After a delay of nearly one year, the much-anticipated renovation of Phipps Ocean Park is scheduled to start on Thursday, May 1.
The Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach raised $31 million to pay nearly all the renovation cost and is spearheading the project in cooperation with the town, which owns the park.
Phipps Ocean Park will be closed for 15 to 18 months, with an expected reopening around October 2026, according to the foundation. Public parking and beach access won’t be available during construction. The park’s tennis center will be closed May 1, but will reopen November 1 of this year.
For decades, Phipps Ocean Park has been a prime but underperforming asset of Palm Beach, which inherited the 18-acre, ocean-to-lake park from the Phipps family in 1948. There has been no significant redesign or upgrade of the park since, foundation officials have said.
This project will restore the park’s natural beauty while adding amenities for play, learning and community gathering, Preservation Foundation Chairwoman Betsy Shiverick said in a statement.
“This project celebrates Palm Beach’s natural heritage and creates exciting opportunities for outdoor learning and leisure,” Shiverick said.
The plan calls for transforming the sunbaked park into a shady oasis of native trees, shrubs, and wildflowers. The new ecosystem will be threaded with two miles of ADA-accessible walking paths leading to educational and recreational features that will include an outdoor classroom, schoolyard garden, dune playground, a horizon plateau overlooking the ocean vista, and more.
A new coastal restoration center will contain a nursery and propagation area for native plants to support healthy beach dune ecosystems in the park and throughout the island.
The Little Red Schoolhouse, an 1886 school where the foundation runs its living history program, will be moved to a more visible spot near the base of the 22-foot beach dune. The one-room building will anchor a “great lawn” and wildflower garden to the west.
New beach pavilions, a lifeguard tower, bathroom facilities and two pickleball courts will be added to the park.
“With the start of construction at Phipps Ocean Park, the preservation foundation’s mission will come to life in one vibrant, accessible space,” Katie Jacob, vice president of the preservation foundation, told the Palm Beach Civic Association.
“The revitalized park will unite the architectural heritage of the Little Red Schoolhouse, the botanical beauty inspired by Pan’s Garden, and the cultural legacy of the Phipps family — offering a place where the community can experience what makes our town extraordinary,” Jacob said.
The revitalization plan has been in the works for five years. The foundation hired Miami-based landscape architect Raymond Jungles to craft a vision for a restored coastal ecosystem that could serve the foundation’s education and advocacy missions.
The town’s Landmarks Preservation Commission approved the plan in 2021. Town Council approval followed in 2023 and 2024, when the project scope was reduced to curtail costs.
Groundbreaking was held in April 2024, with construction expected to start in June of that year. But bidding came in higher than desired, and the foundation and its partners agreed to rebid the project in hopes of obtaining a more competitive response from a greater pool of contractors.
Project drawings were far more complete the second time around, which facilitated more direct pricing from the contractors, Jacob said.
In February, the council approved a revised contract with Burkhardt Construction, with a guaranteed maximum price of $31 million, a savings of $2 million over last year.
The contract includes $29.7 million for the park redevelopment, $674,000 for lifeguard station renovations, $392,000 for tennis court renovations, and $67,000 for electrical panel replacements.
The town will contribute $2 million toward the park renovation. The town’s recreation department will pay for the tennis court renovations. The electrical panel replacement and lifeguard station upgrade will be covered through the town’s capital improvement fund.
The preservation foundation is also responsible for an endowment to provide for continued maintenance of the park and support for the Little Red Schoolhouse and the Coastal Restoration Center, which will be leased by the foundation. To date, the foundation has raised about $3.5 million toward a $10 million goal for the endowment, Jacob said.
“We’re dedicated to keeping the park beautiful not just when it opens but for future generations,” she said.
Mayor Danielle Moore said at the April 8 council meeting that the park re-do will be “transformational.”
“Special thanks to the Preservation Foundation for their donation and vision for this park,” Moore said. “It’s going to be an amazing addition.”
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