More Than 1,000 Trees Coming To North Park

The development of North Park is about to reach some important milestones.

The Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District recently requested bids pertaining to the development of the park's east side.

That part of the project will include more than five miles of walking trails and riding trails, as well as a dog park and a playground. Some trails will include exercise equipment.

When complete, crews are expected to have added more than 1,000 native trees to the approximately 70 acres east of NW 2nd Ave. in the Boca Teeca section of Boca Raton.

As part of the construction project, the Florida Department of Environment Protection will help ensure that soil contaminated by chemicals when the property was a golf course is removed. The entire project will comply with Sustainable SITES Initiative standards for environmental friendliness.

The District hopes to award the development contract in July, at which point the winning developer can enter the City of Boca Raton's permitting process.

BOCA PADDLE
As one North Park project ramps up, another is progressing toward completion. The Boca Paddle indoor pickleball and padel complex is expected to open in late fall.

Boca Paddle will offer 14 indoor pickleball courts and four padel courts, an indoor restaurant and multiple viewing areas. There will also be eight outdoor covered pickleball courts.

Boca Paddle will be the second North Park feature to open. In August the District held the Traffic Garden's grand opening. Designed to be a fun way to teach young bicyclists and scooter riders safety, the Traffic Garden has been widely praised by users.

NORTH PARK SKATE PARK
In the most recent action aimed at developing a world class park, District Commissioners approved a contract with American Ramp to build a skate park with a pump track.

The need for a new skate park in Boca Raton became apparent when the Tim Huxhold skate park in the downtown area fell into disrepair.

As part of the skate park design process, the District held two workshops funded via a grant from Plant-A-Park for the conceptual design to determine what the community wanted to see in their new feature. The skate park is designed to work around existing trees on the property and is approximately 500 feet from any residence. As community input requested, it will be surrounded by fencing.