A blue construction fence marks the final days for the former Boys and Girls Club-turned-Wellington Community Park on South Shore Boulevard – and the beginning of construction on a $38 million athletic training facility.
The building at the center of the 17-acre property south of Pierson Road at 3401 South Shore Blvd. in Wellington will be torn down and replaced with a state-of-the-art sports training facility that is the vision of Wellington native and professional football player Jon Bostic.
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The Wellington Sports Academy received unanimous approval for its architecture, building height and signage from Wellington’s Architectural Review Board on Sept. 27, setting the stage for the redevelopment of a long-aging property that Wellington staff have said is underused.
Bostic of the Washington Commanders grew up in Wellington, frequently comes back to donate his time to local young people and graduated from Palm Beach Central High School.
He was not present at the Sept. 27 meeting, though he has attended several council meetings where plans for the academy were on the agenda.
“Wellington really needed something like this,” board member Maria Antuña said.
The project is the result of a public-private partnership between Wellington and Bostic’s team with Wellington Athletics LLC, which hopes to open the facility in August 2024, a timeline one of his planners called “aggressive” during a March council meeting.
Once completed, the project will include:
- Seven indoor basketball courts that can be converted to 13 volleyball courts
- A multi-purpose turf field
- A turf baseball field and a turf softball field
- A 9,706-square-foot indoor baseball and softball complex with eight batting tunnels
- A 13,511-square-foot membership-based weight room
- A 6,687-square-foot performance gym
- A 14,625-square-foot cheerleading gym
- A recovery center with hot tubs, cold tubs, saunas and steam rooms
- A full-service cafe
- An e-sports gaming lounge
- A 2700-square-foot orthopedics and physical therapy office
- A 1,300-square-foot chiropractic office
The council earlier this year approved a $33.3 million public improvement bond issuance for the design and construction of the academy. Wellington essentially used its strong financial position to back the bonds, which Wellington Athletics will repay.
This is a project several years in the works, with Bostic leading a team of planners, lawyers, engineers, sports professionals and architects, alongside Wellington officials and staff.
According to Wellington’s planning portal, a demolition permit was issued in July. Final checks of the site must be completed before the main structure can be torn down.
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