Lifeguard HQ project sees first concrete pouring

The city’s new lifeguard headquarters took another step toward completion Thursday.

Workers poured 220 cubic yards of concrete — the largest volume at one time for the project — for the one-story structure’s foundation, said project manager Wade Brown.

The headquarters will be entirely concrete, with the exterior walls the next part to go up, he said. The 3,000-square-foot facility will have men’s and women’s restrooms and showers, and a place to treat stingray and other wounds. It will sit on the same site as the former building.

Brown is hoping for an early 2014 completion date.

The headquarters will receive an artistic lift too.

The Arts Commission recommended Terry Thornsley’s design for a mural installation at the facility at its May 13 meeting.

The design shows two lifeguards rowing out among purple-crested waves for a rescue.

“Each person’s work was equal in terms of quality and ability,” Commissioner Ken Auster said. “Terry took it one step further.”

Auster liked how Thornsley incorporated illumination into his design.

Commissioners voted 7 to 0 for Thornsley’s design, but the decision was difficult, Commissioner Nick Hernandez said.

“All of the designs were really good,” he said. “This was one of the toughest decisions we’ve had to make.”

The City Council will consider Thornsley’s design for final approval at its June 4 meeting.