The Dr. Wesley Grant Sr. Southside Center – Recreation Phase Expansion is an $8.3 million investment that adds exciting indoor amenities, a multi-purpose gym, and additional community meeting rooms in Asheville, NC. Outdoor enhancements include a 9,144 sq. ft. community swimming pool area with a toddler play zone, more parking spaces, new sidewalks, solar panels, a basketball court, a rain garden, landscape enhancements improvements, lighting, picnic tables, a lounge deck, a picnic area, restrooms, and changing rooms to ensure a genuinely multi-generational space to be enjoyed by all.
A combination of city funds and grants funded the expansion. The City of Asheville contributed $5.2 million, and the remaining $3.1 million came from grants from the North Carolina Parks and Recreation Trust Fund, the Buncombe County Greenways and Trails Program, and the United States Department of Agriculture. This is the first new public pool to open in the city since 1970.