FORT LAUDERDALE — Come 2027, Holiday Park will have a new two-story YMCA with a six-lane swimming pool along with a free-standing Emergency Department built and run by Broward Health.
The long-awaited groundbreaking of the new Holiday Park YMCA arrived on Tuesday. More than 300 people gathered under a white tent on a gray and rainy day for the occasion.
Mayor Dean Trantalis touted the center’s broad variety of amenities, including an aquatics center with a six-lane pool, indoor basketball court, fitness center, youth sports, summer camps and after-school programs that will serve more than 25,000 children and families annually.
“Fort Lauderdale deserves great parks, great facilities and opportunities that uplift every neighbor,” he said. “Today’s groundbreaking moves us one step closer to doing just that.”
The YMCA will rise on 3.5 acres of public land fronting Federal Highway right next to the entrance to the 93-acre park. Broward Health’s one-story Emergency Department would be built to the north of the YMCA.
Holiday Park is one of Fort Lauderdale’s most popular parks, with walking paths, a dog park, pickleball courts, sports fields, fitness stations, the Jimmy Evert Tennis Center, The Parker, the Baptist Health Florida Panthers IcePlex and the newly renovated War Memorial Auditorium.
The new 48,000-square-foot YMCA will not only fill a community need but complete the final piece of the park, said Commissioner Steve Glassman.
“Holiday Park has always been the heart of this district, a place where our community gathers, celebrates, competes and connects,” Glassman told the crowd gathered for the groundbreaking ceremony. “From youth sports and fitness classes to concerts, theater, community events, quiet walks and of course, pickleball. It’s part of our history. And today we begin a new chapter that honors that legacy while expanding what this park can offer for generations to come. This is the kind of project that strengthens neighborhoods, builds connections and creates opportunities that last far beyond today.”
The new YMCA will cost an estimated $35 million to build, said Sheryl Woods, president and CEO of the YMCA of South Florida. It will cost another $18 million to build the Broward Health Emergency Department, bringing the total investment to $53 million, Woods said. A 250-space parking lot is also planned to serve the YMCA, Woods said.
Broward Health is covering the cost for its portion of the construction.
The 12,000-square-foot Emergency Department will offer immediate care for medical emergencies, shorter wait times than at traditional emergency rooms, on-site imaging and lab services and seamless transfers to hospitals when needed.
Broward Health will also occupy 2,000 square feet on the wellness floor of the new YMCA.
An artist’s rendering of the new YMCA Family Center and Broward Health Emergency Department at Holiday Park in Fort Lauderdale. (YMCA of South Florida & Broward Health/Courtesy)
An artist’s rendering of the new YMCA Family Center and Broward Health Emergency Department at Holiday Park in Fort Lauderdale. (YMCA of South Florida & Broward Health/Courtesy)
An artist’s rendering of the new YMCA Family Center and Broward Health Emergency Department at Holiday Park in Fort Lauderdale. (YMCA of South Florida & Broward Health/Courtesy)
An artist’s rendering of the new YMCA Family Center and Broward Health Emergency Department at Holiday Park in Fort Lauderdale. (YMCA of South Florida & Broward Health/Courtesy)
An artist’s rendering of the new YMCA Family Center and Broward Health Emergency Department at Holiday Park in Fort Lauderdale. (YMCA of South Florida & Broward Health/Courtesy)
An artist’s rendering of the new YMCA Family Center and Broward Health Emergency Department at Holiday Park in Fort Lauderdale. (YMCA of South Florida & Broward Health/Courtesy)
An artist’s rendering of the new YMCA Family Center and Broward Health Emergency Department at Holiday Park in Fort Lauderdale. (YMCA of South Florida & Broward Health/Courtesy)
An artist’s rendering of the new YMCA Family Center and Broward Health Emergency Department at Holiday Park in Fort Lauderdale. (YMCA of South Florida & Broward Health/Courtesy)
An artist’s rendering of the new YMCA Family Center and Broward Health Emergency Department at Holiday Park in Fort Lauderdale. (YMCA of South Florida & Broward Health/Courtesy)
An artist’s rendering of the new YMCA Family Center and Broward Health Emergency Department at Holiday Park in Fort Lauderdale. (YMCA of South Florida & Broward Health/Courtesy)
An artist’s rendering of the new YMCA Family Center and Broward Health Emergency Department at Holiday Park in Fort Lauderdale. (YMCA of South Florida & Broward Health/Courtesy)
An artist’s rendering of the new YMCA Family Center and Broward Health Emergency Department at Holiday Park in Fort Lauderdale. (YMCA of South Florida & Broward Health/Courtesy)
An artist’s rendering of the new YMCA Family Center and Broward Health Emergency Department at Holiday Park in Fort Lauderdale. (YMCA of South Florida & Broward Health/Courtesy)
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An artist’s rendering of the new YMCA Family Center and Broward Health Emergency Department at Holiday Park in Fort Lauderdale. (YMCA of South Florida & Broward Health/Courtesy)
In 2016, YMCA officials made a deal with Fort Lauderdale to lease land at Holiday Park for 50 years for $1 a year.
Broward Health has agreed to pay the YMCA nearly $27 million to sublease space on the site for 30 years. The sublease, which includes a rent escalation of 2% per year, amounts to $892,000 a year.
Fort Lauderdale voters approved a $200 million parks bond in 2019.
As part of the city’s partnership with the YMCA, Commissioner Glassman and Vice Mayor John Herbst both agreed to contribute $1 million each from their districts’ portion of the parks bond land acquisition fund to help build the swimming pool at the new center.
Broward Health President and CEO Shane Strum, from left, Fort Lauderdale City Commissioner Steve Glassman, YMCA of South Florida President and CEO Sheryl Woods, YMCA of South Florida Board Chair Marilyn Pascual, Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis and Fort Lauderdale city commissioners Ben Sorensen and Pamela Beasley-Pittman shovel colored sand during a ceremonial groundbreaking for a new YMCA Family Center at Holiday Park in Fort Lauderdale on Monday, Dec. 9, 2025. (Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun Sentinel)
The new YMCA will become a community anchor for the park, Woods predicted.
“This new YMCA will greet visitors right at the entrance there on Federal Highway, serving as the gateway to wellness, to community and to connections,” she said.
Major donors are helping pay for the new Y.
“Our goal is to raise $15 million,” Woods said. “We’re at $10 million. My goal is another $5 million. But I’m not going to stop at $5 million. The more money you raise the less debt you have to put on a building. This is kind of like paying down your mortgage.”
Through a donation, anyone can have the opportunity to name a space within the YMCA in their name, their family’s name, their business or in honor or memory of someone meaningful to them.
The YMCA is offering a maximum of a five-year commitment on gifts larger than $100,000. Lifetime naming rights are also available.
Susannah Bryan can be reached at sbryan@sunsentinel.com. Follow me on X @Susannah_Bryan