Lighthouse Park on Anastasia Island closes to the public Wednesday, Aug. 12, for a complete playground rebuild that is expected to last about five weeks, the City of St. Augustine announced July 31. The park at 440 Ocean Vista Drive, home to the J. Edward "Red" Cox Recreation Facility, is scheduled to reopen Wednesday, Sept. 16, which means families in the lighthouse neighborhoods lose their closest playground for the first five weeks of the school year.
The closure starts two days after St. Johns County students head back to class on Monday, Aug. 10.
The city is working with contractors National Playground Construction and TBL Services, LLC. Crews will demolish and haul out the current playground equipment, its foundations and some landscaping, then install new ADA-compliant equipment along with new landscaping, sidewalks and ADA handrails.
No part of the park will be accessible while the work is underway. Parking in the adjacent lots stays open, and the city does not expect any road closures on Ocean Vista.
What changes when it reopens
The headline is accessibility. The replacement equipment is ADA-compliant, and the new sidewalks and handrails are meant to get a child or a caregiver from the parking lot to the play area without wrestling with grade changes or loose ground.
Lighthouse Park sits on Salt Run under a canopy of oaks, and it carries more than a playground: picnic facilities, tennis courts, a boat ramp, fishing access and restrooms. It is one of the busiest small parks the city maintains, partly because it is the neighborhood park for the Lighthouse Park and Davis Shores side of the bridge rather than a tourist stop.
Note: The city's notice says the park will be inaccessible for the entire project and does not carve out exceptions for the boat ramp, tennis courts or restrooms. Boaters and anglers who launch at Lighthouse Park should plan on other ramps through mid-September.
Where to take the kids instead
The nearest city-run playgrounds are both across the Bridge of Lions. Davenport Park, at San Marco Avenue and San Carlos, has an enclosed, accessible playground with slides and climbing equipment. Project SWING, the community-built playground next to Francis Field and across from the Historic Downtown Parking Facility, is the other obvious option downtown.
Both mean a drive off the island, which is the practical headache for Anastasia Island parents over the next five weeks: an after-school stop that used to be four minutes away now involves the bridge and downtown parking.
Timing and what could slip
Five weeks is the city's estimate, and the Sept. 16 reopening comes with the usual condition: weather permitting. That window falls in the heart of hurricane season, when a single tropical system can idle a construction crew for days. The city has said the schedule is subject to delays from weather or unforeseen circumstances.
The city has not released a cost figure for the renovation or renderings of the new equipment layout. Residents with questions about the project can reach the city's communications office at 904-293-3307, and park details are posted on the city's own Lighthouse Park page. Watch for signage at the Ocean Vista entrances in the days before Aug. 12.
For more local coverage, visit St. Augustine Community Website, and tell us what you want to see in the new playground when you join the conversation in our Community Forum. You can also read more community stories and follow city projects in our government and politics section.
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