Popular aquatic center in south DeKalb reopens in time for heat wave

Browns Mill Aquatic Center

Browns Mill Aquatic Center

A popular DeKalb County aquatic center that features waterslides and a lazy river reopened Tuesday after being closed for more than a year.

Browns Mill Aquatic Center, located at 4929 Browns Mill Road, reopened just in time for residents to cool off during one of the warmest weeks this year. The facility will be open from noon to 7 p.m. each day this week, and it’ll remain open during the same hours on weekends through August.

It’s among the first city-operated facilities to reopen amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Stonecrest.

The recreation center underwent more than $100,000 in repairs and upgrades in 2019 after the facility was purchased by Stonecrest, which was founded two years earlier. The city oversees nine parks, totaling more than 300 acres of parks and recreation space.

Children play at the Browns Mill Aquatic Center in Stonecrest, which the city plans to take over later this year.

Credit: Renee' Hannans Henry

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Credit: Renee' Hannans Henry

According to a news release, the aquatic center features new chairs and tables. Attendees can bring their own lawn chairs. Entry costs $5 for children 17 years old and younger, and admission for adults is $7.

The Browns Mill Aquatic Center is a key step to reopening Stonecrest, but the city emphasized its leaders remain cautious to reopen too quickly. It is one of the few DeKalb cities that has yet to fully reopen its City Hall or resume in-person council meetings.

“Staff will continue to monitor Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) guidelines on protecting public health, as well as track DeKalb County DPH COVID-19 statistics for the area,” the release said.