Boca Raton Approves Conversion of Warehouse to Padel Court Facility

The future site of Padel X, 1081 Holland Drive, Boca Raton. (Photo: Boca Daily News)

Boca Raton officials this week voted in favor of allowing the owner of a 76,000 square foot warehouse building to convert a portion to padel courts and build a mezzanine to support the new business.

Padel is a racquet game that is quickly gaining a following in South Florida and beyond. Sometimes called padel tennis, the sport is typically played in doubles on an enclosed court slightly smaller than a traditional tennis court. Scoring is the same as tennis, though the balls are lighter and can be played off the walls surrounding the court itself. Solid, stringless bats are used instead of traditional tennis racquets. The sport is most popular in Spain and Argentina, but is now played in 90 countries with a major following developing in the United States.

The new facility in Boca Raton will be known as Padel X, which takes its name from a club being developed by the same principals in Miami. It will be located at 1081 Holland Drive in an industrial park off Clint Moore Road, taking a portion of what is now an existing warehouse facility. Plans call for 28,365 square feet of court space, and the addition of a 1,370 square foot mezzanine that will support the business’s operations.

The future site of Padel X, 1081 Holland Drive, Boca Raton. (Photo: Boca Daily News)

The facility will include eight padel courts, locker rooms, a lounge area, storage area and three offices. A six-foot wide sidewalk will be installed in front of the building for better pedestrian access. There are no proposed changes to the size or height of the existing building. There will be 153 parking spaces available, with the bulk of traffic occurring during evening and weekend hours when the surrounding warehouse and industrial uses are off-peak.

“The hours of most utilization for racquet sports is typically 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., with lighter traffic in the morning,” said attorney Javier Fernandez, representing Padel X. “Here, where there is a dearth in courts, this is to serve that peak-hour demand, which is what we are trying to fill with the introduction of this facility.”

Padel X’s Miami facility is currently under development and intended to be used by both professionals and fun-seeking amateurs. The business was co-founded by CEO Juan Pablo Leria, who has run similar wellness and sport clubs in Latin America before expanding to the U.S. His business partner, Nalle Grinda, has won five French national titles in padel and founded the first padel club in Nice, in addition to having developed a portfolio of other real estate ventures.