Tampa FL
11-13-2026 9:52am

Mosque projects across Florida: where each one stands

From a seven-acre lot in Wimauma to a rebuilt prayer hall on Keystone Road, Muslim congregations around the state are in various stages of building or expanding. Here is the status of each project Tidings Media could confirm.


By Tidings Media | November 14, 2026

At least a dozen Florida mosque projects are now somewhere between a land purchase and a finished building. Several have drawn heavy turnout at public meetings this fall, and two have drawn comment from state officials. Tidings Media reviewed county records, local news coverage and the congregations' own announcements to find out where each project stands. The list below covers projects with a public record of activity in the last few years. Smaller conversions that show up only in permit files may not appear here.

Tampa Bay

Wimauma (Hillsborough County). MIRAJ Masjid Inc. bought a seven-acre property at 8602 State Road 674 in December 2025 and says the project is in the zoning and permitting stage with Hillsborough County. The group plans a 3,000-square-foot masjid on the site. It says it will serve the Wimauma, Riverview, Ruskin and Sun City communities. No prayers are held at the property yet, and the group directs worshippers to ISRA Masjid in Gibsonton in the meantime.1 The records Tidings Media reviewed don't show whether the project needs a rezoning hearing or can move forward through site plan review and building permits alone.

The Wimauma project comes as Hillsborough commissioners take up a related question. This week commissioners voted 5-2 to ask the county's Environmental Protection Commission to consider changing a rule that exempts the sounds of religious worship from some noise limits. Commissioner Donna Cameron Cepeda brought the request, and Commissioners Myers and Miller voted no. The vote does not change any current rule, and the environmental commission's next meeting is Dec. 17.2

Keystone Road, near Tarpon Springs (Pinellas County). On Oct. 13 the Pinellas County Commission voted 4-3 to approve a land-use amendment for the 2.69-acre site of Masjid Al Rahman at 2577 Keystone Road.3 The change moves the property from Residential Rural to Public/Semi-Public. It lets the congregation replace its current building, a converted home, with one about 1,000 square feet larger. The plan also adds parking and stormwater improvements and removes the Keystone Road driveway, with access moved to East Lake Street.4 County planning documents described the project as a "community assembly facility." Commissioner Vince Nowicki, who voted no, questioned why staff never used the word mosque. Planners answered that the county code does not define a mosque or a church.4

The mosque has met in the home for decades, and its current owners have run it since 2012. At the commission's Oct. 27 meeting, dozens of residents asked commissioners to reverse the vote, and several said they had not received proper notice.5 County Administrator Barry Burton said the application met all county code and state law requirements. The county attorney told commissioners the decision is final but can be challenged in court.6 The project's next step is site plan review, after which the congregation can apply for building permits.5

Thonotosassa and Brandon (Hillsborough County). The Islamic Society of New Tampa is raising money for a $1.6 million first phase of site work at Masjid Daarussalam, 15830 Morris Bridge Road. That phase covers drainage, paved parking, a sidewalk, a decorative wall, a basketball court and landscaping.7 In Brandon, the Islamic Center of Brandon worships in a musalla at 613 E. Morgan St. It says it has bought 1.33 acres and is raising money to build a new masjid. Tidings Media could not confirm where that parcel is or when construction might begin.8

Palm Beach County

The most contested project in South Florida sits at the southeast corner of Lyons Road and 152nd Place South, west of Delray Beach, inside the county's Agricultural Reserve. County documents name the Islamic Center School of West Delray Beach as the applicant. The 15-acre plan sets aside five acres for a mosque and 10 for a school and daycare.9 The mosque was approved administratively, and the school and daycare were approved by a vote of the county commission.9 Commissioner Maria Sachs has said she does not support the project but that there is no legal way to stop it. She plans to meet with the applicant about moving to another site, and Attorney General James Uthmeier has said he will run a background check on the people behind the project. As of mid-October, no permits had been pulled and construction had not begun.10

Lake County

The Islamic Center of Clermont asked Lake County to rezone 3.69 acres at 15106 Johns Lake Road from agriculture to a Community Facility District so it could expand next to its existing campus.11 The county's Planning and Zoning Board recommended approval on Aug. 5 with limits on food pantry hours and outdoor amplified sound.12 An online petition opposing the rezoning cited traffic, drainage and neighborhood character.13 The center withdrew its application before the Sept. 1 County Commission vote. Its president, Asif Ally, said the congregation of about 80 families had been using a permitted tent for more than three years because its buildings were too small. The plan had called for a one-story, 4,800-square-foot activity center and a renovated worship building.14 The center says it intends to refile.

Under construction

Two large projects are already being built. In Cooper City, Nur-Ul-Islam of South Florida is building a Grand Mosque at 10600 SW 59th St. The city approved it in January 2023, with a requirement that the dome and minarets stay under 50 feet.15 The congregation says it needs $800,000 to finish by the end of 2026.16 In southwest Orange County, the Islamic Center of Orlando at 11543 Ruby Lake Road finished a new masjid in 2024 after seven years of construction. It says the building holds 3,000 people and is the largest masjid in Central Florida.17 Work on the next phase, a courtyard with twin minarets at the main entrance, is now underway.18

Smaller and earlier-stage projects

In Gainesville, the ADAMS Center had raised $2.5 million of a $3.5 million first-phase goal as of Jan. 1. The plan is a building of about 10,000 square feet with a 500-person prayer hall, and groundbreaking was targeted for February. Tidings Media could not confirm whether it took place.19 The Islamic Center of Ocala has announced plans for a new masjid seating 300 or more people, but its most recent public update, from October 2023, reported only a completed topographic and tree survey.20 A group in Fort Walton Beach began raising money in July 2025 to renovate a building it had found for a masjid.21 In Coral Springs, the Coral Springs Foundation bought a 6,429-square-foot building at 12524 W. Atlantic Blvd. in 2022 and has been raising money for a masjid and community center there.22

What comes next

Over the next several months, most of these projects will go through decisions that are part of the public record. These include site plan review on Keystone Road, county permitting in Wimauma, any refiled application in Clermont and the Environmental Protection Commission's Dec. 17 meeting in Hillsborough. Residents can follow each case on its county's public hearing calendar. Tidings Media will update this list as projects move forward.

Sources

  1. MIRAJ Masjid Inc., "Coming Soon," mirajmasjid.org, accessed Nov. 13, 2026. ↩

  2. "Hillsborough County commissioners advance review of noise rules affecting mosques," 10 Tampa Bay via Yahoo News, Nov. 11, 2026. ↩

  3. "Woman in burkha plays Islamic call to prayer at Florida meeting, escorted out," ThePrint, Oct. 2026. ↩

  4. "Commission narrowly OKs mosque expansion after debate over its label," Tampa Bay Beacons, Oct. 26, 2026. ↩ ↩2

  5. "North Pinellas residents speak out against planned mosque expansion," Tampa Bay Beacons, Oct. 31, 2026. ↩ ↩2

  6. "Pinellas County mosque expansion faces community opposition after approval from commissioners," WSVN 7News, Oct. 30, 2026. ↩

  7. Islamic Society of New Tampa, weekly newsletter, MasjidPlus, accessed Nov. 13, 2026. ↩

  8. "Islamic Center of Brandon," Zabihah listing, accessed Nov. 13, 2026. ↩

  9. "Palm Beach County answers questions about controversial Islamic center approved in Ag Reserve," WPTV, Oct. 2026. ↩ ↩2

  10. "Palm Beach County Commissioner Maria Sachs addresses Islamic center concerns," WPBF, Oct. 16, 2026. ↩

  11. Lake County Planning and Zoning staff report, PZ2025-352, Islamic Center of Clermont, Inc., Aug. 5, 2026. ↩

  12. "Planning board approves Islamic Center rezoning with limits on food pantry hours and outdoor amplification," Citizen Portal, Aug. 2026. ↩

  13. "Proposed Islamic Center of Clermont expansion sparks concerns over traffic, infrastructure," WFTV, Aug. 19, 2026. ↩

  14. "Islamic Center of Clermont pauses expansion plans after neighbor opposition," WESH 2, Sept. 2, 2026. ↩

  15. "Cooper City commissioners approve Grand Mosque, but set limit on height of minarets," WPLG Local 10, Jan. 25, 2023. ↩

  16. Nur-Ul-Islam of South Florida, nurulislam.org, accessed Nov. 13, 2026. ↩

  17. Islamic Center of Orlando, "About," icorlando.org, accessed Nov. 13, 2026. ↩

  18. Islamic Center of Orlando, "Courtyard Construction Begins" and "Courtyard Update #1," icorlando.org. ↩

  19. ADAMS Center, "Support Gainesville," adamscenter.org, accessed Nov. 13, 2026. ↩

  20. Islamic Center of Ocala, "Phase 1 Expansion," LaunchGood campaign, update of Oct. 2023. ↩

  21. "Build a House of Allah in Fort Walton Beach," GoFundMe, July 30, 2025. ↩

  22. "Coral Springs Foundation raising funds for Masjid and Community Center," Coral Springs Talk. ↩

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