North Beach resident Megan Fitzpatrick leads a very active life between boating, running on the beach and playing basketball but sometimes she just wants to enjoy the sunset and have a picnic in a peaceful environment. Soon, the twenty-nine-year old will have a new option when she wants to have a relaxing-lazy afternoon outside by her neighborhood beach — Altos Del Mar Park.

Mostly an underutilized grassy field, funding for the master plan of the space was requested by the prior Parks and Recreation administration and approved by a prior City Commission. Currently, a resurgence of support to vamp up Altos Del Mar has been drummed up by Mayor Philip Levine and the City Commission, which have made it a priority to develop North Beach. With some interim improvements made in 2007 and a failed project to develop the space as an artistic Sculptural Park, Altos Del Mar will finally receive an overhaul.

The City of Miami Beach Parks and Recreation Director John Rebar and staff, alongside with top engineering design firm AECOM have been working together to design the park in a way that addresses the needs of the neighborhood. Having held three community workshops this year to gather input from the neighborhood, AECOM is creating a Master Plan for the park that will be presented to the City Commission on July 23 in hopes of obtaining authorization to move forward with construction plans.

“I am very pleased with the public process and the direction they are suggesting,” said Rebar. “I believe they came to a fair and balanced consensus where everyone is getting something from their wish list.”

Classified as a “passive” park with some “active” elements, the proposed plan will include plenty of shading, native flora, multi-use open lawns, walking paths, beach observation elements that will be mixed with “active” elements like a sand volleyball court and bocce courts. According to Rebar, the budget is $2.9 million, which includes construction and plans. The goal is for the park to be a quiet environment for most of the year and for two or three days become the focal point of a celebration like for the 4^th of July.

“It’s a remnant of the historic Miami Beach urban fabric,” said the project manager from AECOM Gregory Ault. “This is a wonderful and unique opportunity that we take very seriously”. Bringing over 30 years of experience in project management, Ault is currently developing seven parks in Coral Gables, a master plan for a park in Pinecrest and even worked on the Atlanta Olympics.

Though he has worked on massive projects, he was amazed by the level of support and input from the North Beach community regarding this space.

“This is really a neighborhood park and it belongs to the neighbors,” said Ault. “People are taking a lot of pride and ownership in the process. The best projects are when you get the neighbors, the constituents and the stakeholders to come and participate and be a part of the process. You want them to take ownership and help you author the plans. These are always the best projects because you have a very engaged community.”

Ault sees the importance of the development of the park, which has been classified the anchor of the community by many.

“This is the last remnant ocean front park and open space that we have available,” said Ault. “While South Beach is fabulous, this is a special piece of real estate that needs to have extra special care.”

Ault is hopeful we will have a new park soon. “This new commission is getting things done at an unprecedented rate,” he said. “We are eager to move forward on the project after the commission approves the master plan.”

Ault says that the project will be completed in two to three phases over time. The first phase will focus on the main “soft/green” park elements that include: native planting, walkways, benches, securing pedestrian access to the beach proper, a central lawn, a beach overlook on the highpoint of the site and passive program elements.

Also, of importance are safety and crime prevention initiatives. Safety and security for residents and visitors has been an integral part of the process and all current CPTED (Crime Prevention through Environmental Design) have been incorporated in to the final design and documents.

“It’s a grassy field now and its going to be elevated and become a jewel of the community as it should be,” he said.

Fitzpatrick and members of this active community seeking a passive park sure hope so.

Written by: Danny Diaz