Plans have been scrapped to keep the public Swim and Racquet Center of Greater Boca Raton open using trailers when the old Chuck’s Steak House is torn down to make way for a new building next year.
Instead, most of the vacant structure “will be demolished when [the district] gets the city permit and the tennis center and pool won’t operate,” Arthur Koski, the district’s interim director and legal counsel told commissioners at the Nov. 16 meeting. That could be as late as February or March, and the district will give people “a heads up,” he said.
The center at 21626 St. Andrews Blvd. is a public facility with a pool and 26 Har Tru tennis courts with a pro shop and office.
“We have to give patrons as much time as possible,” Commissioner Earl Starkoff said after Koski’s announcement.
Some clubs have facilities that could be used during that period, suggested Commissioner Robert K. Rollins Jr.
In the meantime, temporary steps will keep the swimming pool area functioning. Tennis courts are on the other side of the building over a small pedestrian bridge and not affected.
A lifeguard office and electrical and pump room in the back of the vacant building are still in use, and the mechanical room will remain after the demolition. The building was never used for anything but storage, and that was moved when the city decided the roof in the kitchen area was unsafe. A notice on the building is dated July 29.
But now the roof will be stabilized by temporary shoring, and patched according to a Nov. 14 letter from Zimmer Construction Consultants and copied to architect Douglas A. Mummaw.
A temporarily chain link fence around the perimeter will extend along the sides and rear of the building to prevent public access, leaving the pool area accessible, the letter said. A mold survey company will test the swim offices and restrooms with showers that show evidence of mold and remediate the area.
The pool is also used for college and high school sports, and the center has a wading or kiddie pool and a hot tub, said David Dovell, aquatics captain. The new building will also have a splash pad and play area.
Chuck’s Steak House dates back to 1988 and was closed on May 31, 2005, Dovell said.
“It has been vacant ever since, and we used it for storage,” he said.
Over the year, plans to save it never materialized.
The pump room was renovated in 2012, Dovell said.
The decision to demolish the building was announced at the district’s Oct. 5 meeting.
“We will bring in trailers with restrooms and will demolish the building, but leave the piping and put up fencing and keep the pool open,” Koski said at the time. “We will continue to operate. We’ll be careful, but the roof has to come down.”
