new facility will offer.
“In the current aquatic center, the main problem is that there is not enough pool time for the different teams, so [the teams] need to fight over pool time,” Allison said, “There’s just not enough therapy areas for the older adults, so there will be a lot of renovations being put into the project to [cater] to a wider variety of people.”
The new amenities being added, such as a therapy pool for activities like water aerobics for older adults, will prove to be a dramatic improvement compared to the single pool that the current aquatic center offers. The amount of pool space that is offered will also demonstrate the practicality of having two swim teams sharing the same pool without issues, rather than fighting over pool space and having inconvenient practice times for the swimmers.
While the new aquatic facility is generating excitement among those who have wanted a new facility for years, the natatorium will not be in use until what is estimated to be around three to four years. The first swim team that will be able to use it in the Forest Hills community will be the boys on the swim and dive teams, as their season is in the winter. Of everyone who attends Forest Hills Public Schools and is a swimmer on one of the two swim teams, the only people who will be able to swim in the new pool will be the current class of 2029 when they go into their senior swim season.
Nathan Gole, who is one of the freshman swimmers currently on the FHC swim and dive team, makes clear his main excitement for the new facility as well as how it will impact the team environment when he is in his senior year.
“I think that building a new pool for the high school would make more people join [the team] because of the practicality it will offer because of the pool space,” Nathan said. “[The new pool] would help bring new swimmers to the sport and make our team better. Right now, the pool is dark and crowded, so having a brighter pool will make the environment a lot better.”
The new aquatic center, coming in 2028, will be seen to offer so much more than the current facility does for the community. The ability to access more pool space, along with the multiple pools such as the therapy pool, will make the facility unique and a great addition to Forest Hills. The pool will serve as a solid natatorium for many years following its opening.
“The new aquatic facility will be up to date and will be good enough to rival the powerhouse facilities like [those in] Jenison and Holland,” Mike said. “[The aquatic facility] will be the best it’s ever been.”
