An artist impression of a possible hot, saltwater pool in Oriental Bay, including waterfalls and a swimming area.

Imagine heading down to Oriental Bay in July and looking out over the harbour on one of those typical calm, blue sky Wellington winter days.

You know, the ones that follow the southerly storms and remind us of why we live here. Now imagine doing all this while lounging in a hot, outdoor, saltwater swimming pool.

One Wellington businessman is working on making the fantasy a reality.

ALEXANDER TURNBULL LIBRARY The old Te Aro Baths in 1955, where Freyberg Pool is now.

Prefab owner Jeff Kennedy is a member of the Better Te Aro Collective, which wants to rejuvenate the central city.

READ MORE:

* Wellington flooding solutions include river from Basin to the sea

* Te Aro Collective develops shared space plans

* 14 new classrooms for Wellington schools

His idea is to create a hot pool complex next to Freyberg Pool, where the old open air, saltwater Te Aro Baths once were.

ALEXANDER TURNBULL LIBRARY A group of people diving into the Te Aro Baths in 1926. The popular open-air baths closed in the 1960s.

It would have two areas: one for lounging in hot jets, standing under hot waterfalls and absorbing the healing properties of hot sea water, the other a slightly cooler pool for more active swimming.

"The idea being that it's a bit of a tourist attraction, something more to put Wellington on the map," Kennedy said.

"My hope is to make this a reality because it would be a really popular and relaxing place to be."

ROSS GIBLIN/ FAIRFAX NZ The Better Te Aro Collective wants new exciting developments for the central city. From left, Acme Cups general manager Jessica Godfrey, designer Pierre Emmanuelidis, property developer Mike Cole and Prefab co-owner Jeff Kennedy.

It is the second proposed Wellington development to be put forward by the collective. Earlier this month it announced plans to create shared roading spaces in Jessie and Church streets.

The next stage was to gauge interest and generate costings, Kennedy said.

The pool would need to be developed in partnership with Wellington City Council because it would be on publicly owned waterfront land.

Deputy mayor Justin Lester said a similar concept had been proposed to the Wellington Waterfront board about four years ago, so it was great to see it come up for discussion again.

"I love the idea. It's a little bit back to the future, because there used to be a pool there, but it closed down.

"[The council] is very supportive of it. It's a question of cost, and who's going to pay for it."

Kennedy's idea is based on similar pools in Sydney, Dunedin and Tauranga.

Mount Hot Pools opened in Tauranga in the 1950s and had been a popular venue for old and young alike, manager Matthew Strange said.

Sports teams often came after training and used it for recovery during tournaments. The added buoyancy of salt water was appreciated by those who did rehab or aqua aerobics, and there were health benefits from the hot salt water because the body absorbed all the minerals, he said.

"It's not just about the hot water either. Up here you sit in the hot water and your body feels good and relaxed and you look out over beautiful natural surroundings."

If the pool is built according to the artist's impression, it could mean the refurbished tugboat restaurant, Boat Cafe, would have to move.

However, owner Diane Schollar said she was excited about the idea and would have to see where the boat would fit in.

"I love the water, and an outdoor pool sounds great for Wellington.

"Hopefully we are there alongside it, serving hot chocolate and mulled wine to swimmers."

So could an open air pool survive in Wellington? Absolutely, Lester said.

"If it can survive in Dunedin, it can work here."

HISTORY OF TE ARO BATHS

* A swimming pool was opened in Oriental Bay in 1862.

* It was in the same location as Freyberg Pool is now, and enclosed a 50m by 22m section of the harbour.

* It had 34 dressing rooms and about three rooms for bathers to get refreshments.

* The baths originally had strict rules for bathing, with ladies allowed from 9am till 2pm, and men outside those hours.

* Adults were charged 3 pence (about $1 today) and children a penny.

* Champion swimmer Bernard Freyberg, later our first homegrown governor-general, trained at Te Aro Baths, which led to the current indoor pool being named for him when it opened in the early 1960s.