How Palm Beach Gardens is growing: Major recreation projects in works for two parks in city

PALM BEACH GARDENS — Two major public-private partnerships are moving forward in Palm Beach Gardens with projects that are poised to bring hundreds of thousands of square feet of indoor and outdoor recreation offerings to two parks in the growing city.

That includes The Gardens North County District Park, where a plan for a sprawling indoor ice rink facility was benched last fall by city officials when the group that proposed the project did not meet budget benchmarks.

Now, the plans from a company with ties to Topgolf and Drive Shack could include a miniature golf course with shade, indoor basketball and pickleball courts, baseball and softball hitting tunnels, a restaurant and bar, pavilions and more, according to proposals reviewed by The Palm Beach Post.

But the ice rink project may not be completely dead — just moved to another space at Plant Drive Park.

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A Mammoth partnership, in name and in scale

The city began a search for possible developers this year after receiving what is called an unsolicited proposal — essentially, a pitch from a developer that the city didn’t request — to build a more than 300,000-square-foot recreational facility at Gardens North County District Park, which sits on the east side of Central Boulevard north of PGA Boulevard.

Palm Beach Gardens and Palm Beach County have an interlocal agreement for Gardens North County District Park, where the county owns the 82-acre property and Palm Beach Gardens is in charge of operating, staffing and maintaining it. Palm Beach Gardens pays a $10 annual lease on the land.

As part of that agreement, Palm Beach Gardens must build out the second phase of the park, which consists of 14 acres on the northeast corner of Central and 117th Court North, by February 2028.

A previous public-private partnership between the city and the Palm Beach North Athletic Foundation included two ice hockey rinks, plus meeting rooms, a restaurant and space for indoor sports including basketball, volleyball, pickleball, squash, fitness classes and rock climbing. That partnership was approved by the city in 2019 and by the county in 2020, right at the cusp of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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As the deal with Palm Beach North began to fall apart, Palm Beach Gardens received inquiries from others who were interested in building on the site.

“We had a bunch of organizations and private parties who said, ‘Hey, if this falls through, we are interested. We want to do this,’ ” said Km! Ra, Palm Beach Gardens’ purchasing director.

After the agreement was terminated, the city reached out to those parties, met with some of them and discussed possible projects, Km! Ra, said.

After receiving a proposal from athletic facility builder Mammoth Sports Construction, Palm Beach Gardens, per state law, posted a notice asking if anyone else wanted to submit a proposal and issuing a 28-day deadline.

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One other local organization, Perseverance LLC, submitted a proposal. After talking with both organizations, staff chose to move forward with Mammoth’s project, the Mammoth Fieldhouse.

And the project would be mammoth.

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Initial plans from the company — which has principals with backgrounds in sports and entertainment, including former executives at Topgolf and Drive Shack — include:

• Six indoor basketball courts that could be converted into 12 volleyball courts.

• Six indoor pickleball courts and 14 covered pickleball courts.

• Three full-size baseball and softball hitting tunnels.

• A covered gathering space.

• Four HitTrax batting cage bays.

• A bar, in addition to a full-size bar and restaurant.

• An 18-hole miniature golf course with shade.

• Covered cabanas.

• An event pavilion facing a lawn with yard games.

• Two bocce ball courts.

All of that would be in addition to the existing offerings at The Gardens North County District Park: seven multipurpose fields, two spray pads, a nature trail, pavilions, two playgrounds, a concession stand and a preserve.

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“When we did our evaluation as a team, we looked at the best method of serving the public needs that we know exist today, plus additional amenities that will enhance the park,” said Charlotte Presensky, the city’s leisure services administrator. “So the Mammoth proposal really met all of those aspects.”

In particular, she said, the Fieldhouse — a large building that would serve as a restaurant, bar, kitchen and offices — would be the most important thing for public service, in addition to all of the amenities that “complement the activities that are already going on throughout the whole park.”

“It just seemed to tick all the boxes of the things that we were looking for to serve the community,” Presensky said.

Kansas-based Mammoth did not return a request for comment. Its website indicates it has built stadiums, golf courses and other sports facilities throughout the Midwest.

Ice rink plan lives and may rise in Plant Drive Park

After the city terminated its agreement with the nonprofit North Palm Beach Athletic Foundation for an ice rink, officials with the foundation were determined to find another site that would work.

Enter Plant Drive Park, nestled between Palm Beach Gardens High School and I-95.

Could that site work instead, the group asked the city.

“We talked with them, we said, ‘You know, it could work there,’ ” Km! Ra said. “So that became an opportunity.”

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Once the city decided to pursue the proposal from North Palm Beach Athletic Foundation, Palm Beach Gardens followed the same legally required procedure as with The Gardens North County District Park, opening a 28-day window for seeking pitches from other parties.

Perseverance LLC submitted the same proposal for Plant Drive Park. The city staff ultimately chose the plan from North Palm Beach Athletic Foundation.

The new plan would be scaled down to fit the smaller location at Plant Drive. A site plan included in the organization’s proposal shows a complete reimagining of the site, with a two-story, 103,000-square-foot building and accompanying parking spaces.

Currently, there are two basketball courts, 12 pickleball courts, a youth softball field and a skatepark at Plant Drive Park.

The project’s footprint has not been finalized, Presensky said. “That’s all part of the conversation that we will have for them as this project moves forward,” she said.

Michael Winter, the founder and president of Palm Beach North Athletic Foundation, said it was unfortunate that the plans for The Gardens North County District Park did not work out. Still: “With every adversity, there can be a positive there,” he added.

The original plans called for more than 220,000 square feet of space. The newer, smaller plan is more sustainable, he said.

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It would include two National Hockey League-level sheets of ice and an additional instructional, or studio, rink. “That’s fantastic for younger skaters,” he said.

As the father of four boys who love and play hockey, he sees this rink fulfilling a need in the community.

“We’re really excited to provide a nice amenity for families in Palm Beach Gardens and the greater area,” Winter said.

The project also comes with corporate and private partners, including Palm Beach Gardens-based Carrier; the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County; FPL; the Florida Panthers NHL team; the Hospital for Special Surgery in West Palm Beach; NFP insurance brokerage; and the Gretzky Hockey School, founded by Hall of Fame hockey player Wayne Gretzky, who lives in northern Palm Beach County.

In terms of financing, the group has the backing of Ziegler, a privately held investment bank.

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Palm Beach Gardens is a city that has grown by leaps and bounds — and boundaries — in recent years.

With a growing population and increasing demand for housing, the city has annexed hundreds of square miles of property over the past few years, including land for Avenir, which is being developed with 3,800 homes, plus offices, stores, restaurants and more.

“We’re looking at establishing the needs not only of today, but we’re looking at tomorrow, and we’re looking at the numerous services that our residents are requiring,” city manager Ron Ferris said.

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He pointed to a recent survey that showed that Palm Beach Gardens’ parks and recreation programs are the third most-used service for residents.

“This puts us in a very unique position to be able to do just that,” Ferris said of the pair of proposals.

Between Mammoth’s proposal and the updated plan from Palm Beach North Athletic Foundation, the benefits to the citizens are “amazing,” Ferris said.

At The Gardens North County District Park, people have asked for more adult activities in addition to the slate of soccer and tennis tournaments, and a space to get out of the sun and relax, he said.

“It gives us a myriad of opportunities to provide the public with the services they’re asking for,” Ferris said.

The city staff works hard to plan for the future and identify projects that will both benefit residents and the local economy, said Daniel Prieto, deputy leisure services administrator.

In addition, Palm Beach Gardens works with the Palm Beach County Sports Commission to draw events and tournaments to the city, with Gardens North County District Park being “a crown jewel” in Palm Beach Gardens’ inventory, he said.

For the last fiscal year, Palm Beach Gardens staff and the sports commission estimated that tournaments hosted at city parks had an economic impact of more than $29 million, he said.

About $9 million of that came from one facility alone: Cressey Sports Performance, which has a public-private partnership with the city for its facility at Gardens Park on Johnson Dairy Road east of Military Trail, Prieto said.

The facility serves high-performing athletes, including about 200 Major League Baseball players who train there in the offseason — some of whom buy homes in the area, he said.

“I feel like the tie and the ripple effect of these relationships is very valid,” Prieto said.

What happens next to the two park proposals?

Teams for both proposals are negotiating with the city to determine milestones that include financing and planning, Km! Ra said.

All of that will be compiled into draft agreements that then will go to the city council for approval, which Km! Ra expects to happen early next year.

With council approval, the Plant Drive Park proposal would move forward. Because of the interlocal agreement for The Gardens North County District Park, that plan after earning the city council's endorsement would need to go to the county commission for review and approval.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Major recreation projects planned for two Palm Beach Gardens parks