Palm Harbor recreation center project moves from approval to construction

Pinellas County and Palm Harbor officials broke ground April 17, 2026, on a new recreation center that will replace the Palm Harbor Senior Center at the same site.

The planned 28,457-square-foot facility will bring indoor sports, community event space and emergency-support features to the Palm Harbor location. The existing Palm Harbor Senior Center was built in 1979.

The project is funded through the Penny for Pinellas capital program, with an estimated construction cost of more than $14 million. The county awarded the construction bid to The Diaz/Fritz Group on March 24, moving the project from county approval and contracting toward construction.

What the facility will include

Plans call for an elevated indoor track, a gymnasium, basketball space and pickleball space. The building also is planned to include event space for up to 400 people, along with a kitchen and office and conference areas.

Those amenities will give residents indoor space for recreation and gatherings. The kitchen and event area are also part of a facility designed for uses beyond regular programming, including support during emergencies.

The new center is designed to shelter up to 498 people during emergencies. Backup power is planned for the building, along with the kitchen and other spaces that can support shelter operations. The shelter figure is a design capacity, not a statement that the facility is currently operating as an emergency shelter.

Project timeline

The Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners approved the construction bid on March 24, 2026. County records identify the work as the Palm Harbor Recreation Center addition and place its funding under the Palm Harbor Recreation Center project and the Penny for Pinellas capital program.

The April 17 groundbreaking marks the public start of the construction phase. The facility is not yet an operating replacement for the existing senior center; it remains a planned building at the current center’s location.

The county announcement did not provide an expected completion date or opening date. Until those milestones are announced, residents have the project scope, funding and construction award but no confirmed date for when the new center will begin serving the public.

When completed, the planned center is intended to replace the older Palm Harbor facility with a larger public building combining indoor athletics, event space, offices, meeting areas, backup power and emergency shelter capacity.