Swansea celebrates opening of new bathhouse at Town Beach

The Town of Swansea hosted a ribbon cutting, recognition and dedication ceremony on Friday, June 18, in celebration of the town’s newly completed waterfront bathhouse at Swansea Town Beach.

“Today we are celebrating the culmination of the hard work from many individuals coming together to give back to their hometown,” Town Administrator Aronstein said. “Swansea is blessed with an excellent delegation at the State House, all of whom assisted us in working with the Baker-Polito administration to secure grant funding for this project…This building is a beautiful symbol of the Baker-Polito administration’s commitment to assisting cities and towns in the Commonwealth, it is a symbol of volunteerism and it is a symbol of what persistence and a little elbow grease can become.”

The bathhouse features public restrooms, foot showers, a water station and an office and conference room for lifeguards and other beach staff members to use. There are also outdoor showers on the property as well as a playground donated entirely by the Munro Family.

The total cost of the bathhouse project was approximately $1.45 million and the majority of the project was funded with a $1 million grant from the Seaport Economic Council, which was awarded to the town in 2015.

The Town of Swansea’s bathhouse project at Swansea Town Beach was spearheaded by the town’s Waterfront Revitalization Committee. The project spanned approximately 10 years, with the local committee working tirelessly to make it happen. State partners were also instrumental throughout the process – especially Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito.

The Town of Swansea thanked the Waterfront Revitalization Committee, including Chris Sampson, Robert Medeiros, Colleen Brown, Kenneth Furtado, Carole Hyland, Fran Kelley and Steve Purdy, for their ongoing waterfront revitalization efforts. The Waterfront Revitalization Committee was first appointed in 2010 serving until the completion of the project, and its members are now the longest-serving appointed committee members in Swansea.

At the event, a welcome address was given by Town Administrator Aronstein and remarks followed from Sen. Michael Rodrigues, Rep. Patricia Haddad, Rep. Steven Howitt, Swansea Board of Selectmen Chairman Derek Heim, Waterfront Revitalization Committee Chairman Robert Medeiros and former Waterfront Revitalization Committee Chairman Chris Sampson.

“It is always extremely gratifying to see a project like this finally come to fruition. The restoration of Swansea Town Beach is a true testament to the community’s hard work and dedication, and I am honored to have worked alongside such wonderful public servants,” Sen. Rodrigues said.

Added Chairman Heim, “With any community endeavor, though, comes the dedication and commitment to harness its reality. For this project, there was nothing short of a collective effort to achieve the greatest possible outcome.”

Also in attendance were members of the Swansea Board of Selectmen, members of the Waterfront Revitalization Committee, members of the Swansea Advisory and Finance Committee, the Munro Family and Nancy Bernier. Project contractors including Shannon Khoury from Compass Group Architects and Stephen Kelleher and Chuck Fougere from Stephen Kelleher Architects were in attendance as well.