Miami Beach’s newest park, built on the site of a long-shuttered par 3 golf course, offers many of the typical attractions — tennis courts, places to commune with nature, walk the dogs or play with the kids.
But it also serves a much bigger and more important purpose — protecting the surrounding neighborhoods, streets and homes from periodic flooding. The amoeba-shaped lake at the center of Bayshore Park isn’t just there for scenic views.
The 19.4-acre park, set to open in the fall after years of planning and construction, is designed to handle “a massive rain event,” said Amy Knowles, Miami Beach’s chief resilience officer.
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It also may be a model for how South Florida builds parks in the future, incorporating “blue-green infrastructure” designed to enhance the ecosystem and prepare for the extreme rains and rising seas that climate change promise to bring.
“It’s an incredible resilience project,” Knowles told the Herald on a first media look at the construction site. “The park has benefits for water, for sea level rise, for storm surge and it can be adapted and changed over time.”
The park is the latest in Miami-Dade county that is designed with sea level rise in mind, similar to Good Neighbor Stormwater Park in North Miami. It certainly won’t be the last. The goal is to create a tranquil, attractive recreational space that doubles as a stormwater storage area.
In the center of the park, a one-acre lake has been excavated that is currently filled with groundwater but can also hold “tremendous” amounts of stormwater. In the future, the plan is to connect the neighborhood’s drainage system to the park, providing extra capacity during heavy rains.
The lake circulates and will be treated to clean and clarify the water so it will also be a nice attraction for strolling. A 20-foot-high walkway leads to a small center island in the lake. Birds have also already made themselves at home by the water.
Connecting the drainage to the park will keep rainwater runoff from intense storms from flowing into Biscayne Bay and bringing with it a host of pollutants. Long-term projects may include upgrades to the neighborhood’s stormwater collection and conveyance systems, the city’s spokesperson said.
Michelle Cameron, who sits on Bayshore Homeowners Association Board, said she hope the drainage improvements come soon. After a big rainstorm a couple of months ago in March, the road next to the park was swamped.
The makeover, budgeted for $42 million including $35 million for construction, also includes an amphitheater, a butterfly garden, six tennis courts, a children’s playground, a dog park, a boardwalk, covered pavilions, outdoor workout equipment, and an amphitheater.
The tennis center, which will contain a bathroom, is powered by solar panels on its roof. Other green features include permeable pavement and rain gardens.
The park was designed around the mature trees, including one of the largest banyan trees in the southeastern United States, Colette Satchell, the senior project coordinator said. More native plants were added too. “Increasing the tree canopy makes it a more comfortable space,” Satchell said. “This is a place people can come and connect to nature.” The firm, Savino & Miller Design Studio, was also behind the design of South Pointe Park and Maurice A. Ferré Park. The park plan has been more than 10 years in the making and came with its hurdles, including removing dirt that contained high arsenic at the start of the process.
“It’s a long time coming, I’ve lived here for 30 years, and that property had nothing but neglect,” Cameron said.
Cameron said the park, located at 2795 Prairie Avenue near the high school and the convention center, is at the heart of the neighborhood. In the past, she would meet the neighbors out on the grass to “chit chat with the dogs for hours.”
“I am so looking forward to doing that again,” she said.
This climate report is funded by MSC Cruises USA and the Lynn and Louis Wolfson II Family Foundation in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners. The Miami Herald retains editorial control of all content.
This story was originally published by the Miami Herald and shared in partnership with the Florida Climate Reporting Network, a multi-newsroom initiative founded by the Miami Herald, the Sun-Sentinel, The Palm Beach Post, the Orlando Sentinel, WLRN Public Media and the Tampa Bay Times.
