Mayor Karen Bass and developer Rick Caruso are set to break ground Tuesday on the $40 million rebuild of the Palisades Recreation Center. The Pacific Palisades facility is among the first major public buildings to begin reconstruction since the January 2025 fire.

The ceremony at 851 Alma Real was scheduled for 1 p.m. Tuesday, according to Circling the News. Councilwoman Traci Park, Jimmy Kim of the city's Department of Recreation and Parks and representatives from Palisades community groups were also listed as participants. JJ Redick, a Palisades resident who coached youth basketball at the center, was expected to attend.

The rebuild is a public-private partnership between the city and two nonprofits: Steadfast LA, founded by Caruso, and LA Strong Sports, cofounded by Redick. Private donations will fund the project, which the Palisadian-Post has reported at approximately $40 million. The city will operate the finished facility.

The Los Angeles Times reported an earlier estimate of roughly $30 million in October 2025.

Work crews demolished the center's original gymnasium on May 26, ending a 76-year run for the structure built in 1950. A design partner was engaged within 93 days of the Jan. 7, 2025, fire, according to a letter from the Friends of the Palisades Library.

At an Oct. 7, 2025, community meeting, Caruso told hundreds of residents that construction would begin in January and take about a year. That would put the reopening around January 2027. No updated schedule has been confirmed.

At that same gathering, resident Jeremy Padawer, whose home burned in the fire, spoke about what the community needs. "We need this. We need churches, we need synagogues, we need grocery stores. We need hope," Padawer said.

The groundbreaking comes as broader recovery moves slowly. The fire killed 12 people and destroyed more than 4,000 homes. As of August, fewer than a third of homeowners whose properties were destroyed had received rebuilding permits, and only 1% of houses had been completed, according to Insurance Journal.

At the Aug. 15 reopening of Palisades Village, Park described the toll. Residents "lost their homes, their livelihoods, and in some cases, people they loved," she said. They are now "fighting insurance companies, watching their savings disappear."

At a spring 2025 appearance with Caruso, Bass framed the public-private model as essential to speed. "The role of government is to get out of the way," she told reporters.