The $35 million reconstruction of West Palm Beach’s waterfront Currie Park could finally begin in April, city leaders said last week.
Planners are using the two years of construction before the 2027 opening to create programs that make the park a busy outdoor space that connects Northwood to downtown.
They say the programming is as critical as the redesign to the success of the park. Currie Park has long been underused, falling into a resting place for unhoused people.
The city fenced it off in February 2024 in anticipation that construction would begin. But it didn’t.
In January, city commissioners approved a construction contract with West Construction of Lantana.
At the first of four community meetings, New York-based consultant Dan Biederman pointed to midtown Manhattan’s busy Bryant Park as a vision of what’s possible for the 14-acre park on North Flagler Drive. Biederman was instrumental in Bryant Park’s turnaround.
"There is no habit of going to Currie Park,” he told about 40 people who gathered Thursday at the Pleasant City Community Center. “It needs to be crowded with law-abiding users.”
Biederman said too many parks are focused on special events, such as concerts. The problem is they are expensive and rare. On most days in such a park, there is nothing happening, he said.
“In 2027, we need five to 10 to 15 things going on all day long.”
The plan for Currie Park includes an art plaza, tidal amphitheater, playground, events lawn, fitness areas, trails, native gardens and an expanded pier system. The memorial for the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and the public boat ramp will remain at the park named for former West Palm Beach Mayor George Currie. He deeded the property to the city in 1920.
Biederman pitched the future Currie Park as a community destination, an economic engine and a place for small business owners to find clients. This comes as North Flagler Drive is experiencing a development explosion, bringing thousands of new residents to waterfront high-rises.
Bryant Park has hosted a knitting club run by a yarn shop, language classes and bird walks. The planned restaurant at the north end of Currie Park will need workers.
Sophia Kato, with Biederman Redevelopment Ventures, surveyed the audience on their preferences for the renewed park. The options are almost limitless, she said.
Potential Currie Park programs include: fitness classes, music classes and performances, youth and adult sports, craft workshops, dance classes, pet activities, holiday events, yoga, markets, table games like chess and dominoes, cultural performances, drum circles, singles events, kayaking, toddler programs, movie nights, lawn games, historical and environmental education, comedy shows, fishing programs, music lessons, poetry readings and senior programming.
West Palm Community Redevelopment Agency Director Christopher Roog said the park’s success will depend on three things: safety and security, amenities and programming.
All built on a park that generates revenue to support itself.
The $35 million cost is being paid for by the city, the CRA and state grants.
Roog said the city is waiting on a final environmental review by the state before construction can begin.
Three more community meetings are planned. They are:
- 6 p.m. Thursday, March 31, at Lamarina restaurant at Safe Harbor Rybovich.
- 6 p.m. Thursday, April 17, at Manatee Lagoon.
- 6 p.m. Thursday, May 29, at City Hall.
This story was originally published by Stet News Palm Beach, a WLRN News partner.
