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Groundbreaking of new Mainlands park last January. From left: Parks and Rec Director Greg Warner, Assist City Manager Diane Phillips, Commissioner Pam Bushnell, Fomer Mayor Beth Talabisco, Mainlands Section 3 Resident Bill Villela and Former Commissioner Patte Atkins-Grad

Groundbreaking of new Mainlands park in 2013. From left: Parks and Rec Director Greg Warner, Assist City Manager Diane Phillips, Commissioner Pam Bushnell, Former Mayor Beth Talabisco, Mainlands Section 3 Resident Bill Villela, and Former Commissioner Patte Atkins-Grad

By: Sharon Aron Baron

It’s been two years since the groundbreaking ceremony, and the day has finally come for the grand opening of the Mainlands Park.

Held on Saturday, January 10, at 10:30 a.m., the event will start with a ribbon-cutting ceremony followed by a one-mile run/walk.

Mainlands Park is on a 23-acre lot, which was previously part of the 48-acre Monterey Golf Club located east of the Turnpike off Monterey Drive. Once owned by father and son developers Bruce and Shawn Chait, the land for the park was offered as an incentive to the City of Tamarac to get their land deal through. In 2011, the City held two neighborhood meetings with residents in the Mainlands to discuss what type of amenities they would like the park to have.

Those amenities include:

A concrete multi-use trail located along the perimeter of the park
Six ADA accessible drinking fountains throughout the park site
Six shaded benches with trash receptacles
Twelve fitness stations
One nature kiosk
One fishing pier/ observation platform
Eight covered picnic tables with trash receptacle (two tables ADA accessible)
One energy fitness station. Centralized fitness area consisting of a minimum of five pieces of equipment
Landscaping and irrigation
One restroom facility with security cameras, one ADA water fountain, and one standard water fountain
One parking lot – approximately 17 spaces

During the event, there will be a DJ on hand, and light refreshments will be served. Also, A free t-shirt will be given to the first 150 participants registering for the run/walk at the event.

The project’s budget was $1,200,000, which included $200,000 from the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) grand and $248,000 from the Recreational Trails Program (RTP).

Mainlands Park is located at 4500 Monterey Drive. Look for the signs once inside the entrance.

Author Profile

Sharon Aron Baron

Sharon Aron Baron is the Editor of Talk Media and Tamarac Talk, Coral Springs Talk, and Parkland Talk. Tamarac Talk was created in 2011 to provide News for the residents of Tamarac and is the #1 News Source for Residents.