A pool project at Glendale High that’s been in the works for nearly seven years, costing almost twice as much as expected and virtually drowned in delays, appears heading toward construction.

The Glendale Unified school board approved a $4.75-million budget increase in July to raise the total allocation for the CIF Southern Section-sized pool to $15.7 million.

Construction is scheduled to begin in October. The completion date is set for the following October, meaning next year’s incoming freshmen class would have been first-graders in 2012 when the idea of refurbishing the pool was first floated.

“What we all have in common is that, what we want is for generations of our students to take advantage of a world-class aquatic center,” new district Supt. Vivian Ekchian said.

The final price tag includes two types of costs, according to Stephen Dickinson, the district’s chief business and financial officer.

Soft costs range from paying the architect and engineers, inspection expenses , permits and fees, while hard costs include the pool and its nearby building that will house locker rooms, restrooms, a concession stand and storage.

There will also be a mechanical building with additional restrooms.

A little more than $9.4 million of the money will come from Measure K, a bond passed in 1997, $3.9 million from Measure S, passed in 2011, and $2.4 million from capital outlay funds, Dickinson said.

Balfour Beatty’s bid highlighted skyrocketing construction costs as the price has nearly doubled in just under three years.

“Just to note, December of 2016, the board was notified, based on a consultant’s construction cost estimate that the project would come in at $7.9 million,” said Hagop Kassabian, Glendale Unified’s administrator in charge of planning, development and facilities, regarding the rising construction costs. “This was approximately 2½ years ago.”

Glendale Unified officials initially approved having architectural firm KPI begin project design work in November 2012.

Two amendments over a 14-month process added visiting-team locker rooms, increased the pool size to Olympic stature at 50 meters by 25 yards, and added a cogeneration plant, which provides cooling and heating through the recycling of wasted heat.

However, plans were abruptly halted in August 2014 when KPI’s founder, David Kindred, died unexpectedly.