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Commissioner Dan Ryan, who oversees Portland Parks & Recreation, has allocated $59.8 million in additional system development charges to accelerate the construction timeline of the new North Portland Aquatic Center. Now, $91.5 million of the $102 million estimated project cost is secured.

The project, currently in the planning phase, will bring to a facility expected to be transformative for the neighborhood and North Portland: Approximately 70,000 people – including roughly 18,000 people of color and around 11,000 people earning low incomes – will have a place to learn to swim, participate in water aerobics, or swim laps.

The aquatic center is one of PP&R’s largest investments in the past 30 years. The funding allocation means that the center’s design process is moving forward, as are PP&R’s community engagement efforts. PP&R anticipates having a new design team on board in spring 2024. After the project team is secured, the schedule is expected to be updated.

After the Northgate Park site was selected this past summer, PP&R updated the cost estimates for the aquatic center and refined its size to the site parameters. In addition to the SDC funds recently announced, $16.6 million in SDCs and $15 million from a state grant were previously allocated to the project.

Park SDCs are one-time fees assessed on new development, not tax dollars from the general fund. Current state law restricts allocation of SDC resources to only improvements that will expand the capacity of the parks and recreation system and not maintenance or repairs of current assets.