Plans remain in the discussion phase for a project that would see the upgrading of a popular indoor public swimming pool in Grand Junction.
Located at 2736 Unaweep Avenue, the six-lane Orchard Mesa Pool has for more than four decades served residents on the southeast side of the city.
Opened in May of 1983, the facility, according to city documents, serves upwards of around 150 people a day and has needed a general upgrade for the last several years.
Uniquely, the pool is managed in a partnership agreement by the City of Grand Junction, Mesa County, and the Mesa County Valley School District, which owns the land at the Unaweep site.
Estimates for how much a comprehensive upgrade of the pool would cost have ranged from $7.6 million to $8.1 million.
But for any work to begin, the City must first forge an agreement with the school district that will give it ownership of the site. City officials have said they would particularly like to reach that agreement since a second swimming pool located in Matchett Park on the northeast side of the city won’t be open until the end of this year.
Built at a cost of $1.4 million the L-shaped Orchard Mesa Pool contains a shallow section designated for children.
Anticipated work at the pool includes an upgrading of the facility’s mechanical, electrical, and infiltration systems, as well as what has been described as a general “modernization of the facility.”
March 6, 2026
By Garry Boulard
Photo courtesy of Pixabay
