Floating pool in Lake Michigan

Chicago's newest harbor at 31st Street has filled less than half its boat slips, but it's about to make a splash.

A floating swimming pool, a pool deck and washroom facilities are under construction, and a floating restaurant is planned for the city's harbor, now in its third season.

In fact, crews removed a few boat slips from the harbor, which opened in 2012, to install the pool, deck and bathroomsall of which are on the same dock.

A harbor manager said that doesn't mean they're getting out of the boat-docking business.

"We are continuing to try to attract more boaters there," said Scott Stevenson, vice president of Westrec Marinas, which manages the city's harbor system.

The pricetag for the new pool and bathrooms is pegged at $1.6 million and was paid for by revenue bonds to be repaid with boater fees.The pool deck will be furnished with lounge chairs and cabanas and the bathrooms operational in the coming days, while the pool is expected to be completed in the next two weeks, Stevenson said.

Boaters who dock at the harbor won't have to pay to use the the pool and bathrooms; rather, use of the facilities are included in their slip fees, Stevenson said. Residents and tourists who don't own boats must fork over $12 for a one-day guest pass or $240 annual membership, he said.

Steps away from the harbor, it's free to dip your toes in the lake at 31st Street beach. But the $12 fee to use the new pool is fair, said Alyce Scott as she sat on the sand. "I would probably try it just to try something different," said Scott, 26, of Hyde Park.

The park district runs dozens of pools across the city and there is no entrance fee to hop in the pools.

Plans are in the works, too, for a restaurant at the harbor. The Chicago Park District, the umbrella city agency that oversees the harbors, is awaiting proposals to design, build and operate the restaurant. There's no pricetag for the restaurant, officials say, but the plan is to build it next to the pool, Stevenson said. The eatery will be open to the public.

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Floating pool in Lake Michigan