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The city of St. Gallen has prepared the blueprint for the renovation and expansion of the Blumenwies indoor pool. The loan is expected to reach the city parliament in October and the town in March.
In the future, official competitions will be held in Blumenwies. That is still not possible today.
Anyone who goes for a swim from time to time knows: there is nothing annoying than too many bathers in a lane, especially when the tempo differences are large. Swimming with concentration, getting into a rhythm is not there. Instead, you surround other swimmers.
This is exactly the problem that has existed in the Blumenwies indoor pool for years. In 2010, the city council stated in a postulated report that 650 square meters of bathroom area were missing in the flower meadow and the public toilet. Today it has a good 760 square meters, as the number of bathers has increased with the growth of the population. And as early as 2010 it was said: The Blumenwies indoor pool should be renovated and expanded. In May 2019, the winning project of an architecture competition was chosen. The core of the project is a swimming pool with 13 lanes of 25 meters each.
To this end, the city council is asking the city parliament for a planning and execution loan of almost 50 million Swiss francs. Probably next spring the credit will go to the people.
The city received the inheritance for the new flower meadow.
The renovation and extension of the indoor pool will cost a good 45.4 million francs. In reality, it would be slightly less than 46 million francs. But a Saint Gallen left the city 500,000 francs in 2014 “for the construction of the covered swimming pool of Blumenwies”. A reserve of 15 percent is included in the total as this is a cost estimate.
Councilor Markus Buschor.
After the renovation, the flower meadow should “allow the population to enjoy a bath experience of high value for health and a high level of well-being”, says the parliamentary bill. Or as Councilor Markus Buschor, Directorate of Education and Leisure put it to the media on Wednesday:
“The flower meadow will become the main leisure pool in the region.”
The city expects more visitors due to expansion and renovation. 190,000 bathers and schoolchildren currently visit the indoor pool each year. In the future it should be 300,000. The number of tickets sold has been falling since 2013, with fewer individual guests coming. According to parliamentary documents, the reason for this is the decrease in the attractiveness of the pool.
Not only are water areas lacking, the entry foyer is also unappealing. There is no up-to-date access system with a payment machine. “There is not even a separation between the footwear and the bare feet,” says Buschor. Also, security standards have changed. Technical systems are at the end of their useful life and no longer meet current standards.
The hot water pool is voted on separately
Councilor Maria Pappa.
In addition to the renovation, the winning project “Waikiki” includes an extension to Martinsbruggstrasse and a parking lot. “In terms of urban planning, this is exciting because the building is moving onto the street,” says City Councilor Maria Pappa, Directorate of Planning and Construction.
Today you have to cross the parking lots to get to the entrance:
The entrance to the Blumenwies Indoor Pool is in the upper right. The parking spaces below will be built. The hot water pool will be built in the meadow on the left.
The extension is slightly wider than the existing building. There will be a niche where an outdoor pool with bubble jets and a water temperature of 34 degrees is planned. This corresponds to the needs of many bathers, it says in the parliamentary bill. “If you give up this offer, the Blumenwies will lose their appeal.” The outdoor swimming pool, including the reserve, costs 1.9 million francs and is voted on separately. This means that the city parliament could approve the renovation and expansion, but at the same time reject the construction of the outdoor swimming pool.
In case of rejection, according to the documents, ten percent fewer admissions are expected. At the same time, there are less operating costs. Therefore, the city expects the flower meadow to be black after renovation and expansion, even without an outdoor pool. In the last three years there was an average loss of about 280,000 francs a year.
The “Waikiki” project also provides for a new entrance area with a bistro and shop. From the waiting room you can look out over the pool. Maria Pappa says about the architectural style:
“It will be simple, but not banal, but robust.”
In addition to a student pool with an adjustable lifting floor, a slide is also provided:
The project was saved
All very well. However, as is well known, the city of St. Gallen has to save. As part of a crown savings package, for example, the renovation of Volksbad was postponed. “We review all the projects and make sure we are cost-effective without making the projects worse,” Construction Director Maria Pappa responded when asked.
In the case of the Blumenwies indoor pool, the excavation is 60 centimeters less than the original winning project. This avoids problems with groundwater and results in less digging. An originally planned underground car park will not be built. Draft development showed that costs were disproportionately high due to the demanding construction site. 84 new parking spaces are projected above ground. Today there are 111. For important events, parking spaces must be used everywhere.
Because with the expansion, official competitions can also be held in the flower meadow. So in swimming, water polo and diving. This is not possible today because the pool does not meet the standards of the International Swimming Federation and has not been recognized.
A temporary solution will be built in Lerchenfeld for the winter.
The expansion and renovation of the flower meadow is expected to take two years. In summer, school classes and clubs have to change to outdoor swimming pools. A temporary solution, the so-called air dome, will be built in Lerchenfeld for the two winter seasons. To do this, the pool is covered with a multilayer plastic membrane and this is anchored in a concrete base that surrounds the pool.
The existing rooms of the Lerchenfeld are used for reception, checkout, shop and bistro. Since wardrobes and showers are used to their fullest in winter due to ice sports, there are temporary arrangements in containers. The air dome is only designed for swimming. The diving tower, slide and paddling pool cannot be used.
It all costs a good 1.6 million francs. Here, too, the city parliament has a separate control over the loan and can reject the interim arrangement, regardless of the renovation of the flower meadow. According to parliamentary documents, giving up the temporary agreement would mean that the swimming curriculum could no longer be fully met. Also, water sports clubs should cut back on their activities.
Bergbach reveals himself
Last but not least, the mountain stream, which runs through the Blumenwies indoor pool area, needs to be exposed. The federal government and the canton contribute 725,000 francs to the expenses. The city of St. Gallen pays 367.00 francs plus a community contribution of 188.00 francs.
The disclosure of Bach is related to the expansion and renovation of the flower meadow. Also, the stream will only be disclosed if it can also be disclosed in the Fuchsenstrasse area. The corresponding project is currently under appeal.
The new indoor pool will open in late 2025 at the earliest
The bill is expected to reach the city parliament on October 27. The city electorate will vote on the bill on March 7. If the answer is yes, the city will resolve the construction project and then award the work. That takes about three and a half years. Construction would therefore begin at the earliest in 2023. In late 2025 or early 2026, bathers can swim in the new flower meadow, hopefully with a clear path.
