Moores Park Pool restoration gets serious as demolition phase ends

THURSDAY, Aug. 29 — Demolition work at Moores Park Pool is complete, but the process of revitalizing the historic 1922 property at 420 Moores River Drive is only just beginning.

Lansing Parks and Recreation Director Brett Kaschinske hosted a media tour of the site today. As workers power blasted the edges of the pool, he took a moment to highlight the path to its anticipated 2026 reopening date.

“It's going to be a while. We're going to be in construction through next year. We’re not going to be able to open that even in 2025, but as you can see here today, we've got some work going on. Now they're starting to work on the exterior, getting that power wash in to get it ready for some construction,” Kaschinske said.

Lansing Parks and Recreation Director Brett Kaschinske said one major goal in restoring Moores Park Pool was to "maintain the historical nature" of …

Wesley Bintz, a city engineer, designed the pool, which opened in 1923. He went on to form a company that built similar pools around the country. Lansing's was one of the few still operating when the city closed it in 2019 because of structural problems. It was given a new lease on life when state legislators approved $6.2 million for restoration work.

“It’s promises made, promises kept,” Kaschinske said. He cited “the enthusiasm that we saw from our residents and the enthusiasm of our legislative staff that pushed this through” as key factors.

Lansing Parks and Recreation Director Brett Kaschinske speaks to the media on the renovation timeline for Moores Park Pool.

As work continues, Kaschinske said workers are “peeling back the onion” on the century-old site.

Demolition, which primarily entailed tearing up sections of the inside of the locker rooms to begin rebuilding the pipe systems, began in May.

Construction crews spent the summer tearing out sections of the pool's interior locker rooms to outfit them with upgraded pipe systems.

Crews are now working to add security measures like fencing and motion detection cameras,plus safety components, such as a wheelchair ramp on the pool’s south end. Alterations would also need to be made to the sanitary sewer system underneath.

However, most of the pool’s exterior will be restored in order to “maintain the historical nature” of the site, Kaschinske added.

The historical character of the external facade at Moores Park Pool will be retained once it reopens in 2026.

Once it’s ready, he said, he hopes to have a full staff of lifeguards lined up to staff it on day one.

“We are desperately looking for lifeguards, and they should go to the City of Lansing's website to apply for those jobs,” he said.

The construction work is being handled by Rhino Recreational Construction, led by foreman Zach Sarnacki.

“It's a lot of people, but small crews at a time. We're working with 12 contractors from the Lansing area who have about eight to 10 guys apiece. So, we've never had 120 guys here at one time, but there are about that many hands involved,” Sarnacki said.

Workers clean the inside of Moores Park Pool to get it ready for the final legs of its restoration.

Sarnacki is looking forward to seeing those efforts culminate in the rebirth of a storied recreational fixture in Lansing.

“Everybody that comes by and asks about it is really excited to see it open again. They’ll say, ‘When I was a kid, we used to come here with my grandfather,’ and things like that,” Sarnacki said. “It’s been a real positive experience for us so far, and we’re really happy to be working here.”