The WaterColor Tennis Center on Western Lake Drive has been under redevelopment since February 2026, when construction crews began mobilizing. The pickleball courts closed at that point and are being rebuilt, and the HOA has been pointing to a fall opening for months. Fall is now the season on the calendar. The five Har-Tru clay courts stayed open through construction, and so did the standing programs on the community calendar.
For pickleball players, the closure has meant no courts on site since February, and that is a real change to a routine. The HOA's posted calendar shows what else was scheduled during those months: Trivia Night on Monday evenings at the WaterColor Beach Club, Yoga in the Park on weekday mornings, and live music at the Beach Club. Those listings sit apart from the tennis center's court schedule.
What Actually Closed, and for How Long
The redevelopment has been running since crews began mobilizing in February 2026. The pickleball courts closed at the start of the project and remain closed. The five Har-Tru clay tennis courts, three with lighting and one with stadium seating, kept operating throughout, with reservations, drills and lessons continuing to run out of a temporary pro shop trailer parked on site.
Parking on site is limited, so the HOA installed temporary gravel parking pads on Western Lake Drive and Dandelion Drive and asked tennis center patrons to carpool when possible or use the WaterColor Trolley. As of May 8, 2026, demolition was still ongoing while crews installed utility lines and poured footings for the Pro Shop and Fitness Center foundation. Site work for the pickleball courts was nearly complete, and American Tennis Courts was set to begin work soon. The HOA's updates point to a fall opening, and the posted updates do not give a specific opening date.
What the Reopened Center Adds
The HOA describes the renovated Tennis Center this way:
| During construction | Planned after reopening | |
|---|---|---|
| Pickleball courts | Closed | Six |
| Tennis courts | Five Har-Tru clay, open | The existing five |
| Fitness center | Under construction | Brand-new |
| Pro shop | Temporary trailer | Paired with the new fitness center |
The five clay courts carry over unchanged. The additions are the six pickleball courts and a fitness center with a pro shop.
What Stayed on the Calendar During Construction
The community calendar carries a standing set of programs that are scheduled separately from the tennis center. Trivia Night runs Monday evenings from 6 to 8 at the WaterColor Beach Club. Yoga in the Park meets from 8 to 9 on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings, including sessions at Marina Park. Live Music at the Beach Club is listed on Thursday evenings from 5 to 8, and Bikes, Sights, and Beers appears on Tuesday late mornings. These listings come from the week of September 6 through 12, 2026, when construction was still underway.
The calendar shows where these programs are held, and none of them are at the tennis center. What the listings cannot show is how any individual household spent those months, so they say nothing about the players who were waiting on the pickleball courts. They do show that the community's posted schedule kept running while the center was rebuilt.
Where the Trolley Fits
The HOA's construction notice pointed tennis center patrons to the WaterColor Trolley for door-to-door service, as a way to reduce parking impacts at the site. The trolley app lets guests request complimentary on-demand rides within WaterColor, and its App Store listing names the Tennis Center among the destinations. Trolleys operate daily from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., and the app shows a wait time once a rider enters a destination.
That gave the HOA an existing service to point to while on-site parking stayed limited and the temporary gravel pads on Western Lake Drive and Dandelion Drive carried the overflow.
What This Means Going Into Fall
For pickleball players, the reopening brings six courts back to the site, and the HOA has said the new facility will also include a fitness center and pro shop. The clay courts kept taking court reservations, drills, lessons and events through construction, so the reopening adds pickleball and the new building alongside them.
The Beach Club and Marina Park programs listed above are scheduled separately from the tennis center. The HOA's Tennis Center Redevelopment page and its Notify Me alerts on the WaterColor Community website are where the opening date will be posted. This post comes from Emerald Dunes Realty, a boutique brokerage in Santa Rosa Beach.
