Pool Renovation Put Off For a Year While Project Parameters Are Refined to Meet the Budget

It turns out the Scarsdale Pool will be open for another summer. Hoping to start a long imagined redevelopment of the site this fall, the former timeline called for the pool complex to close in September 2026 in order to build an outdoor and indoor pool complex, targeted for completion before the 2028 summer season.

At the Village Board meeting on September 8, 2026, Deputy Village Manager Dara Gruenberg made the following statement, announcing that the pool will again be open for the 2027 season. Though the Village is committed to building the indoor/outdoor complex, more work needs to be done to design on a project that can be completed within the Village’s budget parameters. The new goal is to begin work on the complex after the summer of 2027 pool season.

Here are her comments:

We wanted to take the opportunity this evening to provide an update on the Pool Complex Project and where things stand as we continue moving this important project forward.

First, I want to begin with an important update to the project timeline. The current Pool Complex will remain open for the summer of 2027. Based on the schedule we are working toward today, construction would begin following the 2027 season, with the goal of opening the new outdoor complex for the summer of 2029 thereby only being closed for one summer.

This represents a change from the timeline we previously anticipated, and I want to explain why.

As the project has advanced and the design and cost estimates have developed, it has become clear that additional work is necessary to refine the scope of the project. Our objective is straightforward: to preserve the programmatic priorities that have emerged through several years of community engagement and planning, while delivering the project within a budget the Village can responsibly support.

The Board has been clear in its commitment to this project. Earlier this year, the Board of Trustees unanimously authorized the bond issuance to fund the project, an important step in moving it forward. At the same time, we have an obligation to ensure that the project we ultimately deliver aligns with the budget we have established.

Doing that thoughtfully requires time.

Over the past several months, the Pool Working Group, together with Village staff and members of the Pool Redevelopment Advisory Committee, or PRAC, has been engaged in intensive work to refine the project by scrutinizing costs, identifying opportunities for value engineering, reviewing assumptions, and weighing design and programmatic choices against both our priorities and our budget.

This builds on several years of substantial work by Village staff, PRAC, the Board of Trustees and resident volunteers to evaluate alternatives, engage the community, develop and refine the program, and analyze both project costs and long-term operating implications. That work has helped establish clear programmatic priorities for a modern indoor/outdoor complex designed to serve Scarsdale for generations.

The core goals and programmatic priorities have not changed. Our work now is focused on determining how best to deliver them within our budget. That means carefully evaluating scope, layout, materials and systems, and identifying where adjustments and efficiencies can be achieved without compromising the fundamental goals of the project.

Taking the additional time to do this work now is the responsible course. It allows us to refine the project before moving into construction and, importantly, means residents will be able to enjoy the existing Pool Complex for another summer.

As we undertake this next phase of work, we are also further deepening the Village’s bench of professional expertise by adding three resident volunteers with significant architecture, design and construction experience to PRAC. They will lend their industry knowledge and expertise as we continue to advance the project:

Scott Schiamberg, a 16-year Scarsdale resident, brings more than 30 years of sports architecture, design and planning experience, helping to shape sports venues, stadiums and training facilities for organizations including Major League Baseball, the NBA, NFL and NHL, as well as the Olympic Games.

Jack Miller, a 30-year Scarsdale resident, brings more than three decades of experience working with developers, architects and engineering firms on large-scale design and construction projects. Jack has served on the Village’s Board of Architectural Review, including several terms as chair, as well as the Planning Board, and currently serves on the Committee for Historic Preservation.

Christian Callaghan, a 30-plus-year combined Scarsdale resident who grew up in Edgewood and returned nine years ago to raise his family, has over 20 years of professional architectural and engineering design experience. A licensed architect specializing in human-centered design and collaborative project delivery, he has served on the Village’s Board of Architectural Review since 2020 and has been an active contributor to multiple Scarsdale civic organizations.

We are incredibly grateful that Scott, Jack and Christian are willing to volunteer their time and considerable professional expertise to this project.

We have reached an important point in this process. There is substantial work still ahead, but there is also a shared commitment to moving the project forward thoughtfully and responsibly.

As we do that, our priorities remain clear: delivering a pool complex that meets the needs of our community; preserving the essential elements of the program residents have helped shape; managing costs responsibly; minimizing the amount of time our community is without a pool; and ensuring that what we ultimately build will serve Scarsdale well for generations.

We will continue to keep the community informed as this work progresses and as important decisions are made. We are grateful for the continued engagement of our residents and, especially, for the extraordinary commitment of our Village staff and volunteers who continue to devote tremendous time, energy and expertise to moving this project forward.

Though some may be disappointed to learn that the project will be delayed, Carrie Moscowitz, who contacted us, was pleased to know the pool will again be open next summer. She said,

“So happy!!! This is fantastic news. At least, this will get us another year to enjoy the pool. All of us who love and actually use the pool have been very upset all season.

We don’t need all the doodads that are in the plan. We don’t want a $100 million facility. We are not interested in a very expensive indoor pool that will cost a fortune. It will be potentially used by a tiny fraction of Scarsdale homeowners. We just want an outdoor pool that is available every summer, without interruption.

The smart way to approach this would be to deal with the outdoor pool and then pause before proceeding with an indoor facility. Doing it that way provides an information about actual usage of an enhanced facility. The users of an indoor pool will be a subset of the users of the outdoor one.

This is what people who actually use the pool have been saying to me all summer.”