PALM COAST, Fla. (February 14, 2023) Not only does Paul Culver, president of Paul Culver Construction, have a professional stake in the new Lehigh Trailhead Improvement project, he has a personal interest. As an athlete, Culver said he trains along the trails system of Palm Coast, providing him with a user’s perspective when taking on the multimillion-dollar project.
“It’s special to me because I’m a triathlete and we use the park to ride bikes and train on,” he said. “It’s exciting to me because we’ll have a new parking area for our friends that bike as well.”
Standing alongside Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin, Flagler County Commission Chairman Greg Hansen and other dignitaries, it was a momentous occasion as each shoveled dirt during the Southern Recreation Center and Lehigh Trail Improvement groundbreaking ceremony on Sunday, February 12.
“The new collaborative effort between the city and the county have helped us get all the fuel behind this project so it is underway now,” said Alfin. “It’s not being paid out of anyone’s general fund. It’s all coming through various grants and other tax vehicles, so it’s not coming out of the residents’ pocket.”
The Southern Recreation Center project will be a $11,347,858 ultra-modern facility located at the Palm Coast Tennis Center offering residents not only a companion to the Palm Coast Community Center, it will house administrative offices, a kitchen dining space, 2 multi-purpose rooms, an exterior patio and balcony space. Outdoor recreation opportunities will be expanded to include 12 pickleball courts, with 6 lighted and covered for all-season use. It is slated for completion in 2024.
“The biggest news is we’re going to dramatically increase the number of pickleball courts,” said Alfin. “They’re packed in like sardines at our other center at Holland Park, so we’ll be building a dozen new courts, which is just a step. As we go to the western expansion, we’ll increase it a step further.”
“But it won’t just be tennis and pickleball. Folks will be able to come here and enjoy all the kinds of activities that they currently go to Palm Coast Community Center for, without the parking hassle. We’ve literally outgrown the community center, so the folks on this side of town will have a wonderful place they can call their own.”
The joint project is a result of a collaboration between the City of Palm Coast and Flagler County, and includes grant funding from the Flagler County Tourism Development Office, the City of Palm Coast Recreation Impact Fee and the SR 100 Community Redevelopment Agency.
“This is exciting primarily from the coordination that it took between the city and the county,” shared Hansen.
“As I mentioned in my speech, we tried this a couple of years ago and because of kind of hard feelings between the administrators it didn’t ever get done. The new city and county administrators work very well together and it’s a credit to our whole county that they do because we’re getting a lot of things done we couldn’t get done before,” he said.
“It makes it fun because we’re really helping the citizens of Flagler County.”
As Culver works to complete the Lehigh Trail Improvement project, he’s excited about the new amenities. From ADA compliant parking spaces among the 60 being added to the new restroom facility, water fountain, lighting, and pavilion improvements, it’s just the tip of the iceberg. Also part of the project is a committed community garden space and a separate dog park.
“We’re installing a new garden center that’s going to be ADA compliant as well, and it’s for people to plant plants and actually come and grow throughout the year,” he said pointing to each location. “There’s also going to be a dog park and new restroom building. The pavilions will also be there next to the dog park.
Culver says the almost a 4-acre project has a price tag close to $2.5 million and received support from both the Florida Department of Transportation and the federal government. He anticipates the Lehigh Trailhead Improvement portion of the project being completed in August 2023.
“I’m super excited,” he said.
