One of Kendall’s oldest and most active neighborhood parks now has a new look. Among those improvements in the park are: nine new street paver parking spaces and newly stamped pedestrian crosswalk along SW 82nd Avenue to the Tennis Center and a repaved and restriped parking lot.
New drainage has been installed to diminish puddles, a re-surfaced entry drive now dresses up the Recreation Center and concrete floors have been added to adjacent batting cages to help prevent muddy sneakers.
Topping off the improvements are plantings of nine White Geiger flowering trees and a new Live Oak along the park’s SW 82nd Avenue right-of-way.
More than 25 Continental Park residents turned out to celebrate the occasion, many taking away a few moments from activities at the nearby Dice House to attend a dedication program under a tented awning on a rainy January 21.
The Dice House, home of Kendall’s first mayor, restored and moved to a site in the park’s northeast corner is an historical highlight of the 18-acre park that includes a walking path, Community Center, Tennis Center, basketball court and three baseball fields.
Year-around events centered at the park vary from Halloween hayrides and holiday celebrations to old-time Saturday night dances and tennis tournaments.
Park manager Joseph Fernandez helps run the park’s Fit2Play after-school program for youngsters ages 6-14, as well as Active Adults 55+ programming.
Continental Park Homeowners Association president Holly White called the park “the heart of our community because our park has kept this community’s heart beating from its beginnings” in the last century during the 1950s.
A resident of 40 years that include 15 years’ service to Continental Park’s HOA, White was joined by Miami-Dade Parks director Jack Kardys, park officials and residents to cut a symbolic gold ribbon, marking a year-long program that saw $298,212 spent to upgrade park areas.
Kardys credited the county’s Parks Design-and- Build Team, working with Terra Civil Engineering, design consultant, and Acre Engineering, contractor, with timely completion of the project, funded by the Building Better Communities bond program, Capital Outlay Reserve Fund and impact fees.
Commissioner Xavier Suarez, unable to attend the event, later said, “It’s important to keep our parks updated and make recreational services more accessible.”
For information on Dice House rentals and other park details, call 305-0274-9666 or visit online at <www.miamidade.gov/parks/continental park>.
