Beach House at Prospect Lake back open for Summer

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO)-- The Eni R. Jaspersen Beach House at Prospect Lake in Memorial Park reopened Tuesday, July 13 after being closed for renovations for nearly two years.

The nearly 80-year-old renovated beach house features indoor and outdoor learning spaces, an outdoor gathering area with boulder seating, a rentable indoor great room for community events, beach volleyball, a lit patio, and accessible beach access among other new amenities. Lakeside Dawgs, a locally-based concessionaire, will operate from the space, offering food and beverage items to customers.

The hope is to help revitalize a central part of Colorado Springs.

"We really wanted to invigorate the area and also bring people back to the area, and this was just a fantastic resource there that needed a little help. We wanted to focus on that," said Kim King the recreation and administration manager for Colorado Springs Parks, Recreation & Cultural Services.

The YMCA of the Pikes Peak Region will continue to operate the beach area, including seasonal swimming access on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. and Wednesdays from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. For rates, visit https://ppymca.org/membership/pool-pass.

The total investment in the renovation was approximately $1.4 million, with about $1 million coming from grants from Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) and approximately $400,000 from capital improvement and office of accessibility funds as well as park land dedication fees. Work to redesign the iconic beach house began in 2018, with a previously expected completion of spring 2020. The project was delayed in part due to funding shortfalls amidst unforeseen issues with the aging property.

Visit ColoradoSprings.gov/MemorialPark for more information about this project and other recent efforts to improve Memorial Park.