Palm Coast’s Southern Recreation Center sets a new standard for sustainable sports design
Nestled within a 63-acre campus adjacent to the Palm Coast Tennis Center, the City of Palm Coast’s new Southern Recreation Center in Florida is more than a sports complex. It’s a regional destination, an architectural statement, and a benchmark in environmentally conscious civic development. Designed by OLC and constructed by Gilbane Building Company, the project integrates community engagement, environmental stewardship, and recreational excellence into a LEED Gold-certified facility.
The facility was envisioned in response to public demand for expanded recreation and wellness infrastructure, particularly in the booming arena of racquet sports. With Palm Coast’s strategic goal to become a leading destination for active living and regional sports tourism, the Southern Recreation Center plays a critical role in elevating the city’s profile while offering immediate benefits to residents.
The resulting design is a 12,000-square-foot clubhouse surrounded by 22 tournament-grade courts, including 10 Har-Tru clay tennis courts with lighting and 12 SportsMaster Pro Cushion pickleball courts, six of which are sheltered under a pre-engineered metal building (PEMB) roof for year-round play.
For all project partners, flexibility was key. Designing a space that could shift from casual weekday use to a tournament-ready venue on the weekend was one of the project’s core goals.
Seamless Design: Blurring Indoors And Out
At the heart of the facility is a dynamic clubhouse that blends indoor and outdoor experiences. The entry lobby spills into a flexible social commons space with clear views to the courts and the site’s preserved native vegetation. Viewing balconies, locker rooms, and a food and beverage kitchen with bar service activate the interior, while covered patios and second-story terraces draw visitors outdoors.
A deliberate emphasis on openness and connectivity enhances the user experience, encouraging movement between play, socialization, and programming spaces. Careful attention was given to line-of-sight, outdoor shading, and ADA circulation throughout the building. These features foster inclusivity for seniors and individuals with disabilities and provide welcoming, non-institutional spaces for visitors.
Multipurpose rooms offer flexible programming for wellness, enrichment, and community gatherings. The design team focused heavily on intuitive wayfinding, daylit public zones, and placing amenities like the kitchen, offices, and locker rooms near both courts and event areas to streamline user flow.
Pickleball And Tennis Amenities: Quality Meets Demand
The facility includes 12 cushioned pickleball courts, six under a roof for all-weather access, and 10 professional-grade, Har-Tru tennis courts with evening lighting. This allows for play across age ranges, skill levels, and scheduling preferences.
Each court was engineered with surface performance, drainage, and durability in mind. The sheltered pickleball courts feature energy-efficient overhead lighting and allow for year-round tournament play even during Florida’s inclement seasons. Similarly, the tennis courts meet USTA standards and are supported by operational infrastructure such as accessible spectator areas and equipment storage.
“Pickleball is exploding in Florida, and Palm Coast saw the opportunity to lead,” says Maged Elsheikh, OLC Principal. “We designed with year-round use and future tournament play in mind.”
Building Green: LEED Gold And Beyond
Initially targeting LEED Silver, the team was able to elevate the building’s performance through an aggressive pursuit of sustainable strategies, ultimately achieving LEED Gold certification.
A defining element of the sustainability plan is the solar array atop the PEMB structure, generating more than $500,000 in projected energy savings over 25 years. Additional green features include energy-efficient lighting with occupancy sensors, low-flow plumbing fixtures, and careful site placement to reduce the heat-island effect.
The HVAC system was optimized with programmable zones and demand-control ventilation strategies, while interior finishes were selected for low-emitting materials and recycled content. The landscaping integrates drought-tolerant native species, reducing irrigation needs while enhancing biodiversity.
“Sustainability and resiliency are core philosophies in Palm Coast’s Strategic Plan. It is a city requirement that all new facilities achieve certification in an approved Green Building Program. The Southern Recreation Center achieving LEED Gold is yet another example of Palm Coast’s continuing goal of environmentally responsible, civic development,” says Eric Gebo.
Takeaways: Lessons For Other Agencies
- Prioritize Flexibility In Design—Multipurpose rooms, scalable infrastructure, and modular layouts allow municipalities to adapt to trends and community needs over time.
- Invest In Durable Materials—High-traffic materials like cushioned court surfacing and LED lighting are more sustainable and operationally cost-effective over time.
- Embed Sustainability Early—Involving energy consultants and LEED strategies at schematic design helped maximize long-term ROI and operational savings.
- Maintain Strong Construction Oversight—Partnering with Gilbane as Construction Manager-at-Risk ensured tight coordination among trades, owners, and the design team.
- Use Fast-Track Schedules To Mitigate Weather Delays—Florida weather can derail progress, so the team leveraged flexible contractor sequencing and fast-track strategies to stay on target.
Construction Approach: Collaboration Over Competition
Gilbane Building Company led construction-management at-risk services, assembling an experienced trade team selected for safety performance, technical capability, and local familiarity. The team conducted early-phase constructability reviews and incorporated virtual-design coordination to resolve potential field conflicts before construction.
By conducting detailed schedule risk analysis, constructability reviews, and value-management sessions, Gilbane and the City of Palm Coast were able to keep the project within budget and on schedule, even amid industry-wide supply-chain delays.
“Being a representative for the city, it is my responsibility to ensure that all of the design professionals we select employ the highest level of service and quality design on all of our projects. This is the core of OLC’s philosophy, and they illustrated this ideology throughout the project. There’s no better intermediary than the architect for ensuring projects are running smoothly and at peak. The staff at OLC proved to be an exceptional liaison between themselves, the general contractor, and city staff,” says Gebo.
Community Impact And Positive Outcomes
Since the facility’s grand opening, local participation in recreation programs has increased significantly, and new partnerships have emerged with schools, senior groups, and regional-tournament organizers.
The center also serves as an economic-development tool, drawing visitors from across Florida and the Southeast for events and tournaments, which in turn supports local hotels, restaurants, and vendors.
Key Project Details
- Construction Type: New Construction
- Contract Type: CMAR (Construction Manager At-Risk)
- Total Size: 12,000-square-foot Clubhouse + 22 Courts
- Certification: LEED Gold
- Sustainable Features: 500+ solar panels, daylighting, low-flow plumbing, high-efficiency HVAC
- Projected Energy Savings: $500,000+ over 25 years
- Construction Duration: 18 months
A Recreation Center Built For the Future
The Palm Coast Southern Recreation Center stands as a model of what’s possible when vision, flexibility, and sustainable strategies come together. For other municipalities exploring recreation investments, this project offers replicable strategies in team coordination, energy planning, and phased construction.
The bottom line? Build for today’s users—but never lose sight of tomorrow’s expectations.
