Project Images
UNF competition pool
Project Summary
A new, Olympic-size competition pool and aquatic center at the University of North Florida allows the school’s NCAA Division I women’s swimming team, the UNF Ospreys, to practice and compete at an on-campus facility for the first time in more than eight years.
As a subconsultant to architectural firm Borelli + Partners, the lead team member, Hanson provided civil engineering and served as engineer of record for the new facility, which opened in September 2021.
The previous campus pool was closed and dismantled in 2013 due to high costs for required repairs. The swim team has been traveling offsite to train and compete since the pool’s closure. The Field House, an indoor facility for recreational basketball and volleyball, has since been constructed on that site. The new aquatic facility, along with other recent projects, brings UNF into compliance with Title IX requirements for men’s and women’s programs to receive equal levels of service.
The $8.26 million aquatic complex includes an outdoor, 50-meter, Olympic-size, concrete pool with nine swim lanes, along with an LED scoreboard and competition timing system. The facility has three buildings with a workspace for lifeguards, offices, a changing area, public restrooms, a room for pool equipment and storage, as well as locker rooms. The facility is behind the Student Wellness Complex and adjacent to the softball stadium and Field House. In addition to the swim team, all students have access to the pool. Project funding was provided through UNF’s Capital Improvement Fund.
Hanson prepared site, drainage and utility engineering plans and permitting associated with site modifications. Other consultants provided design services for architecture; structural; aquatic; and mechanical, electrical and plumbing features. Civil engineering efforts included design for demolition and re-establishment of Americans With Disabilities Act-compliant sidewalk connectivity to the new buildings, demolition of three tennis courts, site geometry, site grading, groundwater control and design of stormwater collection systems and potable water/sanitary sewer utility connections. Infrastructure includes a drainage collection system; pool underdrain system; extensions for natural gas, water and fire mains; and erosion control features.
Construction took approximately a year, and Hanson provided post-design and construction administration services during that time.