How to resolve AdBlock issue? 
Renderings provided by Megan Baker of Baker Public Relations.
MALTA – The Adirondack Aquatic Center has received its first $1 million pledge from an anonymous donor, marking the largest contribution to date.
The proposed $22 million, 80,000-square-foot facility will be built in the health and wellness corridor along Route 67 in Malta.
The multi-use, year-round facility will hold four pools of varying lengths, including a 50-meter Olympic-size pool. They will have depths and temperatures for diverse programs such as learn-to-swim, exercise and rehabilitation, as well as training and competition.
Kara Haraden, president of the aquatic center’s board of directors, said in an email that a total of more than $2 million has been raised for the project “with $6 million pending.” She added, “we are also exploring financing options.”
Construction of the aquatics center, on the property located between two separate entrances of the State Farm corporate campus, is expected to begin in 2019, according to Haraden.
The Town of Malta was chosen as an ideal location for the project after the idea was developed in early 2013, according to a summary on the Adirondack Aquatic Center website (www.adirondackaquaticcenter.org).
TSE Consulting performed a feasibility study, which found that the Capital Region “is under-served in terms of year-round, accessible, indoor water,” the summary states. “The study also found that not only is there community demand for an aquatic-only center, it can also be cost-effective as well as a source of economic development.”
Haraden said a previous Planned Development District (PDD) application being reviewed by Malta officials was “dissolved” because the Adirondack Aquatic Center was included in a commercial rezoning of the Route 67 corridor.
Malta officials are reviewing no formal site plans at this time, she added.
In 2018, an official fundraising campaign will kick off and the Adirondack Aquatic Center’s board of directors is seeking both public and private sector funds.
While the intent is to underwrite the project’s cost using private money, financial support from various state and local grant programs is also being sought and will be crucial toward leveraging additional private sector investment.
