The Palm Coast community center will be open to the public starting Friday. It’s been a long time coming with millions spent, but residents said it looks like it’s worth every penny.

  • Community center open to public again Friday
  • Center went through year of construction
  • Project came in at just under $8 million in sales tax money

Crews put on the finishing touches Thursday morning.

The building was constructed in the 70s and used as the first building to hold council meetings and city hall. Now more than 30 years later, the Palm Coast Community Center has a new look.

"The community center is very busy, every day of the week," said Cindi Lane, Communications and Marketing Manager City of Palm Coast.

But the city shut it down last February for a year of construction, and Kathy Tracz noticed it wasn't up to par.

"It definitely looked a little dilapidated," said Tracz, a nearby resident.

The center has a number of changes on the inside including new modern designed rooms, catering kitchens and technology to outside new restrooms, playgrounds, and newly lit basketball court.

"Before we just didn’t have the space, now we’re very excited to have a lot more space, three times more than what we had before," Lane said.

The expansion also has extra space for recreational and social programs year round. The new facility has rooms available to rent and a polling site to vote.

It was originally estimated at $7 million, but the city said due to everything included in the construction, the project came in just under $8 million in sales tax money. The city said it didn't borrow any money to get the job done and it’s paid off.

"It looks great. I’m excited to see what they have inside and how it looks, and I’m glad that they’re putting solar panels up," Tracz said.

Residents are just eager to see how people use it to make sure every dollar was worth it.

"I hope that they do and it’s worth it in time," Tracz said.

They preserved all of the historic oak trees during construction of the park.

The grand opening is from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday. They’re open for tours from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.