A total of $2.6 million has been earmarked for upgrades at five Coconut Grove playgrounds as part of a broader $13 million investment in District 2. Before plans are finalized, parents say they already know what needs fixing.
Emma Jauregui’s two-year-old daughter Kate has ruined two pairs of leggings this year.
The culprit isn’t paint or playground mud. It’s the rough artificial surface beneath the playground at Merrie Christmas Park, where falls often leave scraped knees — and torn clothing.
“Whenever a child falls, it’s super hard and they get scraped up,” said Jauregui, who takes her daughter to the park nearly every day. “I can’t send her there unless she’s wearing pants or leggings.”
Relief may be on the way.
At least $2.6 million has been earmarked for improvements at five Coconut Grove playgrounds as part of a broader $13 million package of District 2 projects funded through Miami’s Public Benefits Program.
The package also includes money for park improvements, affordable housing, historic preservation and recreational facilities, although exactly what improvements each playground will receive has yet to be determined.
For parents who spend afternoons chasing toddlers through the Grove’s neighborhood parks, the funding represents a rare opportunity to improve playgrounds they say have slowly fallen behind the needs of young families.
Some point to aging equipment. Others want softer play surfaces, more shade from the South Florida sun, fencing around play areas and better maintenance to keep equipment clean and safe.
“I wish the city would create a program where once a year they pressure wash these playgrounds,” Jauregui said. “It would give the equipment longer life.”
The proposed funding includes $700,000 each for playground improvements at Alice Wainwright Park and Esther Mae Armbrister Park, $450,000 for Merrie Christmas Park’s playground plus another $150,000 for planning and design, and $300,000 each for playgrounds at Lincoln Park and Marjorie Stoneman Douglas Mini Park.
The playground projects are one part of a larger package proposed by District 2 Commissioner Damian Pardo after high-density development in his district generated millions of dollars through Miami’s Public Benefits Program. The program collects fees from developers who receive permission to build taller or denser projects, with the money directed toward public improvements.
For North Grove resident Paola Sanchez Torres, one priority is restoring something that’s already gone.
She often takes her children to Marjorie Stoneman Douglas Mini Park, where she said a small play structure for toddlers was removed after it began showing its age. Instead of replacing it, the city paved over the area with artificial surfacing.
Sanchez Torres hopes the money will bring equipment that encourages imagination.
She points to Woodside Park in nearby Silver Bluff, where a pirate ship-themed playground has become a favorite destination for her children.
“It looks newer,” she said. “You can [pretend to] sail the ship, there’s pretend binoculars in there, there’s slides, you can climb up the ship.”
Central Grove resident Michelle Russell believes the funding could go farther than many people realize.
As a member of the committee planning a playground for her apartment building, she has spent months researching playground manufacturers and construction costs.
“It’s totally possible to get playground equipment for younger kids plus older kids plus turf plus installation for less than $300,000,” Russell said. “[And] with people that are local, that have a 10-year warranty, that understand the materials that work in South Florida.”
Russell said she’d also like to see improvements at parks not currently slated for funding.
She believes Peacock Park’s playground would benefit from fencing to prevent young children from wandering toward nearby streets or Biscayne Bay, while Blanche Park could use additional shade structures to make equipment usable during the hottest parts of the day.
“For little kids, there’s the nervousness of them running away or dogs running into [the playground],” she said. “It kind of feels like there’s no real security there.”
Jauregui said she’d welcome new equipment at Merrie Christmas Park, but she hopes the city also focuses on everyday maintenance.
In addition to the worn safety surface, she said parts of the playground have accumulated algae stains and grime that make the equipment look neglected.
For her family, though, Merrie Christmas Park has become more than just a playground. “That’s honestly why we chose that neighborhood,” she said. “Because of that park.”
Anita Li is a Spotlight reporter and Report for America corps member covering government accountability in Coconut Grove and Miami City Hall. She joins us through our partnership with Report for America, a national organization that places journalists in local newsrooms across the United States.
I was born at Mercy Hospital, baptized at St. Hugh and later Sunday school at their old classrooms on the corner of Franklin and Douglas road, Plymouth church for preschool and kindergarten, Carver Elem 1st and 2nd grade, Sunest Elem 3-6th etc. I grew up in Merrie Christmas park, I remember running in the grass, rolling down the hill sides, playing on the space capsule there and the swing set, both of which had sand beneath them to cushion a fall. Wish the city would go back to sand instead of rubber and stop wasting our money. Let kids be kids.