Phillips Park in Coral Gables’ North Ponce District has reopened with its playground and bathrooms completed, although the park is not yet fully operational and remains closed at night.
Community Recreation Director Fred Couceyro updated the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board on the $6 million renovation project at its Oct. 8 meeting. Earlier that week, the park hosted National Night Out celebrations featuring food, games, bounce houses and other activities.
Despite the reopening, the park’s formal grand opening remains months away, with full operations projected for March 2027.
“It’s a soft opening, a provisional opening,” Couceyro said, explaining that significant renovation work remains even as the park is already being used by the public and a neighboring school.
Lighting problems are among the outstanding issues preventing nighttime use.
“It’s really dark. We are not comfortable with the visibility you need when you have a full active park,” Couceyro said.
The lighting repairs are covered under warranty, meaning the city will incur no additional cost. Parks staff said the lighting contractor had assured the city it would address the problems in the coming weeks, with most of the repair and cleaning work expected to take one business day.
Rebuilding a pavilion, however, will take longer. The original plan called for refurbishing the structure, but an inspection revealed damage that made rebuilding necessary.
“If you go there, you’ll see the pavilion is gone. We were going to refurbish it, but we have to rebuild it. There’s only a pile of mulch where it once stood,” Couceyro said.
Staff initially expected to repair the pavilion’s roof, but the inspection uncovered structural damage. Rather than undertake the repairs, the city decided to demolish the structure, citing cost and time considerations.
The playgrounds are among the improvements already available to visitors, and Couceyro said they have received positive feedback.
“People seem to be pretty happy with the playground,” he said, pointing to the new design features incorporated for children and families.
Couceyro also addressed the slides, noting that screws holding panels together were on the exterior of the slide, lessening the chance of getting caught on clothing. The issue drew attention following the death of a 13-year-old boy at Shenandoah Park in early October, after his shirt caught on a screw inside a covered slide and tightened around his neck.
Although Phillips Park is open for limited use, Couceyro said he was not ready to hold a formal grand opening while work remains unfinished.
“We still need to do a formal opening, but I’m not comfortable doing that yet when the park is not completely done,” he said.
Veterans Day event, park projects and pool renovation discussed
The Parks and Recreation Advisory Board also received updates on upcoming events and capital improvement projects, including a Master Plan for the Youth Center and plans for the city’s inaugural Veterans Day celebration on Nov. 11.
The board revisited plans for improvements to the Youth Center, which had been presented at its previous meeting. Couceyro clarified that the proposal was a conceptual design rather than a master plan, explaining that the work focused on the facility’s functionality, layout and intended uses.
Asked about structural concerns raised before the city officials, Couceyro said he was not aware of problems with the building’s foundation, although some roof issues had been identified. He said the facility, designed in the late 1980s and built over the following years, needs updating to reflect changes in recreation programming and how children use the center.
Recreation has evolved since the Youth Center was designed, Couceyro noted, with greater emphasis on structured, fee-based activities rather than the traditional model of children dropping in for informal play.
The board ultimately approved a motion to accept the conceptual design and share it with the public.
Coral Gables will honor veterans with a first-ever event including a tribute and live entertainment, with booths along Giralda Avenue. Couceyro also said the city was preparing for a busy events calendar in November and early December, with some events scheduled earlier to account for police resources expected to be stretched during the G20 summit in mid-December.
Also at the board meeting:
- At Granada Golf Course, the city is preparing to begin construction of rain shelters. The plan is to tackle the larger shelters first and then proceed with the smaller structures in phases, minimizing disruption and avoiding a golf course closure.
- The city is also preparing renovations at Rotary International Park, near Ponce de Leon Boulevard and Southwest Eighth Street, and William Alexander Cooper Park, near U.S. 1 and Washington Drive. Initial meetings have been held on the projects, with designs being developed with sensitivity to nearby homeowners. A street-related issue had delayed progress at Cooper Park.
- Renovations to the pool deck at the Coral Gables Country Club are also planned. The long-awaited project is expected to keep the pool out of service until summer, although the city hopes to minimize the disruption.
Author: Coral Gables Gazette News Staff
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