At Thursday’s Greenwich Board of Education meeting where Dr. Michael-Joseph Mercanti-Anthony was elected the school board’s new chairman, a highlight was a presentation of the GHS pool feasibility study.
Constructed back in 1968 as part of the then “new” high school on Hillside Road, the 25-yard swimming pool with its single 1-meter diving board today has a host of issues.
There is an existing steel girder approximately 12 feet above and 6’-2” ahead of the diving board. This is more than four feet less than required by NCAA regulations.
Currently diving practices at the pool are suspended and the GHS diving team has been temporarily relocated to the YMCA Greenwich.
There are issues with the too narrow pool decks, which have limited emergency access and are shared with spectators. A five foot pool deck is required for full perimeter of pool.
The pool facility received renovations in 1997; main drain covers were replaced in 2008, following enactment of the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act (VGBA). The pool deck and deck drainage were updated in 2023. The locker rooms were also updated recently. Routine and deferred maintenance has been ongoing, but no other major work has been performed over the last 28 years.
Earlier this year, TLB Architecture, LLC, (TLBA), an architecture firm specializing in aquatics design, conducted a technical facility assessment.
Last March swimmers and their families were shocked to learn about the consultant’s report and a potential 1-2 year shut down of the school’s eight-lane pool for renovations.
Since then a feasibility committee (page 6) has been looking at rebuilding the pool, balancing the urgency posed by the current state of the pool with responsible long-range planning options, all while recognizing the need to keep the GHS swimming program online.
It was noted that a temporary relocation of the swim program while renovating existing pool or re-building in place would be very costly at about $8 million.
Also, a temporary pool facility is technically considered permanent under the building code, and wouldn’t accommodate diving. Besides, it the cost of a temporary pool represents money that could be otherwise spent on a permanent pool.
At Thursdays BOE meeting, Ben Branyan introduced Lisa Yates, AIA, LEED AP, from Antinozzi Associates (Design Team – Architect) and Michael Fortuna, AIA, TLB Architecture (Design Team – Architect, Aquatics Specialist).
Ms Yates walked the school board through the ed specs including the committee’s preferred “Option 5,” an all new pool facility built on the site of the existing tennis courts while the existing facility stays online, and then building 8 new tennis courts at North Street School.
Afterward, the existing pool structure could be repurposed for another sports space.
Ms Yates said it would cost about the same to fill in the pool and repurpose the existing pool area as to demolish it.
The estimated cost of Option 5 is $60 million. It is anticipated that construction would not be completed until 2030.
Sophie Koven, the BOE’s pool committee liaison, said the committee had had a deliberate process and great attendance.
She said Option 5 was the most likely to allow for an uninterrupted experience for the students and took a holistic look at school’s overall needs, including the new egress/driveway, a priority for neighbors and a major school safety issue.
Ms Koven said the existing GHS tennis courts were also at the end of their useful lives.
Karen Hirsh said Option 5 proposed to move facilities off the GHS campus, which has historically not been considered ideal.
She asked if there was consideration of moving the courts to Central Middle School, considering those courts are cracked and already need to be redone.
Ms Koven agreed that it was unfortunate to remove a sport from the GHS campus.
Koven said all the school campuses had been considered for where there might be space for 8 new tennis courts – which is necessary for competition at the high school level.
She said it was too late to consider CMS as it is already under construction.
Conceptual view of option 5 from the shallow end, shows upper tier seating area, alumni room and removable bulkhead.
Conceptual view of option 5 from the upper tier seating looking at the deep end which is where the competitive swim lanes would be.
Yates said the study noted that closing the pool facility was not an acceptable option for the Greenwich Public Schools community. Building on the existing tennis courts means those courts need a new home.
“It’s a real opportunity to address multiple issues together,” Yates said. “Just because this is the pool committee does not mean we want to give short shrift to any of the high school athletes.”
Image shows (at left) squeezing in 8 courts along a new access road, which adds significant impervious surface and removes considerable number of trees versus and the possible addition of courts too North Street School.
Option 5 would introduce locker rooms because the pool would no longer be adjacent to the school’s existing locker rooms.
Ms Yates said adding new locker rooms, including visitor locker rooms, a great amenity for a big swim meet, would also help with rental monetization opportunities and create “a real community pool.”
Yates said the underlying assumption was that 8 courts were necessary for high school tennis competitions.
Moving 8 courts over to make way for an access road would result in significant tree removal and increase impervious area.
At GHS the are in orange is the approximate area where in the 1970s fill was added to the site. There are utilities around the school including connecting the pool space and the mechanical space to the south and a big retention basin under the swimming pool parking area.
Longtime swim coach Terry Lowe testified at the BOE meeting at CMS on Nov 20, 2025 Photo: Leslie Yager
During public comment several speakers talked about the value of the GHS aquatics program, including coach Terry Lowe who said coaches were excited about the prospect of a new pool facility that meets the competitive standards of all three sports – swimming, diving and water polo – as well as meeting all the health, safety and ADA requirements.
“Currently the pool has already been closed for our divers due to the building failing state standards for ceiling heights for one meter diving board. The nearly 60-year-old pool fails to meet an array of today’s health, safety and competitive standards. Moreover it has been judged to be in its final years. It is our greatest hope to enter a new facility without interruption to the school’s most successful boys and girls athletic teams,” Lowe said.
“For decades those programs have flourished producing over 200 Fairfield County league and state class and state open championships, along with score of all-American swimmers, divers and water polo players, many of whom have gone on to have outstanding collegiate careers,” he added. “Please put this project in the express lane to guarantee the continuity of these programs that are at the heart of what makes Greenwich such a great aquatics community.”
James Waters, the RTM rep to the natatorium feasibility committee, who is also chair of the Old Greenwich School building committee and chairs the RTM Budget Overview Committee, testified at the BOE meeting at CMS on Nov 20, 2025 Photo: Leslie Yager
James Waters, the RTM rep to the natatorium feasibility committee, who is also chair of the Old Greenwich School building committee and chairs the RTM Budget Overview Committee, highlighted a few points about the GHS natatorium feasibility study, including that the ed specs incorporated lessons learned from recent major school projects.
He said the committee had codified options considered using a scorecard matrix to compare them.
Existing pool, constructed back in 1968 as part of the “new” Greenwich High School on Hillside Road, the 25-yard swimming pool with its single 1-meter diving board has a host of issues.
“We considered a range of factors and found that there are no simple fixes here. We looked at projects costs, the impact on the school itself – including utilities, parking and the GHS courtyard. We considered the feasibility of getting Municipal Improvement and zoning approvals and were sensitive to neighborhood priorities and other school sports programs. And we looked how to minimize or avoid disruptions to both school and sports.”
Waters said Option 5 was the clear front runner as it incorporates the Cardinal access driveway or ‘second egress,’ and ensures the tennis program gets the new tennis courts they need as well.
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He said much rigor went into the creation of the recommended ed specs.
“In my view they set a new standard for projects like this. The pool specified is a standard championship pool for championship programs, he continued. “As you know the GHS aquatics programs are the most decorated sports teams at GHS – 145 state championships. They have helped hundreds of kids get into college, with many going on to compete at the NCA division 1 level and even the US Olympic trials.”
“If GPS wants championship aquatics programs, the high school needs a natatorium like in the ed specs,” he added. “Many public high schools across the country have pools just like the one spec’d here, though their teams may not be quite as accomplished.”
Still, Waters noted the concept in the ed specs was “no frills,” noting the proposed pool was not the most expensive choice.
“Yet it will be a facility the town will be proud of,” he said.
Waters mentioned that Option 5 avoided disruption to both the school’s aquatics and tennis programs, as well as the school itself.
Further he said Option 5 avoided the ‘soil problem” at GHS and had the support of the Hillside Road residential neighbors.
“The urgency here is real. We are in a race to get this built before the current pool expires.”
Lastly he said the project was perfect for a public-private partnership and there was already a track record of raising money for pools in Greenwich.
Greenwich High School swimmer Giorgio Michailides who is a swimmer at the high school, spoke at the BOE meeting at Central Middle School in favor of the new pool. Nov 20, 2025 Photo: Leslie Yager
Swimmer Giorgio Michailides, GHS senior, described GHS aquatics program as an elite one that competes and dominates at the highest level.
He referred to serious technical violations that qualified the pool as below standard, including blocked drainage lines, a filtration system at the end of its life span, and mechanical systems that are no longer compliant.
Giorgio said the deck proportions failed to meet the Dept of Public Health regulations and the ceiling height is below both diving and water polo standards.
“In short, the facility doesn’t meet today’s safety codes, competitive guidelines or the basic expectations placed on a program of our caliber,” he added.
Clearance over the diving board is reduced by means of a steel girder, steel beams, sprinkler piping and ductwork. Circled in the photo is a water bottle placed on the flange of the girder by a diver. Also visible in the photo are names that were written on the beam (obscured so as to not identify students). The TLBA report said this could only have been accomplished by hanging from the beam long enough to write the name.
See also:
Aquatics Community Rails Against Possible 1-2 Year GHS Pool Closure
March 22, 2025