The new wallpaper is in place and 12 new ceiling fans sit in boxes, waiting to be hung in the multipurpose room at Coral Lakes, as renovations to the 75,000-square-foot, 8-year-old clubhouse begin.

An interior designer’s rendering and fabric samples sit on an easel, so residents can see how their $250,000 is being spent, down to 236 pineapple-back chairs, new tabletops and an extended dance floor.

As its sister community Palm Isles did last year, Coral Lakes is among some of the older adult communities west of Boynton Beach having a face-lift. Next up are the library, lobby and theater lobby by the end of the year, with third and fourth phases planned for later, said Merle D’Addario, Coral Lakes’ manager, who’s in charge of the mammoth undertaking.

With thousands of people using the facilities daily, clubhouses, like hotels, get a real workout, so at some point they start looking shabby and dated, which is not good for a community’s self-image or property values. So having the work done is not a hard sell, but paying for it can be.

“After all these years, we needed a new overall look, and there were cracks and leaks in our glass atrium roof, so it was also a matter of [hurricane] code compliance,” said Dan Cohen, president of the Palm Isles Master Association. Their clubhouse opened in the summer of 1993.

But like any large group of people raised in a democracy, the Palm Islanders expected to have their say, and as a lawyer, Dan made sure that happened. The community’s three condo, one homeowners and one club association were in on the process, as was the master association.

Dan conducted a residents survey, which ended up nixing a handball court and a pitch and putt course. “We took the least expensive approach to bringing the clubhouse up to a modern look,” which still cost about $750,000, he said.

Then, it got down to how they were going to pay for it.

Dan and his committee consulted their lawyer and accountant and decided to borrow the money and pay it out, so they didn’t have to impose a special assessment. In Coral Lakes, residents were asked to ante up a one-time, $250 assessment for the multipurpose room because $100,000 came out of the budget.

Susan Wells, owner of the Wells Design Group in Boca Raton, the interior design firm that did Palm Isles and is doing Coral Lakes and Lakeridge Greens now, said communities could avoid getting clobbered with sticker shock if they would plan ahead.

“It’s just a fact that it will have to be done, so instead of waiting for the year before, they should just add a little onto their maintenance fee to set aside for renovations,” she suggests.

And, it’s never just a matter of replacing the draperies.

“We add a percentage onto our estimate for the unforeseen, like meeting codes for disability. Or, you can strip the wallpaper off and find mold and mildew,” she said.

After the job is done, she creates “the clubhouse bible,” giving the community a maintenance plan that includes how to keep their clubhouse up to code and the correct cleaning products to use so the new carpeting doesn’t look like Grand Central Station in a matter of months.

Dan said they’re happy with their new elegant look at Palm Isles, while preserving the gazebo as the clubhouse trademark. “We got nothing but accolades, and we know property values increased,” he said.

Back at Coral Lakes, where no resale stays on the market for more than three days, Merle said, the new clubhouse look, like any face-lift, is more about pride of ownership. “This is for our residents,” she said.

Marci Shatzman writes about the gated adult communities west of Boynton Beach, Lake Worth, Lantana and in Wellington. You can reach her .