C U L T U R A L Identity
Public engagement drives multimilliondollar renovation in City Lake Park
By Dave Toms
The year was 2017. Like a timeworn photograph, City Lake Pool showed its age. The 1.25 million-gallon “cement pond” was quickly becoming obsolete in an era of lazy rivers, water cannons, and colorful dumping buckets. It was due for a significant renovation. However, contemplating change was no small feat, as both the pool and its namesake park had become integral to the City of High Point’s cultural identity over the past century, making any transformation a challenge.
The city purchased the land that would become City Lake Park in the 1920s and designated 26 acres to develop an amusement and recreation park modeled after the famed Luna Park at Coney Island. Over the following decades, the park underwent numerous transformations, featuring the addition of
CHARLIE SARRATT, SKYSITE
a merry-go-round, a miniature train, and a sightseeing boat; even pony rides were available. Amidst these attractions, the grand pool and pavilion stood as the iconic centerpiece, drawing enthusiastic crowds from across the region. Since opening day, five generations of residents have spent their summer days splashing in the pool, picnicking below the tall oaks, and making cherished memories. The richness of these accumulated experiences posed a unique challenge—a challenge that required a careful and comprehensive public-engagement process, underscoring the profound connection the community had with this adored space.
The Public-Engagement Process
Public engagement, when done well, builds trust and excitement, creates a shared vision, and provides the principles for complex design and tough financial decisions
that ultimately drive change. In 2017, the city embarked upon a system-wide planning effort to identify community needs and objectives. That planning effort formed the foundation for a community vision to maintain a diverse, inclusive, and connected network of parks and amenities that meet current demands, while preserving the historic and natural character of the city’s park system.
A statistically valid survey was one of the most essential input mechanisms that helped ensure representation goals were achieved. This immensely valuable tool was used to support resource allocations by city leadership and decision-makers.
As the system plan approached completion, City Lake Park, and its collection of amenities, emerged as a highimpact improvement area with the capacity to meet many of the park system needs. In response, the city initiated a second public-engagement phase to develop a master plan specific to City Lake Park. Phase two provided multiple
pathways in keeping all stakeholders motivated and engaged throughout the process.
Multiple open houses and surveys were provided for public input. Focus groups were convened to solicit candid input from parks staff. Special attention was also given to elected commissioners to ensure they understood the process, how priorities were established, and how those priorities were represented in the final design. Parks staff and designers attended multiple commission work meetings to engage in in-depth question and answer sessions. This engagement proved invaluable later in the construction phase when costs soared unexpectedly.
Design and Construction
Following the adoption of the master plan, city leaders authorized the design and construction of a $10 million-dollar renovation to the pool, gymnasium building, and adjacent greenspace. The renovation would also upgrade aging infrastructure and provide sufficient parking to accommodate the desired increase in visitors. This renovation aimed to breathe new life into the pool, gymnasium building, and surrounding greenspace, restoring the facility to its former glory as a signature park and regional attraction.
The extensive list of updates began with the old and unconditioned gymnasium. Always too hot or too cold, the gym was rarely used. The building was transformed into a flexible, modern meeting space with upgraded technology and expansive event capacity. A vibrant graphic story wall along the main hall, designed and installed by Design
Dimension, narrates the park’s rich, multilayered history, while large glass walls offer natural lighting and picturesque views of the renovated pool. Rooftop patios complement the interior improvements and add outdoor event, picnic, and breakout spaces. Dingy post-war locker rooms have been replaced with gleaming, easily accessible facilities.
The original pool, while impressive in size, was lacking in amenities. User expectations had moved beyond just a space to wade and swim laps. Water slides had been added some years ago, but they lacked the supporting amenities that modern families demand. To overcome these shortcomings, the design team boldly proposed to downsize the pool to an Olympic lap size and create space for additional amenities. The pool now supports competitive events, swim lessons, and other fitness programs.
A central waterplay area was constructed in the space formerly occupied by the main pool. This includes an expansive zero-edge splash pad with play structure that transitions to a lazy river and vortex feature. Large shade sails flank the water play area and provide excellent lounging opportunities. This has emerged as the most popular area on the pool deck, where groups of all ages and abilities consistently gather for summer fun.
The waterslide zone received upgrades as well. The existing slides were refreshed with bold paint, and a new slide was added. The new, two-person, side-by-side slide includes a timing clock for racing fun, elevating the action and excitement.
Dramatic improvements were also made outside the pool fence. The original entrance to the pool was obstructed from parking lot views and accessed by an inconvenient, unintuitive, and contorted accessible ramp. The overall effect was an obscure and uninviting entrance. The renovation corrected this severe shortcoming by integrating the pool-entry sequence with the new multi-use building, adding outdoor patios and constructing a large natural play area with climbing boulders and slides.
Further site improvements have increased the park’s multifunctional capacity. A broad entry plaza, constructed of heavy-duty pavers, provides event space and food-truck staging directly off the parking lot. The paving pattern is aquatically inspired and guides visitors to the main entrance. An outdoor stage and lawn support large events
year-round. These improvements create a welcoming and highly visible entryway from the new parking area.
Challenges and Successes
Overall, the renovation has proved to be a resounding success and has provided the intended positive impacts for the community. This success was not without challenges. For example, several mature trees were removed to make space for the new event lawn and parking. This changed the character of the park and was alarming to some residents. Also, many unknown structural and infrastructure issues were revealed during demolition and required quick reassessment and redesign by the design
team and construction manager, Samet Corporation. Perhaps most significantly, global events, including the pandemic, shipping crisis, and a brutal winter freeze in Texas, caused material prices to explode just as construction began. Ultimately, the renovation price tag doubled to $20 million, jeopardizing the project.
Despite these challenges, the project continued to move steadily forward, partly thanks to the vision established by the robust public-engagement process. Excitement fostered during the planning and design phases never waned, and the engagement process provided the sound decision-making foundation elected leaders needed to confidently justify the additional budget allocations for project completion.
The renovation’s success is visible in the numbers. Despite an unseasonably cold and gloomy opening day in 2023, pool visitation leapt from 20,000 visitors prerenovation to 50,000 in its first
season; 131 rentals and 76 events were hosted in its first summer. City Lake Pool is again a star facility, boosting High Point’s rich social life and providing lifetime memories for generations to come. Sunny days are here again!
About McAdams
Founded in 1979, McAdams is a full-service civilengineering, land planning, landscape architecture, transportation, water resources, and geomatics firm headquartered in Raleigh, N.C., with offices in Durham, Winston-Salem, and Charlotte, N.C. and Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas. Comprised of over 450 professionals, McAdams is passionate about providing unique and engaging experiences for its clients and clients’ clients. The firm understands the importance of a lasting impression and strives to bring life to the collective vision for project success. All of the design charts a path to the built environment, which may create budgetary or constructability constraints; however, the team works to blend creativity with reality, which enables a concept to be executed. McAdams’ engineering expertise and other integrated services help provide efficient and effective solutions to serve all project needs. McAdams cares about the end product and shares its clients’ goals.
About HH Architecture
HH Architecture is a full-service architecture and interior design firm located in midtown Raleigh, N.C. Since 2005, their team has designed inspired spaces for the public and private sectors that promote discovery, wellness, recreation, and civic service. The firm provides a world-class client experience rooted in the values of the community, with a focus on “Inspired, Responsible Design.”
HH Architecture is recognized as a Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) by the State of North Carolina and is a Woman-Owned Business Enterprise (WBE), holding the NC HUB Office Award of Excellence for
Professional Service in recognition of outstanding efforts in fostering the utilization and growth of HUB firms. The firm was named American Institute of Architects (AIA) North Carolina Firm of the Year in 2022, AIA Triangle Firm of the Year in 2018, AIA North Carolina Emerging Professional Friendly Firm in 2023, and Triangle Commercial Real Estate Women Best Interiors in 2019. PRB+
Dave Toms, RLA, LEED® AP is Practice Lead, Landscape Architecture at McAdams.
