Safford Avenue Pickleball Courts & Park Improvements

ACEC Florida Project of the Year – Structures Category

This project earned one of the top construction awards in the state. Gator Concrete & Masonry was the concrete and earthwork subcontractor, sponsible for everything from raw dirt to finished slab.

Project Overview

The City of Tarpon Springs commissioned a new four-court pickleball complex at Safford Avenue as part of a broader parks improvement initiative. The project demanded precise coordination on a constrained urban park site bordered by existing sidewalks, mature trees, utilities, and wetland-sensitive drainage areas.

Gator performed the full concrete and site preparation package — grading, erosion control, and structural flatwork — delivering 8,637 SF of finished concrete surface built to sport performance standards.

Scope of Work

• Site preparation and mass grading of an irregularly shaped urban park footprint
• Erosion and sediment control throughout construction, protecting adjacent wetlands and drainage infrastructure
• Removal of existing site mounds; tree protection maintained throughout
• Coordination of utility and amenity relocations including irrigation and bike rack
• 8,637 SF of structural concrete flatwork — 4″ thick, 3,000 PSI minimum
• Four competition-layout pickleball courts at 64′ width with engineered buffer zones
• Concrete walking surface connections to existing sidewalk network
• Finished grades engineered for stormwater drainage and ADA accessibility compliance
• Work performed within an active public park with community access maintained.

Why It Was Difficult

This wasn’t a greenfield pour. The site was hemmed in on all sides — existing trees under protection orders, live utilities, an active sidewalk, and wetland buffers that could not be impacted. The grading had to funnel stormwater away from the courts and away from sensitive areas simultaneously. Spot elevations varied across the entire footprint, requiring precise grading before a single yard of concrete was placed.

Sport surface flatness tolerances leave no margin for error. A court that drains poorly or crowns unevenly doesn’t play. We delivered four courts that perform exactly as designed.

The Result

A fully operational four-court pickleball complex that has become one of the most-used community assets in Tarpon Springs and a project the entire construction team is proud to have on their resume. The ACEC Florida award reflects the level of coordination and execution this project required from every trade, including ours.