Winter Park Racquet Club Marches Forward

In early November of 2025, construction equipment began to tear into the Tuscany House at the Winter Park (Fla.) Racquet Club (WPRC), to dismantle an existing building inside the club’s entrance that was acquired in 2015 to expand on WPRC’s 72-year-old property. 

As the old building was originally a family home that was not functional for members of the club, no one within the WPRC community was surprised to see the aging Tuscany structure start to come down. The demolition began the first physical phase of a sweeping transformation of the club that had been meticulously planned through a three-year process to develop a Master Facilities Plan, “WPRC Forward,” that focused from day one on ensuring that all members would not only have full awareness of all that the plan involved, but also ample input and influence to shape it as their own.

When construction for the initial phases of WPRC Forward is completed in the late fall of 2026, members will be able to enjoy not only an impressive new (and properly renamed) Tuscany Center, but many other exciting new facilities and features (see “WPRC’s Forward Steps,” pg. 5). Even better, all of the construction will be completed with minimal disruption of club activity, continuing to advance momentum gained over the same period that WPRC Forward was planned and implemented to repair the club’s financial standing, grow its membership to capacity (500, with a total headcount of over 1,600) and a first-ever waitlist, and earn honors as a Platinum Club and Top Workplace in the Greater Orlando area.

Starting the Process

Rewind to 2022, however, and it was a much different picture at WPRC. The Club’s Board had hired a new General Manager/COO, Ian Munroe, CCM, to help address immediate issues of concern while also undertaking a more structured approach to long-range planning. Success in both areas would hinge on two critical factors:  

• Members’ input on their current satisfaction with the club and their desires for its future direction would always need to be the guiding force. 
• Gaining members’ confidence and trust, and securing their acceptance and financial participation for future capital projects, would first have to be earned by elevating the existing member experience.

To pursue both objectives simultaneously, WPRC engaged McMahon Group to conduct a comprehensive membership survey while Munroe and his management team began to make significant changes both in how the club looked (through physical enhancements in areas including the pool, playground, pickleball courts, boat docks and lakeside area) and how it operated (through improved service levels, greater member engagement, transparent communication and other initiatives). 

The family-centric atmosphere that we’ve created is really pulling people in, and what we’ll be adding now [through “WPRC Forward”] is just adding to the buzz. — Ian Munroe, CCM, General Manager & COO

By the time the responses to the member survey, representing 67% of member households, were in hand a year later, WPRC had already taken great strides towards membership growth and the achievement of management and financial stability. While the survey showed, however, that overall member satisfaction was now on par with comparable clubs, as benchmarked against the McMahon Group survey database, the percentage of very satisfied members still lagged other clubs. 

Other survey results pointed specifically to facility-related issues that clearly held the keys to moving more members into the “very satisfied” realm. A striking 85% of survey respondents expressed support for the club to develop a Master Facilities Plan. And when members’ responses to questions about the importance of specific club activities and facilities, and their satisfaction with each of them, were plotted by McMahon on an Importance/Satisfaction matrix, only the club’s core offering, tennis, landed above McMahon’s Value Boundary™ Curve, reflecting high importance and high satisfaction. At the same time, WPRC’s clubhouse facilities and lakefront area landed below the curve and were plotted as Priority Improvements (with high importance but low satisfaction), while several other facilities and activities, including private parties and the pool/aquatics area, were shown to be Missed Opportunities (of moderate importance and with lower satisfaction).

Crafting the Plan

The survey results gave WPRC’s leadership clear directives for proceeding with steps to elevate its facilities and follow the progress made in operations and management/governance. To build on initial master-planning and stra

tegic-planning efforts that had been undertaken, including the completion of Mission and Vision Statements that would guide all decisions, a Facilities Master Planning Committee was established to further analyze the survey data and craft a preliminary plan that would reflect the needs of both current and future members. 

After the plan was reviewed and endorsed by WPRC’s Board of Governors, Munroe and his management team worked with McMahon to define operational metrics for the improvements specified in the plan, create initial renderings and layouts, and develop cost estimates. The club also secured preliminary commitments from its bank for a portion of needed funding support. 

The plan and its details were then prepared for presentation to the membership through two in-person informational sessions and other forms of digital and print communication. A digital booklet summarizing the initial plan was then provided to the membership that included a link to a second opinion survey that asked specifically for members to prioritize the various components of the proposed plan and indicate their preference for member-funding options that would augment bank financing and the club’s capital reserves. (In the initial member survey, respondents indicated a willingness to provide support for a plan costing up to $8 million; the first Master Facilities Plan estimated the cost of proposed improvements at $6.75 million.)

“We are not taking a vote until all members have had the opportunity to share their feedback on the project,” WPRC President Rob Carter wrote in the booklet’s introduction. “Your opinions, recommendations and feedback are crucial. This plan is, above all, the members’ plan, and it’s important that the vast majority of you feel confident that it represents the best path forward for our club.”    

Responding to Responses

Those words were backed up at the start of 2025 when a revised proposed Master Facilities Plan booklet was sent to members. Changes from the plan, outlined under the heading “Members Spoke, We Listened!” included:

• Reducing the overall project scope to postpone plans for constructing a covered dining deck at the pool and renovating the club’s Sugar Shack dining venue, with a pledge to engage a club-hired architect to study future outdoor-dining solutions while also exploring interim, semi-permanent options (high-end tenting, cabanas, new layouts, etc.).  
• For the three elements that would remain, these modifications were made: 

1. The design of the new Tuscany Center was revised to expand the locker rooms, including more space to support tennis and pickleball. Several modifications were also made because of members’ comments about the Center’s proximity to Via Tuscany, the road outside the club’s entrance, including elimination of parking, seating and socializing areas along the road out of respect for neighbors (who include many WPRC members), enhanced landscaping to further reduce the building’s visibility and add privacy, and reimagining the building’s design and aesthetics to fit better with the neighborhood’s curb appeal. 
2. The outdoor socialization area for the Lakeside Pavilion was modified from all grass to a combination of grass and high-grade turf, to better facilitate member functions, reduce ongoing maintenance costs, and create flexibility to use the turf area for other activities. 
3. The Nate Smith Players’ Lounge was designed to be a multi-functional “flex” space, with the air-conditioned tennis players’ lounge able to be converted for other club and member uses and for services ranging from childcare to league lunches and summer-camp space. 

The revised plan also presented a new proposed budget and breakdown of funding, including options for the members’ portion. “After reviewing the data from the opinion survey and understanding that the membership would like to see more fiscal responsibility,” it was noted, “the revised project has been reduced to $5 million.”

Clear Permission to Proceed

The revised plan’s booklet ended with a link for members to cast their ballot to approve or reject the plan. When the votes were tallied, over 70% approval was registered. While the club’s bylaws do not require member approval of capital expenditures—and while over 50% of members had actually said in the first plan’s opinion survey that they would like to see all of the originally proposed improvements done immediately—Munroe says that WPRC would not have proceeded without a strong-enough approval vote. 

One key to securing the “overwhelming” mandate, he adds, was how it was stressed, while presenting all of the plan’s iterations, that no mandatory upfront assessment would be required of members. “Everyone has the opportunity to choose the monthly option if they wish,” Munroe says. “We felt it was important to make sure there was a choice of payment options that democratically fit all stages of the membership, with special consideration for our senior members.” 

Munroe reports that “it’s looking like 15 to 20 percent will still choose either the one- or two-year payment options.” He believes, however, that the 70-plus percent approval for the revised Master Facilities Plan would “have definitely been lower” without the assurance that upfront assessments would not be required.

Full Activity   

To live up to the pledge that there will be minimal to no closure of amenities throughout the construction, WPRC’s racquets and maintenance operations will be relocated to the new Tuscany Center after it has been built, making room for the renovations of the Lakeside Pavilion and Nate Smith Center in phase two. Keeping everything running at full tilt has become even more important with the growth and changes the club has seen while its “Forward” plan was developed and put into motion.

“Our average member age has dropped over 10 years, into the low 50s, from what it was pre-COVID,” Munroe reports. “Performance is through the roof for the club as a whole in every area, and we really see it with what our families are doing—we’re seeing our biggest summer camps, cover counts and member usage numbers ever.”

“The family-centric atmosphere that we’ve created is really pulling people in, and what we’ll be adding now [through “WPRC Forward”] is just adding to the buzz,” Munroe adds. “We are truly a neighborhood club, with 90 percent of our members living within two miles. Every real-estate listing in the area now includes the [house’s] proximity to our club, and we constantly hear of people who are moving into the area specifically because of [WPRC].”  

Winter Park Racquet Club’s Forward Steps

Facility improvements that Winter Park Racquet Club will complete by the late fall of 2026:

New Tuscany Center

The existing Tuscany House, used primarily for staff offices and administrative/storage space, had a poor layout with wasted space and offered no true opportunity or benefit for member usage. It also had limited parking and had deteriorated both inside and out, with structural and roof issues, water damage and a failing exterior that presented a negative impression as members and guests entered the club property. Merely addressing existing problems to make needed repairs and cosmetic upgrades would carry a cost in excess of $1 million.

In addition to expanded and upgraded office and administrative space, a staff lounge, more organized maintenance and storage areas and a 33% increase in parking capacity, the new 6,300-sq. ft. Tuscany Center (see rendering and layout plan, pg. 4) will also provide these member amenities:

• Full-service Racquets Pro Shop, expanded to offer more racquets inventory and include a new high-end logo shop.
• Fitness Center with cardio, stretching and strength-training areas.
• Men’s and Women’s Locker Rooms, each with infrared saunas and massage and stretch tables.
• A refreshments area offering coffee, smoothies and grab-n-go items that can be enjoyed by members hitting the courts or the gym.

Lakeside Pavilion

The far end of the WPRC property abuts the eastern shore of Lake Maitland and includes a private boat ramp and two docks. While the club’s junior Olympic swimming pool and a popular playground have long been located on this part of the property and members have also enjoyed access to an extensive variety of aquatic activities on the lake, as well as private lakeside dining and sunset views from in-ground firepits, a prime piece of WPRC’s lake- front was occupied by an aging and unattractive facilities maintenance building.

Through the Master Facilities Plan, what was termed “the most underutilized lakefront space in Winter Park” has been reimagined to “maximize the property’s most premier view.” The maintenance facility will be relocated to a more suitable, out-of-the-way area to make room for a new Lakeside Pavilion, with an adjacent event lawn (see rendering above), that will be dedicated space for member functions, as well as club events, tournaments, birthday parties and summer camps. Repurposing the area will also minimize the need to close the club for events, as more parking is created on the campus.

Nate Smith Players’ Lounge

WPRC has always been known for its best-in-class tennis program, and the club has also earned national recognition for how it has built up its pickleball facilities and program to stay out in front of that sport’s exploding popularity.

The Nate Smith Tennis Center, named for the club’s beloved 30-year tennis professional who passed away in 2003, has long served as the hub of WPRC’s racquets operation. Member input gathered as part of the development of the Master Facilities Plan, however, identified new needs for the Center that will now be addressed with these improvements:

• A new Players’ Lounge will be added as an extension to the building, providing soft lounge seating in an air- conditioned socialization space that will also serve as an additional, flexible space and dedicated area for racquets camps.
• An ice-and-beverage station and new enclosed court-viewing area will also be created as part of the Center’s renovation.
• The Center will be utilized in the afternoons and evenings to offer after-school tutoring, and will also serve as a childcare area so parents can enjoy a date night at the club or attend an adults-only event.