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KINGSPORT AQUATIC CENTER EARNS STATEWIDE PUBLIC WORKS AWARD

October 15, 2013

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 15, 2013

For more information:
Jennifer Lawson
Moxley Carmichael
865-544-0088
[email protected]

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The $17.2 million Kingsport Aquatic Center has been named Project of the Year by the Tennessee Chapter of the American Public Works Association. The center offers Kingsport residents and visitors year-round access to aquatic fitness and recreation activities.

The $17.2 million Kingsport Aquatic Center has been named Project of the Year by the Tennessee Chapter of the American Public Works Association. The center offers Kingsport residents and visitors year-round access to aquatic fitness and recreation activities.

The City of Kingsport has earned statewide recognition for the Kingsport Aquatic Center, a rousing recreational success in East Tennessee.

The Tennessee Chapter of the American Public Works Association (TCAPWA) selected Kingsport to receive Project of the Year honors for its efforts to bring the Kingsport Aquatic Center to the city’s residents and visitors. The annual award by TCAPWA recognizes outstanding planning, construction and management of a project in a Tennessee city.

“This award recognizes the tremendous efforts by the City of Kingsport, the Kingsport Aquatic Center and Lose and Associates to design a superb recreational attraction for our residents and tourists to the area,” said Chris McCartt, assistant to the Kingsport city manager. “This was truly a cooperative venture by the city, private partners and an outstanding design consultant team to bring the project to fruition.”

Lose & Associates Inc., the primary design consultant for the project, submitted the nomination to TCAPWA. The Nashville-based company handles architecture, landscape architecture, planning and civil engineering.

The aquatic center project presented some challenges, including raising the property several feet to maintain elevation over floodplain limits; addressing drainage and stormwater issues; reclaiming and restoring wetlands. The site also was designed to allow for future expansion of the complex amenities and to accommodate commercial development in the area. The successful navigation of those challenges were factors in Kingsport receiving the public works award.

“It was a pleasure to work on this project for the City of Kingsport,” said Matthew Cramer, AIA, Director of Architecture for Lose & Associates. “This award recognizes the considerable efforts by the City and the Kingsport Aquatic Center to complete this project. We are honored to have been a part of creating this quality of life gem for the community.”

The $17.2 million Kingsport Aquatic Center’s 46,000-square-foot, climate-controlled complex features three heated pools designed for recreation and instructional swimming. This includes the HMG Competition Pool, the region’s only indoor Olympic-size 50 M pool; the Palmer Center Foundation warm pool; and a children’s leisure pool with water slide. The seasonal outdoor water park features a large pool with a water play structure and lily pad crossing, two water slides and the 900-foot Eastman Credit Union lazy river.

The center hosted more than 100,000 visits within four months of opening and will offer year-round aquatic services to the northeast region of the state. It recently announced a slate of programs and activities for fall and winter in the 46,000-square-foot indoor complex.

For more information about the Kingsport Aquatic Center, visit http://www.swimkingsport.com.

About the Kingsport Aquatic Center

The Kingsport Aquatic Center is the region’s newest and most comprehensive indoor-outdoor public aquatic and recreation facility. Located in Kingsport’s Meadowview district at the base of iconic Bays Mountain, the center provides area residents and visitors with the best in health, fitness and recreation features in a safety-focused environment. The Kingsport Aquatic Center features the area’s only indoor Olympic-size pool plus year-round swim courses and American Red Cross-certified water safety and lifeguard training. A seasonal outdoor water park offers recreational activities from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day. Seasonal, annual and daily rates are available. For more information, visit http://www.swimkingsport.com.