Oakland Park is on the brink of starting redevelopment efforts it hopes could be completed in time for the cityâs 100th birthday celebrations in the year 2029.
A new fire station could be built within a self-storage business. The cityâs first splash pad soon could jut water for scores of children. And a new library and City Hall could be part of the construction plans.
Fire Station
The fire station, at 4721 NW Ninth Ave., could be moved to a self-storage business that has planned a seven-story building on empty land south of Prospect Road, between Powerline Road and Interstate 95.
Hebert said the city was not enthused about approving another storage building, but changed course when the developer agreed to allow the first floor to become new bays for the engines, and the second floor to become sleeping quarters and a gym for firefighters.
âThe idea is to get a new station and save us millions of dollars,â Herbert said. âAll weâll have to do is contribute to our space of the building.â And the neighbors wonât mind: âWho cares if sirens go off during the day? Nobody sleeps in storage buildings.â
The agreement could be finalized within three months.
A New Park
The âCity Parkâ will be created along Park Lane, near the site of the current Public Works building and a fire station that is now along Northeast 38th Street. The public works site will be moved to a new location at the site of a former water plant, and the fire department will be reconstructed, larger, about three blocks away. The Collins Community Center also will be bulldozed.
In the space will be a new Collins Community Center, and the cityâs first splash pad. The contract for the splash pad could be finalized by the end of the year. And the park will get a new pickleball court, basketball court, playground and restrooms.
The cityâs library will move to City Park, about a mile west, bordering the Harlem-McBride neighborhood.
City Hall
The building off the railroad tracks, at 3650 NE 12th Ave., will no longer be City Hall.
A developer is proposing a five or six-story building of retail, restaurants and the commissionâs chambers for public meetings on the ground floor, as well as a parking garage above that, and the top floor as the new City Hall.
âThe size will actually grow from a 12,000-square-foot building now,â Hebert said. âWe will double the size of the office space.â
The location will be along Dixie Highway, on the south side of Northeast 38th Street, and the city will rent the space from the owner as the main anchor.
No decision had been made about what would happen to the current City Hall site.
Caryl Stevens is the former mayor, and a former board member of the Oakland Park Historical Society, which is now inactive. She has some reservations. While she approves of the idea of a new park, she questions whether giving up City Hall is the right move.
âThe whole plans are wild,â Stevens said. âWe may be one of the few City Halls that are rented.â
Source: Sun-Sentinel