Coconut Creek Greenlights $2.5M Oak Trails Park Expansion

by David Volz May 24, 2024

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Coconut Creek Moves Ahead on Oak Trails Park Project

Rendering of the future Oak Trails Park.

Coconut Creek residents can anticipate improvements to Oak Trails Park, which will increase its size and provide space for exercise and community gatherings.

During the May 23 meeting, the Commission received a presentation from Miller and Legg regarding the proposed development of the park, located at 4230 NW 74 Street.

They then voted to proceed with the project.

Oak Trails is a 5-acre park with a parking lot and a 0.25-mile rubber pathway featuring exercise equipment. The city acquired two adjacent 5-acre parcels to the east and west of the park for future expansion.

The eastern section includes a small house designated for use as a nature center, while the western section used to be a farm. The city has held community outreach meetings, during which residents expressed a desire for a passive park with minimal development.

The plan is to renovate two adjacent five-acre parcels into natural passive parks and renovate the current park, which will use an existing building for classroom and restroom facilities.

The budget for phase one of the project is $2.5 million, of which $1.1 million will come from a grant from Florida Communities Trust.

The plans call for two multipurpose fields for passive use, a picnic area, exercise area equipment, a half-mile trail, a water fountain, classroom space of about 1,000 square feet, public bathrooms, and LEED certification for the house renovation.

There will be one acre of native vegetation, and funding will focus on building the minimum improvement required to meet the grant’s requirements. According to the presentation, items outside this scope will be considered if they fit within the proposed budget.

The project is at 30 percent design, and the following milestones are 60 percent, 90 percent, and 100 percent construction-ready plans.

The design and site approval process is expected to take another six to nine months to complete. Once the design is completed, the project can be advertised for bid requests.

According to Yvonne Lopez, spokesperson for Coconut Creek, construction is estimated to take about one year.

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David Volz

David Volz has worked as a writer in South Florida for 35 years. He has written for the Sun-Sentinel, Hollywood Gazette, School Transportation News, South Dade News Leaders, Observer among others. He has an MA in Communications from Florida Atlantic University and a BA in Communications from Valparaiso University. Volz teaches Communications at Miami Dade College and Palm Beach State College. He lives in Coral Springs and enjoys running and participating in 5Ks and half-marathons.