Southie pool reopens to public as Boston officials continue push to renovate facilities

City officials celebrated the opening of the Condon pool in South Boston on Tuesday after it had been closed for several months for repairs. However, seven of the city's public pools — about one third — remain closed.

The city has been in a years-long process to rehabilitate its public pools. Last summer, a third of Boston’s city-run pools were closed for repair; the year prior, it was almost half.

“ Especially as Boston is getting hotter and hotter, we need to have more options,” Mayor Michelle Wu said at the Condon pool opening celebration. Wu attended the event with her daughter and the Boston Centers for Youth and Families (BCYF) staff.

Last year was the city’s fifth hottest year on record, with the average temperature 1.6 degrees above normal, according to the National Center for Environmental Information.

The Wu administration allocated $54 million for pool repairs and renovations through 2029.

Ahead of the Condon pool re-opening celebration, at least one resident was looking forward to using the facility.

"[I like]  the safety of the lifeguards and how much, how like big it is," said 12-year-old Marcus Lacussade. "You could really practice there. And especially on hot days, like these pools are really good and exciting."

By the end of the calendar year, 20 out of 22 city-run pools will be open — more than there have been in a decade, Wu said.

The next pools set to open are BCYF Mildred Avenue and BCYF Hennigan, according to a city spokesperson. Repairs on BCYF Charlestown, BCYF Perkins and BCYF Madison Park are expected to be completed later in the fall.

According to Wu, two city pools — BCYF Blackstone and BCYF Holland — will remain closed all year. Wu said the pools need major repairs and are tied to larger building projects.

To minimize future closures, she said the city has, “for the first time,” a standing pool maintenance contract, “knowing that we're not gonna wait until the water starts to look a funny color or something.”

Wu blamed the current pool closures on past administrations.

“We realized when we came into office that for many decades there've been band-aids put on, and it was for good reason because pools are so important,” Wu said. “But sometimes you have to do [repairs] right in order for the impact to be lasting."