New recreation facility, homes coming to Hollywood Reservation
HOLLYWOOD — Hollywood Reservation will see big changes in coming months as construction begins on a new recreation facility, houses and townhouses.
The construction of a 39,000-square-foot, two-story recreation facility is expected to begin mid-December. It will house a gym, the Boys & Girls Club and the Fitness and Culture Departments and will encompass the area from the Boxing Gym west to 64th Avenue and 30th street north to the Ball Field fence.
The anticipated completion date is December 2014, said Hollywood Councilman Chris Osceola.
“One of my goals was to get the Hollywood gym and the Fort Pierce community center done during my two-year term,” he said. “We got input from the Boys & Girls Club, the Culture committee and Tribal members; we worked collectively on the concept and the design.”
Designed by the architectural firm Leo A Daly, the gym incorporates Clan symbols and Seminole colors on its exterior. Seminole Stiles will build it.
The first floor will contain two full-size basketball courts. Other amenities include a catering kitchen, with a buffet service area, to accommodate community events.
The area designated for the Culture Department, also located on the ground floor, will feature a teaching kitchen, classrooms and multipurpose room. Outside will be a traditional camp with a cooking chickee at its center. Because the existing culture chickees have been removed, Imahaggi Tiger’s camp – located at the corner of 64th Avenue and James E. Billie Drive – will host community culture events until the new facility’s completion.
The second-floor Boys & Girls Club will have two multipurpose rooms, classrooms, music room, studio and computer room.
The fitness area will include a cardio and weight room overlooking the basketball court. The existing outdoor basketball court will get a permanent cover, known as an airnasium, to encourage more use in hot weather.
The existing 18,000-square-foot gym will remain in use during construction and used afterward, if necessary, for tournaments. The Boys & Girls Club has temporarily relocated to a trailer next to the Gym, and the Seminole Estates Clubhouse will used as a community center for large events as needed.
In addition, eight new homes will be built behind the trailer homes on 30th Street, to be called Seminole Circle East; six more will go up at the end of James E. Billie Drive behind the apartments; and 18 townhomes will be built on the Florida Power and Light easement by the clinic. In the planning stages, the homes could be completed by end of year 2014, and the townhouses by the following spring.
“This is one big project for that whole side of the reservation,” Councilman Osceola said. “Tribal members will be safe in their homes instead of having to evacuate their trailers for a hurricane. It’s long overdue.”