Eight years after the Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District bought the Ocean Breeze golf course, the first big building on the site opens on November 18. It is Boca Paddle, a pickleball and padel club with a restaurant, saunas and a stadium court. To get on the courts you need a membership, a day pass or an invitation from a member. The rest of the park's first phase, which includes more than five miles of walking and riding trails, a dog park and a playground, is targeted for substantial completion in June 2027.
According to the District's own records, the club's site work went first. That means for the coming season, the busiest corner of this public land will be a paid one.
The Club's Site Work Went First
The District's own September 2026 capital projects overview lays out the sequence. Under Boca Paddle's concession agreement, the District has to bring sewer, utilities, parking and road access to the club's property line. In August 2025 its board hired Butters Construction to do that work early "in order to expedite the construction of Boca Paddle."
Two weeks later, the board approved containing some contaminated soil from the golf-course years under the club's footprint instead of hauling it away. The District says this state-approved method "clears the way for adjacent North Park improvements, including pavilions, trails, and playground." So the club's foundation also solves part of the park's cleanup.
The public side then took longer. The District put the 70-acre east side out to bid three times. The first four bids all came in over budget. The second round fell apart after the City took over the pedestrian tunnel portion of the work. Butters won the third round in June 2026. All five commissioners broke ground on September 3 in the same southeast parking lot that serves Boca Paddle. Boca Post reported that District Chair Bob Rollins called the day "the end of the beginning."
The club itself started on its own track. Boca Paddle broke ground in June 2025, began construction that August, and now has a fixed opening date.
What November 18 Actually Opens
Boca Paddle sits at 50 W. Jeffery St. The District's North Park page describes 19 pickleball courts and 6 padel courts, split among indoor, covered and open-air courts, plus a dedicated stadium court. Beyond the courts, the club lists locker rooms, saunas, cold plunge, workspaces, phone booths, a pro shop and dining. The District owns the building and the land, and Boca Paddle runs it. The District's materials say it will be available to the public.
On this site, "available to the public" means the following:
- Day passes. These cost $35 for Boca Raton residents who show proof of residence and $40 for everyone else. You can buy one as often as you like.
- What a day pass covers. Day-pass holders can book pickleball and padel courts and join intro clinics at member rates. They cannot join other club programs. Day passes have a 24-hour booking window. Community members get 3 days, Standard members 10 and Plus members 14.
- Memberships. Individual plans run $49, $149 or $299 a month. A membership does not include court time. Rentals, clinics and leagues cost extra at member rates, and only the Plus tier comes with 12 open-play passes a month.
- Guest visits. Anyone can come once every 60 days as a member's free guest.
- The restaurant and bar. These take walk-ins and do not require a pass.
That last item is the free way in for anyone who just wants to watch a match. The club's co-founder has said he expects people to use it that way. In an October 2 Palm Beach Post report, Boca Raton resident and co-founder Brian Levine described the club as a place to socialize as well as compete:
"It's a very social sport, so we are building a community where it's not just about playing."
The same report says hard-hat tours could be booked starting October 7 through the club's website. Sources disagree on the building's cost. The District's overview puts it at $17 million, and the Palm Beach Post report cites $20 million.
The arrangement runs a long time. According to the Boca Raton Tribune's account of the 2024 concession agreement, the initial term is 49 years plus 61 days, with a right to extend. Boca Paddle pays for construction, and the club has to stay open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., except federal holidays and repair closures. One of the District's attorneys told commissioners at the time, "This is not a lease of any land."
The Free Corner West of NW 2nd Avenue
Before the club, there was the Traffic Garden. Crews turned the old tennis courts on Jeffrey Street, west of NW 2nd Avenue, into small painted streets with stop, yield and one-way signs. Children practice bike, scooter and pedestrian safety there with no cars around. The District has since added restrooms and shaded seating for parents. A parking lot sits right next to it and is reached from westbound Jeffery Street. Boca Magazine reported that motorized bikes, boards and vehicles are not allowed.
The Traffic Garden opened in 2025, and Boca Magazine reported that it is free to use. The District calls it a temporary amenity that will stay available until that part of North Park is redeveloped. So the one free amenity open today has no promised future. The paid club next door has a contract that runs for nearly half a century.
The Order of Everything Else
Here is how the rest of North Park lines up, from nearest to furthest.
| Piece | Status as of October 2026 | Timing |
|---|---|---|
| Traffic Garden | Open, free | Interim, until redevelopment |
| Boca Paddle | Hard-hat tours | Grand opening November 18 |
| East side: 5+ miles of trails, dog park, playground, 1,000+ native trees | Under construction by Butters Construction & Development | Substantial completion targeted for June 2027 |
| Skatepark and pump track | Site plan approved, permitting started | No completion date announced |
| West side | No active proposal | Future planning undecided |
The east side will also get exercise equipment along some trails. The District says the whole project will follow Sustainable SITES Initiative standards. The west side has no plan at all. No proposal from the District's 2025 request remains under consideration, and on August 17, 2026, a 3-2 District vote ended separate negotiations with the Boys & Girls Club.
The Skatepark Will Sit Beside the Club
The next new structure is also planned next to Boca Paddle, south of Jeffrey Street and east of NW 2nd Avenue. District commissioners accepted the 42,000-square-foot design on January 20, 2026. Tito Porrata of Pivot Custom designed it for Plant-A-Park. Miller Legg is handling construction documents, and American Ramp Company will build it. The design includes a street course, bowls, pump tracks and a snake run that cyclists can ride too. When the east side broke ground, Boca Post reported that the City had committed to two-thirds of the skatepark's construction costs.
The skatepark takes up 1.43 acres, about 2 percent of the 69.49-acre park at 5800 NW 2nd Ave. City staff measured roughly 311 feet from it to the condominium property line to the west, and just over 650 feet to the condominiums to the south. Boca Post's account of the September 3 hearing reports that the Boca Teeca Presidents Council asked the Planning and Zoning Board to wait for noise and traffic studies. The Council says it represents 13 condominium associations and 1,600 units, and it argued that North Park was approved as a passive park. The board approved the site plan 7-0, and the same report says the City had received about 43 emails in support and six against by that afternoon. Boca Post also reports that the board's vote was final and the item does not go to City Council. The site plan adds 17 parking spaces for the skatepark. That matches the count at the Tim Huxhold Skate Park on Crawford Boulevard, and the park still has 175 more spaces than required.
That approval sets the pattern for what comes next. The most active uses at North Park, the courts first and the skatepark second, are grouping around the southeast parking lot and Jeffrey Street. The quieter trails and native planting will fill the remaining 70 acres east of NW 2nd Avenue once construction wraps up.
If you're weighing how the club, the skatepark and the trail opening could affect a home near Jeffrey Street or NW 2nd Avenue, Robert Posner and Monika Olimpiew can walk you through it block by block. Work With Us.
