116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
College Community School District breaks ground on future YMCA
Prairie, the school with ‘a strong swimming tradition but no pool,’ will finally have a home
Oct. 29, 2024 7:09 pm, Updated: Oct. 30, 2024 7:56 am
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CEDAR RAPIDS — School and city leaders broke ground on the Prairie Summit YMCA project Tuesday evening, the first step in bringing a pool into the College Community School District and wellness facilities to southwest Cedar Rapids.
Mayo Fottral, who swam as a student at Prairie in the 1990s and is a member of the school district’s facilities committee, said the facility is a “multigenerational dream become reality.“
“Prairie, the school with a strong swimming tradition but no pool, will finally have a home,” said Fottral, whose daughter swims with Prairie today.
Voters in the College Community School District last fall approved a $43 million bond referendum to fund the construction of a swimming pool and wellness center that the YMCA will operate. It is expected to open spring 2026.
The YMCA will include competition and recreation pools, which will serve as the home venue for Prairie swim teams and offer aquatic opportunities for younger students. The facility also will feature locker rooms, two competition courts, a turf area, walking track, cardio and fitness space and two multiuse fitness classrooms.
Jason Neighbor, board chair of YMCA of the Cedar Rapids Metro Area, said the facility will provide YMCA members “outstanding services and programming” they deserve in the region.
Fottral said as a student, he traveled to Williamsburg and back daily — a round-trip of about 80 miles — to swim at their pool. Today, the Prairie students swim at Jefferson High School in Cedar Rapids.
He celebrated the five decades of swimmers at Prairie who qualified for state and won multiple state championships — “legends” who helped build the tradition like Marla Wessel, formerly Klouda, and her sister, the very first swimmers at Prairie in 1970. Wessel went on to coach two-time Iowa swimmer of the year Jennifer Tischer, formerly Maehl, who graduated from Prairie High School in 1991.
“Today, we stand here ready to give our future swimmers the home they deserve. This pool at Prairie Summit YMCA is a symbol of hard work and unwavering support from the community. It’s where memories will be made, champions will rise and Prairie’s legacy and swimming will continue to grow stronger for many generations to come,” Fottral said.
Current seniors Lauren Weiss, and Katie Slosiarek, both 17, said they don’t receive “much recognition” as a swimmers at Prairie High since they swim for the Jefferson High School team in Cedar Rapids. This is the first year they’ve even had T-shirts for the Prairie Swimming and Diving team.
With the YMCA project, “there is definitely more of a buzz and excitement about the sport,” Slosiarek said.
College Community Superintendent Doug Wheeler said breaking ground on the YMCA is a “result of decades of dreaming for a pool and aquatic center for our students.”
“This building will not only serve the needs of our students, but it also will serve as a connection point for all generations in the communities we serve, and that’s a really important part of our mission,” Wheeler said.
Wheeler said over the last decade, the district has grown its infrastructure to meet the academic needs of students. Having done that, they can turn to a “project that will benefit the health and wellness of our community and open doors to new programming and benefit all generations in our community.”
In August, the Cedar Rapids City Council in an 8-1 vote approved a partnership agreement with the school district that would cost $2.5 to $3 million.
Specifically, the city agreed to:
- Build a roundabout on 76th Street SW, funded by the 1 percent local-option sales tax that fuels the Paving for Progress program
- Extend sewers for the building
- Buy walking track naming rights ($500,000 total, split into two payments in fiscal 2025 and 2026)
The school district has offered to place the City of Cedar Rapids logo/name on the building exterior and “City of Cedar Rapids Walking Track” signage for the indoor track.
Jeff Pomeranz, manager of the City of Cedar Rapids, said the city’s participation will “really add value” to the facility, ensuring the walking trail not only will be built, but will be made “better than it would have been” without the city’s support.
Landon Burg, senior project architect with OPN Architects, said the vision for the facility is to “pay homage to the agricultural heritage and native prairie” in the area with a strong focus on biophilic design, a concept that aims to connect people to nature through the use of natural elements.
“These connections are important to having a positive impacts on our overall mental and physical well-being, which is important to a fitness facility like this. This building is designed to be healthy for this planet, but it’s also equally designed to be healthy for the people that will be using this facility on a day-to-day basis,” Burg said.
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