Just heard back from Dewey Potter at the Parks Department, after we checked in to ask whether any sort of “grand reopening event” was planned for Southwest Pool, as the end of its four-month-plus renovation closure nears. Short answer, “no event scheduled yet”; long answer, there is some news — instead of November 1st, the reopening is now planned for November 7th. Here’s why:

There will be a slight delay in the opening because of time lost to three factors: a delay in selecting the contractor as low bid was rejected, delay by the manufacturer in shipping the air handling unit, and water damage because the roof was exposed during the August rains.

Instead of opening on Saturday, November 1 as originally planned, we will now open on Friday, November 7. Drop-in recreation programs will be affected by this delay, but swimming lessons are scheduled to start on November 8 and will continue as originally planned.

The contractor will finish their primary work on Friday, Oct. 31: a new HVAC system, new roof, new boiler, and upgraded electrical systems. Also included in this closure are energy conservation improvements including a pool blanket, UV disinfection system, and new lighting. Parks maintenance crews will need the additional six days to address other maintenance needs and prepare for reopening.

The original reopening date actually was in late September; it changed to 11/1 in August (as we reported here). We reported on the project’s scope in a preview story just before the pool closed for construction; see that story here (rare peek inside its inner workings!). And you can get a look at what was happening inside DURING the construction by watching the latest edition of Seattle Channel‘s “CityStream” show, which includes a story about us here at WSB; it’s viewable online here, or on cable Channel 21 at these various times between now and early Thursday morning (the WSB and Southwest Pool stories are about midway through the half-hour show).