The City of Miami broke ground today on a park renovation project in the city’s upper east side more than a decade in the making.
But as city leaders tried to talk about the benefits of the Morningside Park redevelopment, they struggled to speak over the loud jeers from protesters against some of the project’s more contentious pieces.
Phase I is now underway at the waterfront park in Miami’s gated Morningside neighborhood. The first phase of the project will consist of changes to the east side of the park's shoreline adjacent to Biscayne Bay including a new seawall, solar powered lighting and new benches and trash bins. Future phases will renovate the west end of the park and address stormwater drainage issues.
READ MORE: City of Miami shutters kayaking company at Morningside Park
Construction costs for the first two phases of the project are calculated at just below $17 million, and the work will be handled by Munilla Construction Management (MCM). With design and project management costs included, the total bill for renovation Phases I and III adds up to about $19.3 million.
The project will be funded by a $4.4 million grant from the Florida Inland Navigation District, a grant from The Nature Conservancy for coastal resilience work, city impact fees and Miami Forever Bond dollars. MCM is the contracting firm in charge of the renovation.
Residents have been asking for park restoration for more than ten years to address maintenance and flooding.
But some have been rankled by components of the project. Chief among them is the biggest addition: a 15-foot-wide raised walking path known as a “baywalk.” It was the focus of demonstrators' anger at the groundbreaking on Wednesday.
“We need less man-made materials and more green space,” said Maji Ramos, a Morningside resident, at the protest outside Morningside Park. “It’s 15 feet wide. We’re a single family home residential neighborhood, we are not an urban park.”
Protesters, some from Morningside and some from other areas of the city, held signs with messages like “15 feet kills the median and trees” and wore shirts that said “STOP PARDO’S CONCRETE MONSTER PATH.”
Damian Pardo, the Miami city commissioner for the city’s District 2, lives in Morningside. Though project plans were approved in 2023 before Pardo was elected last November, he’s spearheaded the redevelopment since taking office.
While speaking to guests at the groundbreaking ceremony about the project and the Morningside community, Pardo talked over a loud chant coming from one of the protesters: “You don’t know the park!”
“The baywalk is 15 feet by city code,” Pardo told WLRN in an interview. “I think it’s difficult for folks sometimes to reimagine things.”
Pardo asserts that the baywalk width cannot be changed. According to the city’s Miami 21 zoning code, waterfront properties must have a baywalk no less than 15 feet in width.
Though demonstrators said they were generally in favor of the renovations, the proposed baywalk is too wide for their liking. They believe the city commission should have changed the zoning code to allow for a narrower walkway to preserve plant life and green space.
They also believe it will lead to more drainage issues in a park that already suffers major flooding. The city says the path will be made out of a semi-permeable material that will allow for rainwater to flow through, and it will allow for more space for people with movement disabilities.
“I understand the concerns of the residents but I think they’re going to love the product they have at the end of the day because everybody will be able to enjoy the baywalk safely and securely for all ability levels,” City of Miami Parks Director Chris Evans told WLRN.
Phase I of the Morningside Park project is expected to last until the summer of 2026.
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