The District has unveiled a final design for a $44.5 million replacement of the William H. Rumsey Aquatic Center (635 N. Carolina Ave. SE), transforming the low-slung pool beside Eastern Market into a two-story community facility with two pools, fitness and senior spaces, meeting rooms and a redesigned public plaza.
Yet even as officials described the July 22 meeting as residents’ “last bite at the apple” before permitting, many of Rumsey’s most devoted users focused on a basic question: will the water will be the right depth for the programs that already fill the pool? Participants in the popular water-aerobics clss said too little of the new pools would be shallow enough for shorter adults to exercise while standing. Water walkers, who exercise without touching the bottom, worried that the smaller pool would not be deep enough and that they would again have to compete with lap swimmers for space.
The project has expanded considerably since the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) and Department of General Services (DGS) began meeting with residents in December 2024. Rather than renovating the 1970 concrete structure, the District plans to demolish it and build a new structure. The final proposal includes an eight-lane, 25-yard lap pool measuring about 75 feet 9 inches by 56 feet eight inches, with depths ranging from four to 12 feet. A separate leisure and learn-to-swim pool, about 40 by 34 feet, would have a zero-entry accessible ramp and descend from three and a half to five feet.
The first floor would also contain men’s and women’s locker rooms, two family changing rooms, a first-aid room, staff offices and a glass-walled, unisex sauna. Upstairs, the plan adds a fitness room, senior center, multipurpose and meeting rooms, and an observation area where parents and spectators could look down on the pools. An elevator and stairs would connect the floors.
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The design by iStudio Architects replaces Rumsey’s heavy concrete exterior with three connected brick masses intended to reflect the scale and materials of the Capitol Hill Historic District. A glassed-in entrance would open toward North Carolina AvenueSE, while windows and roof monitors would bring daylight into the natatorium. Interior art is expected to honor William H. Rumsey, the former DPR director who co-founded the Black History Invitational Swim Meet.
Outside, the plan preserves the plaza beneath the large heritage tree along North Carolina Avenue and creates room for Eastern Market tents, outdoor programs and events. Wider sidewalks, benches, stormwater planters, lighting, drinking fountains and bicycle racks would surround the building. Along C Street and the market alley, designers envision additional vendor space and a more welcoming connection to Eastern Market. Solar panels and an extensive green roof are also planned, although officials said the energy demands of an indoor pool prevent the building from reaching net-zero use. The project would seek at least LEED Silver certification.
Residents generally praised the larger building and the architects’ response to earlier criticism, but the proposed pool depths drew objection from several attendees. The lap pool is four feet deep for about 16 feet before sloping to five feet for about 12 more, and then sloping suddenly to 12 feet.
Several aerobics participants said four feet is already too deep for many shorter users, while the slope would leave too little room for large classes. One asked the designers to begin the lap pool at three and a half feet and preserve more shallow water. DPR community engagement manager Christopher Dyer called that request “an easy fix,” but the team did not commit to changing the plan.
Water walkers identified the opposite problem. The five-foot maximum in the leisure pool would not allow many participants to remain suspended, they said, forcing the program into the deep end of the lap pool. Reserving lanes for water walking or aerobics would reduce the space available for lap swimming and recreate the scheduling conflicts the second pool was intended to ease. Officials said DPR’s aquatic programming staff would need to determine how many participants each pool could accommodate and how the programs would be scheduled.
Locker rooms produced another dispute. The design team said the women’s locker room would have seven showers, the men’s room six and the two assisted or family rooms additional showers. Women who arrive with large water-exercise classes said that would remain inadequate. Other swimmers requested more changing space, modern suit-spinning machines, recessed ladders and enough hooks for belongings along the deck.
The expanded building also raised questions about access. Officials said the project would retain the parking now in front of Rumsey, preserve the Capital Bikeshare station and add private-bike racks. Beyond the property, however, they said analysis of street parking, traffic and bus service falls outside the project’s scope. A resident warned that a center drawing families and aquatic users from across the District would generate more vehicle trips and drop-offs, particularly in winter, regardless of the emphasis on walking, bicycles and scooters.
Eastern Market representatives asked the city to provide electrical connections for vendor tents and possible future business-incubator kiosks, maintain lighting in the alley and coordinate security features with the market. They also urged the agencies to protect merchant access and income during demolition. Officials said the construction fence would enclose the work site while leaving the residential alley open. The heritage tree would remain, although most other existing trees would be removed.
The District has not announced when Rumsey will close or demolition will begin. Officials rejected a rumor that the pool was about to close and promised substantial notice. They said they would not take the facility offline until the project was ready to move, but cautioned that the first 30 to 90 days could involve largely invisible work. The vacant building must be surveyed and abated for lead, asbestos or other hazards, and utilities must be disconnected before demolition.
DGS currently lists the project’s completion as early 2028, but officials would not promise a more precise schedule. They hope to hold a construction kickoff meeting in the fall, when they expect to introduce the builder, review the final design and provide firmer dates. DPR also said comments would remain open for at least a month after the July 22 meeting, approximately through the end of August.
Residents can send written comments to Dyer at christopher.dyer@dc.gov. Project information and presentations are posted on the DGS Rumsey Aquatic Center page at dgs.dc.gov/page/rumsey-aquatic-center. Officials emphasized that the floor plan and major building systems are nearly settled, so remaining changes are likely to be refinements rather than a redesign. For swimmers, however, changing a few inches of depth could determine whether the new building works for the people who use Rumsey now.
