Downtown Fort Lauderdale did not need another lawn that looked attractive from a tower. It needed a public space that could hold attention.
That distinction explains why the rebuilt Huizenga Park matters. Since reopening on January 24, 2026, the park has changed how people use the point where Las Olas Boulevard meets the New River. Residents come for a workout, a market or an evening event. Office workers have a place to pause. Riverwalk now opens into a series of spaces designed for staying rather than passing through.
The central story of Huizenga Park, Downtown Fort Lauderdale, is not beautification. It is dwell time.
A park organized around how downtown now works
The more than $15 million renovation followed roughly two years of construction and a longer period of planning and fundraising. Perkins&Will led the architecture and site design, while MBR Construction handled construction. Funding came from the Fort Lauderdale Downtown Development Authority, private donors, the City of Fort Lauderdale and the State of Florida.
That mix of public, private and philanthropic support followed a 2019 Urban Land Institute review of Fort Lauderdale’s parks and public spaces. The review called for stronger connections among downtown parks, dependable management resources and partnerships capable of sustaining activity after construction ended.
The design response was precise. A largely one-dimensional open space became a group of interconnected “outdoor rooms” linking Las Olas Boulevard with the New River.
Huizenga Park works because it offers several reasons to stay within one compact riverfront address.
That is a different model from treating a park as visual relief between buildings. It asks the space to serve multiple routines throughout the day, then supports those routines with seating, shade, food, art, programming and staff.
From Las Olas Plaza to the New River
The 3.6-acre park is arranged as a progression rather than a single field.
Las Olas Plaza forms the gateway at Las Olas Boulevard and SE First Avenue. From there, the park opens into distinct spaces with clear purposes:
- Legacy Terrace pairs concession service with shaded café-style seating.
- Civic Lawn provides the central green for markets, movies, workouts and informal use.
- The Dog Spot creates a dedicated off-leash area while dogs remain welcome on leash elsewhere in the park.
- Poppy’s Play Patch uses rolling, climbable hills as an active play area.
- Riverwalk Terrace places seating beneath a grove of palms near the water.
- New River Landing uses an elevated circular wooden deck to connect the park directly with Riverwalk.
- River View curves toward the New River and draws the walking route closer to the water’s edge.
The restored Spirit of Fort Lauderdale Fountain remains part of the plan, preserving a recognizable piece of the former park. Most of the existing live oaks were retained, while the renovation introduced native planting, substantially more seating and more than 13,500 plants.
Those details are especially relevant in summer. A collection of smaller zones with shade and flexible seating offers more choice than one exposed lawn. Someone attending an event can move between Civic Lawn, Legacy Terrace and the riverfront edge without leaving the park. Someone with no agenda can find a seat without competing with the event itself.
The attendance data measures a behavioral change
Opening-weekend crowds can flatter almost any new civic project. The more useful question is whether people return once the ribbon has been cut.
Huizenga Park’s early numbers suggest that they did.
| Measure | What it indicates |
|---|---|
| More than 4,000 opening-weekend guests | Strong initial interest in the rebuilt park |
| More than 6,000 guests by the end of the first week | Use continued beyond the opening ceremony |
| More than 80,000 visitors by May 28, 2026 | The park became part of downtown’s regular activity within four months |
| One in five visitors joined an organized activation | Programming is a meaningful driver of attendance |
The arrival pattern is equally revealing. As of May 28, roughly one-third of visitors walked to the park, one-third drove from surrounding neighborhoods and one-third came from outside the area.
That balance is difficult to achieve. A park can function as a neighborhood convenience or a regional attraction, but Huizenga Park is showing evidence of both. The walking share reflects its role as local infrastructure. Visitors arriving from elsewhere give downtown businesses and cultural venues a new audience.
Opening weekend told the same story at a smaller scale. Thirty-five percent of guests lived downtown, while 65 percent came from outside downtown. Seventeen percent traveled at least 30 miles.
Programming turned a capital project into a weekly habit
Design creates capacity. Programming supplies the reason to return.
More than 200 free events and activities were planned for the park’s inaugural year across three themes: Health & Wellness, Arts & Culture, and Dogs & Pets. The formats include yoga, Zumba, Pilates, workouts, run clubs, trivia, pop-up performances, movie nights, community markets and Yappy Hours.
The July 2026 calendar shows how densely that schedule can fill an ordinary week:
- Kirk Zieser is scheduled for a pop-up performance on July 11, with another performance listed for July 25.
- Music and Movement with Miss Tracy Sings and the Huizenga Park Community Market are scheduled for July 12.
- Sunset Yoga with Las Olas Yoga Studio and the weekly two-mile run club are listed for July 14.
- Think and Drink Trivia is scheduled for July 15 and July 22.
- Yappy Hours are listed for July 16 and July 23.
- Sunrise and sunset yoga are both scheduled for July 21.
- A second July Community Market is listed for July 26.
Schedules can change, so the official calendar remains the best reference before heading over.
The Community Market offers a useful example of the park’s operating logic. Hosted by Sunnyside Up Market, the biweekly event brings artisans, makers, food vendors and live music to Civic Lawn from noon to 4 p.m. It creates foot traffic for local operators while giving residents an easy Sunday plan that does not require a ticket or major festival.
This steady cadence matters more than any single marquee event. A movie night may introduce someone to the park. Weekly yoga, trivia or a run club makes the park part of that person’s routine.
Food and art add reasons to extend the visit
Legacy Terrace is already demonstrating the value of combining food with public space. Mr. Smash Burgers operates there with shaded café-style seating, and the DDA reported that the concession sold thousands of burgers after opening.
Sweetwaters will add a larger dining component. The full-service waterfront restaurant is being developed by Specialty Restaurants Corporation, the operator behind Miami’s Rusty Pelican. It remains under construction and is expected to open in fall or later in 2026.
For now, Sweetwaters should be understood as the park’s next layer, not a current summer option. Once open, it is expected to extend activity at the riverfront edge without replacing the park’s free public uses.
Public art gives the grounds its own visual markers. Cey Adams created the LOVE mural, while Manolo Valdés’s Cabeza con Mariposas, also identified in English as Head with Butterflies, was donated through the James W. Laird Estate. These works sit within the everyday circulation of the park rather than behind an admission desk.
That integration supports the larger thesis. Food, art, recreation and the river are close enough to reinforce one another. Each use creates a reason to stay for the next one.
How to use the park this summer
The simplest way to understand the redesign is to experience it at different hours.
For an early start: The park opens daily at 7 a.m. Sunrise yoga is scheduled for July 21, and the paved paths connect directly with Riverwalk for a longer walk afterward.
For a midweek reset: Sunset yoga, the two-mile run club, trivia and Yappy Hours place activity in the late afternoon and evening. The park remains open until 10 p.m.
For a Sunday visit: The Community Market is scheduled for July 12 and July 26 from noon to 4 p.m. Civic Lawn, Legacy Terrace and the riverfront seating allow the visit to continue after browsing the vendors.
Admission to the park is free. Public restrooms are open during park hours, and the grounds are described as ADA accessible with paved walkways and flexible seating. Dogs may be off leash inside The Dog Spot and must remain on leash elsewhere. Outside alcohol, glass containers, smoking and vaping are prohibited.
For drivers, the park identifies the Riverwalk Center Garage at 150 SE Second Street and the 10X Riverwalk Garage at 4 West Las Olas Boulevard. On-street parking is available on SE First Avenue north of Las Olas Boulevard. Brightline’s Fort Lauderdale station is approximately a ten-minute walk away.
The next connection is already on the drawing board
Huizenga Park resolved the connection between its interior spaces and Riverwalk. The next phase concerns the boulevard edge.
The city-approved preliminary design for the Las Olas Boulevard Mobility project calls for a wider sidewalk along Huizenga Park, a raised mid-block crossing aligned with the park entrance and a raised intersection at SE First Avenue. The downtown segment also proposes roughly four times the current tree-canopy coverage.
Those elements are planned rather than completed. Still, they show that the park is influencing how the surrounding corridor is being considered. The goal is no longer to place a public space beside a major street. The street, crossing and park entrance are being treated as parts of the same experience.
What Huizenga Park changed
Downtown Fort Lauderdale’s population grew 42 percent from 2020 through March 2026, according to a DDA analysis. That growth outpaced the reported increases in Downtown Miami and Downtown West Palm Beach over the same period.
A larger downtown population places more demand on shared outdoor space, but acreage alone does not meet that demand. The space must be comfortable, maintained and active often enough to become useful.
Huizenga Park offers a working answer. Its success to date comes from the combination of connected design, regular programming, visible staff, concessions, public art and direct access to Riverwalk. The park has made the New River a more deliberate part of downtown’s daily life.
Las Olas remains the commercial spine. Huizenga Park has given it a riverfront room.
For discreet guidance on Fort Lauderdale’s waterfront and luxury condominium market, contact Austin Bergman to schedule a confidential consultation.
