West Palm Beach has a new after-school club with a recording studio, a dance studio and a gym, and a school year of membership costs $30. The Julie & Mike Connors Boys & Girls Club, a 31,000-square-foot building at Dreher Park, opened to members on Monday, Oct. 19. It is the 21st club run by Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County, and the organization puts its cost at $17 million.

The club sits at 1150 Southern Boulevard, on the north side of Dreher Park. It serves young people from age 6 through 18, and the organization expects it to reach about 800 children and teens a year once it is running at full stride.

What is inside the building

When the project broke ground in the spring of 2025, the organization laid out the plan for the space: a gymnasium, a performance stage, flexible rooms set up by age group, an academic center, a cultural arts center, computer labs, a dance studio, a cafeteria with a commercial kitchen, a sound and recording studio, a makers space and an outdoor playground.

The club's own page now lists the rooms that members use day to day, including a learning center, a computer lab, an arts and crafts center, a game room, a teen center, a dining area, a dance studio, a gymnasium, a science lab and a music room.

Programs cover the six areas the organization builds every club around: character and leadership, education and career development, health and life skills, the arts, sports and fitness, and technology. In practice that means daily homework help, tutoring with certified teachers, STEM and robotics, computer classes, financial literacy, dance and cultural arts, a summer reading program, and indoor and outdoor recreation every day.

A teen center built around what comes after graduation

The part of the building that sets this club apart from the other 20 is its Workforce Readiness Teen Center, a space set aside for older members to plan what they will do once high school ends. The organization describes it as built for every route a teen might take, whether that is college, a skilled trade, the military or going straight into a job.

Teens in the center work on finding out what they are interested in, learning the professional habits employers look for, and getting hands-on experience. The stated aim is for each member to leave high school with a plan in hand.

Meals are part of the day

The organization has said that food is part of the program, since many of the families it serves stretch a tight budget. On school days members get a snack and a hot dinner after school. On full days, such as school breaks, they get breakfast, lunch and a snack.

Hours

During the school year the club is open Monday through Friday from 2 to 8 p.m., which covers the stretch between the final bell and the end of a typical workday. In the summer, and on winter break, spring break and teacher planning days, it opens at 7:30 a.m. and runs until 6 p.m.

What it costs, and how to join

Membership for the school year is $30 a year. Summer, spring break and winter break programs carry their own fees, which the organization describes as affordable, and there is a small charge for transportation. Scholarships are available, and the organization states that no child is turned away because a family cannot pay a fee.

Families can apply through the club's page on the Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County website, or call the club directly at 561-335-3630. The club director is Daymalee Granado.

How the club came together

The building is named for Julie and Mike Connors, whose gift led the fundraising. The groundbreaking at Dreher Park took place in the spring of 2025, with West Palm Beach Mayor Keith James and Palm Beach County Commissioners Joel Flores, Bobby Powell Jr. and Gregg Weiss in attendance, along with neighbors, staff and dozens of children. Construction took about a year and a half from that ceremony to the day the first members walked in.

Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County runs clubs and school-based sites across the county, from Riviera Beach to Boca Raton, and the Dreher Park building is its newest.

What: Julie & Mike Connors Boys & Girls Club and Workforce Readiness Teen Center, ages 6 to 18
When: Open now. School year, Monday to Friday, 2 to 8 p.m.; summer, breaks and teacher planning days, 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Where: 1150 Southern Boulevard (Dreher Park North), West Palm Beach
Cost: $30 a year for the school year; separate fees for summer and break programs; scholarships available
Contact: 561-335-3630, or apply at bgcpbc.org

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