North Port is putting another $4.1 million into the long-running effort to restore the historic buildings at Warm Mineral Springs Park, moving the project closer to construction at one of the city’s best-known public assets.

The North Port City Commission voted unanimously on July 7 to approve Ordinance No. 2026-19 on second and final reading, authorizing a $4,082,133 budget amendment for the Warm Mineral Springs Park Building Rehabilitation Project.

The new funding closes the gap between the money already available and the project’s updated price. The city had $12.6 million in available project funding, while the updated project total is an estimated $16.7 million, including the revised guaranteed maximum price, permitting fees and owner-provided furniture, fixtures and equipment. The amendment now fully funds the current project scope.

The project includes the historic renovation of the Admission Building, a hybrid renovation of the Spa Building, stabilization and mothballing of the Cyclorama, wet floodproofing measures, utility upgrades and parking improvements.

The budget amendment pulls from several city funds. According to the ordinance, the funding includes $1.39 million from the Warm Mineral Springs Fund, $245,289 from the Environmental Protection Fund, $374,944 from the Utility Revenue Fund and $2.07 million tied to the Parks & Rec Impact Fee Fund, including $500,000 reallocated from the Langlais Park Development Project. 

Warm Mineral Springs isn't just a park amenity. It's also a revenue-producing asset. A July 2025 city fee presentation listed the park’s annual revenue at $1.53 million in fiscal year 2024, including investment income, compared with $1.27 million in annual expenses. 

During public comment, a speaker urged commissioners to view Warm Mineral Springs as both a historic asset and an economic driver, calling the funding a step toward preserving the site and completing the broader project.

The site has long occupied a place somewhere between park, spa, archaeological site and local legend. The city describes it as the only natural warm spring in Florida, with water that stays at an average 85 degrees year-round. The spring is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places and draws more than 150,000 visitors annually. Its waters are also known for their high mineral content, one of the reasons generations of visitors have treated the spring as a restorative destination.

It's also considered one of the country’s significant underwater archaeological sites, thanks to its low-oxygen water and deep limestone sinkhole, which have preserved Ice Age artifacts, extinct animal remains and evidence of some of the oldest human burials in North America. Because of that sensitivity, the city says diving is not allowed because of the spring’s archaeological sensitivity.

The park’s historic building complex has also been part of the debate over the future of Warm Mineral Springs. The complex, which includes visitor facilities such as the gift shop, permanent showers, restrooms, changing facilities and lockers, has been closed to public access because of damage from hurricanes Elsa and Ian. In the meantime, the city has used a temporary admissions building and portable restroom trailer for visitors.

A master plan for Warm Mineral Springs Park was adopted in April 2019 after stakeholder meetings, public surveys and community engagement. The latest funding vote advances one piece of that larger plan: getting the historic buildings stabilized, renovated and prepared for longer-term use.

City officials have not yet released a construction timeline and updates will be shared as they become available.

Over the past two years, North Port’s growth story has gained steam. Sarasota Memorial broke ground last year on its $507 million North Port hospital campus near I-75 and Sumter Boulevard, targeted for late 2028. The city has also started the widening of a 2.8-mile stretch of Price Boulevard between Sumter and Toledo Blade boulevards, while touting new fire stations, an emergency operations center and Wellen Park High School.

Wellen Park, mostly located in North Port, remains the city’s biggest growth engine, investing more than $741 million in infrastructure and land development, and topping national best selling master planned communities. Commercial development is following, including Benderson Development’s planned 52-acre mixed-use project at Tamiami Trail and West Villages Parkway and Detwiler’s planned North Port market near I-75 and Sumter Boulevard. Clearing is underway for Star Farms Village at North Port, a 2,086-acre development off North Toledo Blade Boulevard near Tropicaire Boulevard that's planned for roughly 3,000 homes, commercial development, a golf course, wetlands and a 20-acre public park.