Seth Johnson
The H. Spurgeon Cherry Aquatics Center, located at the Albert Ray Massey Park, will reopen at noon on Saturday as the city of Gainesville celebrates the end of the $2 million renovation.
The Gainesville City Commission approved the project using Wild Spaces Public Places (WSPP) funding in December 2021. While initial estimates said the pool would open for the summer of 2022, construction and supply chain issues pushed the timeline back.
The funds remodeled the entryway, placed a new roof, redid the parking lot, replaced the pool liner and other internal updates for the building, built in the late 1960s.
The city also just finished construction on its first boundless and fully lit playground at the park, cutting the ribbon on April 14. The Alachua County School District is also in the middle of construction on the Westwood Middle School that borders the park to the north.