At 1101 NW 2nd St., a construction fence now runs through part of Pompey Park. Next to it, the existing recreation center still opens at 8 a.m. on weekdays. The pool next door still holds water, and two of the ballfields are still marked for play. Delray Beach broke ground on a roughly $59.2 million rebuild of the park on Sept. 10, 2026. For most of the next two years, though, the park you already use is the one you'll keep using.
That's on purpose. The project is sequenced so each old facility stays open until its replacement is ready. If you swim, coach, play or show up for a meeting at Pompey Park, the dates to watch are a few specific handoffs, and the biggest one is still well over a year away.
The Rule Running the Whole Project
The Pompey Park project team updated its public FAQ on Oct. 13, 2026, and stated the plan plainly. The existing recreation center stays open until the new one opens. Two of the existing ballfields stay open through construction and remain available until all three new fields are finished. The existing pool stays open until the new pool is ready.
The city's own facility page says the same thing about the building. The Pompey Park Community Center "will remain open and fully operational," and the rest of the grounds may close for stretches as work moves along.
The old center doesn't come down until everyone has moved. According to the project's demolition FAQ, the current building will be demolished only after the community relocates to the new facility, and that move is scheduled for summer 2028.
From the publish date of this post, summer 2028 is about 20 months away. Between now and then, the most likely disruption is a section of lawn or a path fenced off for a while. Losing your gym, your pool or your field isn't part of the plan.
Where the Crews Are, and When They Leave
According to the project's posted work hours, crews work 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Some weekend or holiday work may happen, and the team says it will announce those days ahead of time.
Compare that with the recreation center's posted hours:
- Monday to Friday: 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.
- Saturday: 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
- Sunday: 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Put the two schedules side by side and you get four weekday evening hours, from 5 to 9 p.m., when the center is open and the construction shift has ended. Saturdays and Sundays have no regular construction scheduled at all. If you've been putting off a visit because of the noise, evenings and weekends are when the park sounds most like it used to.
Streets around the park should stay open too. The project FAQ says no road closures are currently anticipated and describes the fenced area as the construction footprint. The project site describes the park as roughly 14 acres bounded by NW 13th Avenue, NW 2nd Street, NW 10th Avenue and NW 3rd Street.
The Three Handoffs Worth Putting on Your Calendar
Each old facility is tied to its own replacement, so the changes will come one at a time. Here's each pairing, based on the city's facility page, a 2025 city contract report and the project FAQ:
| What you use now | What replaces it | When the switch happens |
|---|---|---|
| Recreation center, about 22,823 sq ft, near the southeast corner of the site | New recreation center, about 54,000 sq ft | Move scheduled for summer 2028, then the old building is demolished |
| Pompey Park Pool, with a swimming pool and a wading pool | One family pool with zero-entry access, a splash area and a 5-foot-deep swim section | When the new pool is ready to open |
| Two existing ballfields | Three new fields | When all three new fields are finished |
The building is the biggest jump. At about 54,000 square feet, the new center will be more than twice the size of the current one. The city's groundbreaking announcement lists an indoor running track, something the park doesn't have now.
Regular swimmers have the most specific change ahead. Right now Pompey Park has separate swimming and wading pools. According to the project FAQ on pools, the new center will have one "Family Pool." You'll walk in at the zero-entry end, where there's a play and splash area for younger kids. The other end has a 5-foot-deep section set aside for water aerobics, swim classes and lap swimming. So little kids and lap swimmers will be in the same pool, at opposite ends. Earlier descriptions of the project mentioned two new pools. The September 2026 FAQ says one, and that's the current plan.
What the Finished Park Adds Up To
The new building is the headline, but the project's amenity list covers the whole park:
- An indoor track and community rooms with a kitchen, inside the new recreation center
- The family pool and aquatics facility
- A Little League baseball field, a multipurpose field and upgraded field lighting
- Basketball courts and shaded playgrounds
- A fitness and shade structure, shelters, restrooms, parking and new signage
The project team's published timeline has the recreation center finishing in 2028 and the full park in 2029. That leaves a stretch after the 2028 move when the new building is open and work on the rest of the park continues.
The team behind the work includes CORE, Randolph Construction Group, Hatcher Construction & Development, KEITH & Associates and Justin Architects, according to the city's groundbreaking announcement. At the time, City Manager Terrence Moore said the project is meant to honor the park's legacy while serving future generations.
Why the Park Was Never Allowed to Go Dark
The sequencing makes more sense once you know the park's history. WLRN reported that Pompey Park started in the Jim Crow era, when Black residents were barred by law from many public beaches, parks and pools in Palm Beach County. The park became a place to gather, play sports and build community, and WLRN describes it as still the anchor of The Set.
The park is named for Charles Spencer Pompey, an educator and civil rights leader. His only child, Cheryl Pompey-Howard, a retired registered nurse, described to WLRN what the grounds meant to her growing up:
"This is where we socialized and had our relay races outside here in the park. And the community would just come together for all kinds of social events, civic events, Girl Scout meetings, church activities, retirement parties. This was just kind of home for us, you know? It was a safe haven."
WLRN reported that about 100 longtime residents, Delray Beach commissioners, the community redevelopment agency and the developers attended the Sept. 10 groundbreaking. Pompey-Howard also told WLRN that seeing the park carry on "for the next 50-plus years" meant her father was "smiling in heaven."
The list she gave covers meetings, church events, sports and celebrations. Those are the uses the construction plan protects. Because the old building stays open until the new one is ready, people who meet there won't have a gap year with no home base.
Staying Current Through 2029
Construction plans change, and the project team does update its public pages. The FAQ entries on pool and field access were updated Oct. 13, 2026. For questions about programs, the city lists Recreation Supervisor III and Site Supervisor Gerard Smith and Recreation Supervisor II Rohan Sutherland as staff at the center. For construction updates, check pompeyparkproject.com and the city's Pompey Park page. The project team says it will announce any weekend or holiday work in advance.
I'll keep following the Pompey Park timeline as each switch gets closer, from the summer 2028 move to the new pool and fields. If you live near NW 2nd Street and want to talk about what the rebuild could mean for your block, reach out to Roxy Campbell. Call or text "Roxy" at (561) 714-9673. Hablo español también.
