From the Ground Up: The Rush Republic Aquatic Park

Owner: City of Republic
General contractor: Branco Enterprises Inc.
Architect: Sapp Design Associates Architects Inc., project; and SWT Design Inc., landscape
Engineers: Olsson Inc., civil; J&M Engineering LLC, structural; and Interpres Building Solutions LLC, mechanical, electrical and plumbing
Size: 2,000-square-foot pool house, 21,030-square-foot pool deck and 18,723-square-foot pool
Cost: $850,000, pool house; $7.4 million, total project
Funding source: Quarter-cent sales tax for park capital improvements
Estimated completion: May 12
Description: A May 25 opening is planned for the expanded and newly rebranded The Rush Republic Aquatic Park, according to Jared Keeling, assistant city administrator and director of parks and recreation. He said the pool facility doubled in size with the addition of terraces, patios and lounge space and a 575-foot lazy river. A new pool house will offer a mustering location for the lifeguards on duty across the facility – 26 at a time, Keeling said. The building will have four single-occupancy restrooms, expanding capacity beyond the main pool house, which has been in place since 2005 and will still be in use. Filter equipment for the lazy river will also be located in the building, Keeling said. Voters approved two quarter-cent sales taxes in August 2022, one to fund capital improvements, including the pool, and the other to pay for park operations.