Palm Harbor Recreation Center Addition

The Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners, on behalf of the Construction Services Department, is seeking the services of a General Contractor qualified to construct a 28000 square foot recreation center in Palm Harbor based on plans and specifications provided by the design consultant. The new recreation center will replace existing building next to the Senior Centre on the 16th Street campus and is ideally situated to serve as an at-risk shelter during hurricane evacuations.

General Contractor to provide a schedule of values and tentative schedule based on the Construction documents and specs provided.

The unincorporated area of Palm Harbor, west of Lake Tarpon, has approximately 60,000 residents. Currently, Palm Harbor Parks and Recreation, under the auspices of the Palm Harbor Community Service Agency; an ad valorem taxing district, operates and manages several County owned recreation facilities including the “Senior Centre”, one of two buildings located at 1500 16th Street. Over the years, demand for recreational programming has grown exponentially and greatly exceeds capacity in unincorporated Palm Harbor. In addition to the need for more programming space, Palm Harbor residents lack indoor recreational spaces that can be utilized by the public, without a membership, for activities such as indoor basketball, indoor volleyball, expanded pickleball courts, handball, track, etc. Public school gymnasiums that once were available for use by the public are no longer being offered and alternatives are non-existent. The Senior Centre, originally built in approximately 1979,has outlived its useful life. Replacement of this building with a new updated 25,000 sq. ft. facility would not only offer additional recreational programming space, but would also accommodate a publicly accessible gymnasium.

Additionally, the County currently has a shelter deficit for category 4 and 5 storms, and after Hurricane Irma, it was identified that non-school facilities are needed to be able to move people that still require shelter assistance post-event. This site is located in a non-evacuation zone for storm surge and would be ideal for use as an at-risk shelter for hurricanes. If constructed to American Red Cross (ARC) 4496 standards with back up generation and well capability, this site could provide an additional 800 shelter spaces for general populations during a storm and be utilized as a step-downshelter post event for 115 people. The proposed project is being assessed for inclusion in the Local Mitigation Strategy list of projects for consideration of support for mitigation monies when they become available.