Some ideas to improve Hatteras Island tend to occasionally float to the surface over the years as attention ebbs and flows. The building of a new movie theater (or even a bowling alley), a new apartment housing complex, or a new hotel have all popped up sporadically into local conversations before disappearing due to languishing plans or a lack of interest.
And out of all of these fluctuating ideas, one of the grandest and longest-lasting is the concept of a new indoor pool and aquatic center to benefit the entire Hatteras Island community.
It has been chatted about for decades now – at both official meetings and in casual conversations – but it’s been quite a while since the idea has been vocally floated with excitement, and thrust back into the spotlight by the Outer Banks community.
The Hatteras Island indoor pool project may have temporarily dropped off the public’s radar, but it’s still a very active topic for the players involved.
As of 2024, there have been plenty of setbacks and challenges, but these are steadily being eclipsed as a new wave of enthusiasm starts to form, and more community members come to the table to help make this promising idea become a reality.
Anita Pionzio Bills has been dreaming of an aquatic center for years, and originally inherited the idea from Kenny Oden in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
In 2003 and 2004, the county conducted a survey across the island to see if locals would be interested in having an indoor pool that was open to the public. The response was overwhelmingly positive, and at the time, the potential project made some fairly big steps. A $400,000 donation was earmarked for the pool, blueprints were drafted in the mid-2000s, and early assessments were done for a possible locale next to the school.
But then the project sort of fizzled out. There were differences of opinion, gigantic time and financial commitments, and other miscellaneous factors that halted what had been done so far.
Most of the $400,000 was eventually donated to the school – still a very worthy cause – and by the late 2000s, islanders had sort of forgotten about the pool project, and went on with more important and pressing concerns, such as 2011’s Hurricane Irene.
“At that time, there may have been too many entities involved,” said Bills. “You had the Parks and Rec Department, you had the County Commissioners, you had the School Board, and there were just too many ideas and plans, and even some bickering.
“Seeing that and witnessing that, I said, forget it. We are not going with any entity. We’re going to make this a community project, and that way, there will be a Board from the community that will run the pool. There will be a manager there, and we can supply our own lifeguards, our own swimming instructors, and give kids jobs on top of that.”
Bills started chipping away at the plan in the years that followed. She found properties that would fit the bill – a tall order considering that the plan required eight acres of island real estate – and slowly started to enlist people who would be valuable assets moving forward.
There have been decades of work in plotting out the details, and for good reason. The Hatteras Island Aquatic Center is not a small venture or a small addition to the local landscape.
The proposed indoor pool will be 25 meters by 25 yards, which is enough room to have 10 swimming lanes.
In addition, there will be a designated Therapy Pool that will be kept warmer for therapy programs and for young swimmers. The complex needs to have locker rooms, dry storage areas, and a wet room to store the pumps and all the equipment that connects with the filtration system. It needs to have interior space around the pool itself and a hard structure for bleachers where parents can watch, and it needs extensive parking and a deep foundation.
“We want to put in a nine-foot-deep pool in order to teach diving, so our kids can get Red Cross Certified for swimming,” said Bills. “Our kids can also get their lifeguard training, and other certifications because it will be nine foot deep.”
As for the potential site, zoning regulations apply, as the property needs to be in a specific Dare County zone or be re-zoned to suit the community pool. It also needs to be in a central location so that it’s accessible for everyone from Rodanthe to Hatteras Village.
Then there’s the cost. The Hatteras Island Aquatic Center will likely cost around $4-5 million to build, which does not include a potential land purchase.
It’s a complex and daunting venture, but believe it or not, an indoor aquatic center is not out of reach – not by a long shot.
Bills and her team have identified two current properties for sale that would be ideal for the project. One is in Frisco and is part of a roughly 80-acre tract, while another is directly across the street from the Cape Hatteras Secondary School in Buxton.
The new Hatteras Island-based group behind the project officially became a nonprofit organization, created a Board and a business plan, and started to launch a web presence and options for donations, thanks to new minds at the table like project contributor Jennifer Sadler of Alien Java in Frisco.
Behind the scenes, there has also been plenty of conversations with officials, school administrators, and groups who can help make a difference.
For example, Bills and her team are connecting with the site committee of the Dare County Housing Task Force to see if their goals of creating a stronger, year-round community can align.
The Dare County Housing Task Force has been working hard to identify locations for year-round housing for essential community members, like teachers and police officers.
In a proposed partnership between the Task Force and the Hatteras Island Aquatic Center, an 80-acre tract like the one in Frisco could be used for a new residential development, as well as the new community pool complex which would only require eight acres of the space. A Track & Field site for the school, pickleball courts, frisbee golf, a dog park, and even more tennis courts could also be added.
It’s also highly possible that large grants, donors, and philanthropists could make the path to a community pool even clearer and easier to navigate.
There’s even a more detailed plan for the pool in the works, thanks to conversations with Andy Duck, who constructed the two public skateparks on Hatteras Island.
“All of the pieces of the puzzle are there,” said Bills. “We just need to put them together.”
The potential benefits are huge.
The goal of the Hatteras Island Aquatic Center is not just to plop an indoor pool somewhere on Hatteras Island.
Instead, it’s a multi-faceted venture to create a year-round swimming facility that will provide swim instruction, exercise classes, low-impact and therapeutic programs, lifeguard training, and so much more.
The Cape Hatteras Schools could have a swim team, (perhaps one day even competing with Ocracoke Island), and islanders would have a year-round outlet for entertainment and swimming –especially in the winter months.
“Visitors can buy a punch card for their stay, so they can come and enjoy the pool or do their laps, and we can have lower senior membership rates for people on this island who need low-impact therapy… I’ve thought about this so much, and this really will be an [asset] for everyone,” said Bills.
The design, idea, and possible space already exist. Now, the project just needs to stay on the public’s radar, and keep building support, for the idea to be actualized.
“We need the community to join us and say ‘yes, we want this,” said Bills. “If everyone on Hatteras Island is on board, and pushes for this project, then we can get support and funds, and we can make this happen.”
For more information and how you can help:
To make a donation to the Hatteras Island Aquatic Center, click here.
To learn more about the Hatteras Island Aquatic Center and how you can help,, visit their newly launched Facebook Page.
As an island resident for almost 10 years, a former childhood and eventually collegiate swimmer I fully understand the importance of swimming for mental, physical and rehabilitative health. I really hope this happens for the community and will be one of the first to apply for professional services. The fact that this island doesn’t have one already is baffling. Fingers crossed we get blessed with such a facility.
Those involved with this dream are confusing a plain swimming pool with a water park. Plain pools just do not cut it anymore.