Tuesday

 

The $5 million renovation of the Dunedin Golf course which winds through our neighborhood has begun. From 1945 through 1962, the course was the home of the PGA of America. The club has hosted 18 Senior PGA tour events. The club first opened in 1927. Over that almost one hundred years, trees have grown up where there were no trees. More than 100 will have to come down in order to properly renovate the course. The picture above shows one of the downed trees.

The course, renovated clubhouse and restaurant should re-open fall 2024. Half of the funding comes from the American Rescue Plan Act, signed by President Biden in 2021. Our city commissioners have been on the ball securing money from the rescue plan to fund needed repairs and upgrades throughout the city.

The American Rescue Plan will also help pay for the city's new aquatic center, which has an $11 million budget. The county, city, and philanthropic donors have also helped fund the complex. 

In this view, you can see the "lazy river" in the lower right corner. The existing Kiwanis Splashground will be incorporated into the complex.

Design work is underway. Project to be completed in August 2026.

Another $11 million project is the Skinner Avenue overhaul: two car lanes instead of four, two traffic circles, underground utilities, bike/pedestrian crossing on the Pinellas Trail, decorative lighting, parking, and 10 foot wide sidewalks. Construction begins this summer. The project will be complete in fall 2026.

We rode our bikes downtown to meet our new friends for lunch at 12:30, but at 11:30 we got hungry and fixed a snack.

We were planning to meet at the New Mexican restaurant, Senior Rita's, but they didn't open until 3:00. So we headed over to Casa Tina's on Main Street. We had a two hour lunch and got to know our neighbors. They have lived in Fairway estates since they were 25 years old. (They are in their 50s.) It was interesting to hear how the neighborhood has changed over the years.

We came home and took a short nap.

We had another cloudy day, but at least it was warm.