Officials broke ground earlier this month on a long anticipated project to reopen the warm water therapy pool at Mickelson Center in San Mateo.

The Jan. 6 groundbreaking ceremony outside the center at 75 S. El Camino Real marked the beginning of necessary demolition work before the pool can reopen, according to information provided by Sutter Health, the center’s operator.

The pool was slated for permanent closure during the pandemic by Sutter Health, but was granted a reprieve after a well-organized community campaign to save it.

Contractors park outside Mickelson Center in San Mateo on Jan. 6, 2024, where demolition work commenced on the warm water therapy pool so it can be renovated for public use. (Sutter Health)

“Many in need of this warm water therapy pool were told it would close forever but Sutter has listened to the community and is keeping its promise to rehabilitate Mickelson and open it back up to the community in July,” said San Mateo County Supervisor David Canepa.

Canepa was joined at the groundbreaking by Mills-Peninsula Medical Center CEO Darian Harris, community groups and elected officials, along with Lindsay Raike, founder of Warm Water Wellness, which organized the effort to save the pool.

The warm pool is the only one in San Mateo County that is wheelchair-accessible and “specifically designed for therapeutic use by seniors, adults and children with chronic pain or disabilities, patients recovering from surgery, pregnant women, and others who find the warm water healing,” Canepa said in a news release.

The therapy pool is expected to reopen for patient use by early summer, Sutter Health said.

Kiley Russell writes primarily for Local News Matters on issues related to equity and the environment. A Bay Area native, he has lived most of his life in Oakland. He studied journalism at San Francisco State University, worked for the Associated Press and the former Contra Costa Times, among other outlets. He has covered everything from state legislatures, local governments, federal and state courts, crime, growth and development, political campaigns of various stripes, wildfires and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.