Access to the pool has been a rocky road at the Federal Way Community Center for the past several years, but a light is on the horizon — the new locker room designs were unveiled Oct. 15 at the Federal Way City Council meeting.
The estimate for the completion date is now May 2025.
Geometric splash tiles in shades of blue and white will ideally provide an aesthetically pleasing and safe environment for pool-goers when completed, according to designers.
The locker rooms were slotted for a remodel already as part of a renovation plan for the community center, but the discovery of mold in the walls pushed that schedule forward.
Representatives from Innova architects presented to the council and said the original issue that caused the mold in the first place was due to deviations from the original architectural plans.
They determined “missing grout on both the wall and floor tiles to be a significant source,” and that the lack of a water-resistant barrier and substrate made of water-resistant gypsum board rather than cement board also contributed. During demolition, they have also discovered that the subfloor is dry pack mortar rather than the concrete topping slab in the original constructive drawings.
The mold was first discovered in the evening of Feb. 1, and the city immediately closed off the locker rooms and began working to set up temporary ones. Installing the temporary rooms required significant preparation and coordination, so some community rooms in the community center were set up as a temporary fix.
Federal Way community member Robin Dale told the Mirror that she was impacted by the locker room issue over the summer when her daughter’s 9th birthday party had to be canceled because of it.
The plan had been to hold a pool party there, but the community room they had reserved was one of those that was turned into a temporary locker room. After the transition back into in-person school, and all the challenges during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dale said the planned party held special significance for her daughter.
Dale expressed frustration with the response from the community center and said that as a property manager for over 20 years, she’s dealt with mold issues before. She said she just wished the response from the city about the community center was more “transparent and realistic” and said it felt “inauthentic.”
The new locker rooms will include increased locker capacity and extensive corrective measures through both mechanical and structural means to ensure proper air and water flow.
The leisure pool was closed for about 10 months and the slide for about a year, then reopened on Sept. 16, 2023. The process of remodeling these areas in the community center has come with unexpected challenges along the way but the completion of the projects is now in sight.
“It looks beautiful and we’re looking forward to it,” Mayor Jim Ferrell said in response to the presentation of the new designs.
Samples of the design materials for new lockers at the Community Center were shared at the Federal Way City Council meeting on Oct. 15. Photo by Keelin Everly-Lang / the Mirror
