"We are realizing the Phipps family's vision for their 1948 gift," Lynne Wheat said at a 2024 dinner for the Phipps Ocean Park project, as WLRN reported. A week from today, on Thursday, November 19, the Town of Palm Beach and the Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach will cut the ribbon at 2201 South Ocean Boulevard. That ends a closure that began May 1, 2025.
The park you knew before May 2025 is mostly not what reopens. The best-known part, the tennis center, has been open again since last November. What opens on the 19th is the rest of the 18 acres between the Atlantic and the Intracoastal. Most of it is new, and much of it is built to do something for the island beyond being a place to visit.
The familiar part has been back since November 1, 2025
The first phase was the courts. The updated tennis facilities opened on November 1, 2025, with two new pickleball courts added because more people wanted to play. WLRN called it the end of phase one of the 18-acre renovation. The tennis center's parking reopened at the same time. The Town has been using that lot as overflow parking for other events. When Mayor Danielle Moore held office hours at the South Fire Station on October 29, the Town's October 2026 Town Tides newsletter sent visitors to the Phipps Tennis lot.
So players and anyone who has parked on the tennis side have already seen a piece of the finished park. The construction fence around everything else is the part that comes down this month.
What opens on the 19th
The Preservation Foundation calls the park a public beach and park running from the ocean to the Intracoastal, with 1,200 feet of oceanfront. The plans published for the redesign list these features:
| Element | What the plans call for |
|---|---|
| Little Red Schoolhouse | Relocation to higher ground near the dune, away from frequent flooding and high winds |
| Coastal Restoration Center | A nursery and propagation facility for native plants, beside the schoolhouse, named for Kenneth C. Griffin |
| Plantings and dunes | Dune restoration and about 80,000 native plants added or moved |
| Beachfront | New beach pavilions, a lifeguard tower and restrooms |
| Trails | About two miles of winding, ADA-accessible paths |
| Playground | A community playground designed by the Danish firm Monstrum |
| Seating | Benches and picnic tables throughout |
The Foundation says the park was underused for a long time. It describes the goal as an "extraordinary public landscape" where people can play, learn and enjoy the scenery the island is known for. The first two rows of the table do most of the work toward that goal, and each one serves the island beyond the park.
A schoolhouse on the dune, and a nursery next to it
The Little Red Schoolhouse is Southeast Florida's first schoolhouse and, according to the Preservation Foundation, the oldest landmark in Palm Beach. Moving it inland away from the beach would have been the simple fix. Instead the plan places it at a higher elevation near the dune, where the Foundation says it will be protected from frequent flooding and high winds.
The move keeps a long tradition going. The Foundation runs a living-history program there that gives Palm Beach County fourth graders an 1890s school day in a one-room wooden schoolhouse. During construction, WLRN reported, the program continued at Yesteryear Village.
Next door, the Coastal Restoration Center is the newest kind of building on the property. The Foundation describes it as a nursery and propagation facility for native plants. Its job is to support healthy beach dunes inside the park "and throughout the town." That makes Phipps a place where plants for dunes elsewhere on the island are grown, which matters to anyone with an oceanfront lot or a favorite stretch of beach. In the Foundation's words, the park is meant to teach new generations about the past and encourage the community to protect the places that make the town special.
How a $31 million park was paid for and built
The land itself dates back to the beginning. The family of Henry Phipps Jr., an early investor and partner of Andrew Carnegie, gave the ocean-to-Intracoastal parcel to the town in 1948. It sits about three miles south of Mar-a-Lago, and WLRN notes it has been called one of the most important philanthropic gifts in Palm Beach County history.
The redesign took longer to get started. The Town Council approved the project in 2021, but the first bids came in higher than expected. The Foundation and its partners rebid with more complete drawings, which allowed tighter pricing. In February 2025 the council approved a revised contract with Burkhardt Construction at a guaranteed maximum price of $31 million, $2 million less than the earlier figure.
Most of the money came from private donors. WLRN reported that local philanthropists paid for most of the restoration. Before work began, Ken Griffin, who owns property on the island, gave $7 million, bringing donations to $29 million. That gift is why the Coastal Restoration Center carries his name.
The finish date moved during the build. The Palm Beach Daily News reported in April that Town Engineer Patricia Strayer told the Council on April 14 that construction was on schedule but design changes made the completion date less certain. At that point the Town was still aiming for September. The Foundation then set the public's return for November 2026, and the ribbon cutting is now on the calendar.
The ribbon cutting and the rest of the island's calendar
The grand opening is free and open to the public. The Foundation asks guests to register through its event page. The Foundation lists an 11 a.m. start, and the Town's October newsletter lists 10:30 a.m., so arriving by 10:30 covers both. The opening falls among several other island dates this month:
- Saturday, November 14, 2 to 4 p.m. "America250: A Palm Beach Celebration" at Seaview Park, with live music, food from Woody's Burger Bar, inflatable games, and entertainment from the Preservation Foundation, Cox Science Center, Yesteryear Village and the Officers & Gentlemen singing group. Registration is through the Town's recreation portal.
- Thursday, November 19. The Phipps Ocean Park ribbon cutting and grand opening at 2201 South Ocean Boulevard.
- Thursday, November 26, 7:30 a.m. The Town of Palm Beach United Way's 18th annual Turkey Trot 5K and Kids Drumstick Dash. Registration has already closed.
- Tuesday, December 1. The Worth Avenue Association's Holiday Tree Lighting. Santa's parade starts at 6:10 p.m. on the 100 block of Worth Avenue, and the tree is lit at 6:25 p.m.
The Preservation Foundation appears twice on that list, at Seaview Park on the 14th and as host at Phipps on the 19th. The same organization behind the schoolhouse move and the nursery is also out at the island's community events that week.
For park hours, beach parking and other everyday details after the ribbon cutting, check the Town's Phipps Ocean Park Transformation page and the Town's main website.
The Coastal Restoration Center is a reminder that dunes and native plantings need ongoing care, at home as much as in the park. At Triple Crown Group, our estate management team looks after the grounds, vendors and seasonal upkeep of oceanfront and in-town properties across Palm Beach. If the opening has you thinking about your own landscape, Schedule a Consultation with our team.
