By ANNA USHER

The historic facility will open to the public in just over two months – more than five years after it closed for a redevelopment that has ballooned to an estimated $122 million, plagued by major cost blowouts and delays.

Developer Icon has handed the keys to North Sydney Council after the project reached practical completion last week, with Mayor Zoe Baker confirming the iconic pool will reopen on Friday, August 7.

That marks exactly 1,986 days since locals last had a public swimming pool.

Mayor Baker told Monday’s council meeting the pool is almost ready to operate and be returned to the community, thanking residents for their patience.

“We recognise the frustration many people have felt over the course of the redevelopment and, honestly, there were times I never thought we would see this day,” she said.

“But what now stands on this extraordinary harbour foreshore is a truly beautiful public facility that honours the history of the original pool while creating something future generations will enjoy for decades to come,” she said.

Council staff are now moving forward with final fit-outs, installing equipment and furnishings, recruiting and training staff, testing systems and technology, and completing heritage restoration works – including on the art deco brick wall facing the harbour.

The new complex includes the 50-metre heated outdoor pool with views of the Harbour Bridge and Luna Park, a 25-metre indoor pool, program pool, 970-seat grandstand, and a children’s splash pad and water play area.

There is also a reformer Pilates studio, swim school, crèche, spa, sauna, steam room, sundeck, and the Ripples café and gelato bar.

Casual entry will cost $11 per adult, $8.80 for children and $8.25 for concession-holders.

Baker said the council would run guided tours for the public before the reopening date.

“This is a facility built not just for today, but for future generations of swimmers, families, visitors and the wider community,” she said.
The pool closed for redevelopment on February 28, 2021. Work began the following month, with an initial estimated cost of $58 million and a reopening target of November 2022.

From there, the cost blew out to $89 million in 2024 before ballooning to an estimated $122 million.

In April, the council said there were $11.3 million in variation claims still to be agreed or submitted – the amount claimed by Icon, “not the amount that will necessarily be agreed or paid by council.”

The reopening coincides with the pool’s 90th anniversary. North Sydney Olympic Pool opened in 1936, hosted the 1938 British Empire Games, and saw 86 world records set between 1953 and 1978.