"I look at what we have for green space in Brickell, and it just continues to narrow." That is how Casey Piket, a Miami history blogger and longtime Brickell resident, put it to the Miami Herald in August. He was talking about a quarter-acre at Southeast 10th Street and Brickell Plaza that had been fenced and chained since the July 4 weekend.
Allen Morris Brickell Park was small enough to walk past without noticing, and it sat right in the financial district. Its palms, banyan and black olive trees stood between the citizenM hotel and the Brickell Flatiron, and the shade was there whenever you passed. Brickell's remaining public shade sits farther south, and every piece of it runs on its own hours and its own dog rules.
How a park went back to its donor
For decades the land belonged to the city. Developer L. Allen Morris donated it with a reverter clause, which let his company take the parcel back if it was ever used for commercial purposes. The Herald reported that the Allen Morris Company sued after the city allowed the now-closed Perricone's restaurant next door to use the park for seating. The company won after a legal fight of about ten years and took the land back.
The company's next step is a restaurant called Gavina, led by Stefano Secchi, the Michelin-starred chef behind Rezdôra in New York. Renderings show a wooden building with patios set around the lot's mature banyan. The developer's attorney, Javier Fernández, said six new trees will be planted to offset the removals. The city issued permits to remove five trees, including a black olive with a trunk close to six feet around, and the Sierra Club said it planned to appeal them.
Neighbors disagree about the change. Community advocate Elena Kasparis started an online petition to save the park, and it gathered nearly 2,000 signatures. Some residents of the Brickell Flatiron across the street welcomed the prospect of something new on the site. City Commissioner Rolando Escalona, who represents that part of Brickell, told the Herald he does not support a high-rise there. On the longer term, Fernández said there had been talk of a supertall at one point, that it had faced "challenges," and that "for now, it's Gavina." The August report did not include an opening date for the restaurant.
The shade that's left keeps a schedule
The fenced lot was the only patch of public trees right in the financial core. The places that still offer real canopy run south from the Miami River along SW 1st Avenue and down Brickell Avenue toward the bay. Each one has a different set of rules.
| Place | Where | Hours | Dogs | What makes the shade |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Underline, Brickell segment | Under Metrorail, Miami River to SW 15th Road | Trails open 24/7; Urban Gym and Flex Court 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. | Leashed dogs allowed | Butterfly gardens, lawn, native plantings |
| Simpson Rockland Hammock Preserve | 55 SW 17 Road | Daily, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. | Not allowed | More than eight acres of old-growth tropical hardwood hammock |
| Alice C. Wainwright Park | South Brickell Avenue, on the bay | Sunrise to sunset | Leashed dogs allowed | 115 native trees along a rebuilt baywalk |
The table shows the trade-offs. The Underline never closes and allows leashed dogs, but its shade comes from plantings rather than old trees. Simpson Park has the densest canopy but closes at 3 p.m. and doesn't allow dogs. Alice Wainwright welcomes leashed dogs until sunset and puts them on the bay, but it is the farthest walk from Brickell City Centre.
The Underline is the only shade that never closes
Under the Metrorail tracks, the Underline's Brickell segment is a string of outdoor "rooms," each with its own feel.
- River Room, Miami River to SW 7th Street: river views, butterfly gardens and lawn.
- Inter Stage, SW 8th Street and SW 1st Avenue: a canopy, a digital community screen and event space.
- Oolite Room, SW 11th to SW 13th streets: butterfly gardens and seating made from oolite boulders.
- Hammock Playground, SW 15th Road and SW 1st Avenue: nature-based play and public art, surrounded by native trees and plants.
The Urban Gym and Flex Court are open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., and the trail itself is open around the clock. The Underline's own pages disagree about public restrooms in the Brickell section, so don't count on finding one.
The free programming is mostly in the evening, after the hammock preserve down the road has closed:
- UPilates at Inter Stage, Wednesdays 6 to 7 p.m., with a session on the calendar for November 11.
- UYoga at Vizcaya Station Plaza, listed as a weekly Thursday class from 7 to 8 p.m.
- Walking with a Purpose, a monthly walk that starts at the Hammock Playground, with the next one set for November 18.
Check the Underline events calendar before you go, since sessions can change.
Simpson Park is the deepest shade, until 3 p.m.
The real canopy starts a few blocks past the Hammock Playground. The City of Miami describes Simpson Rockland Hammock Preserve as more than eight acres of tropical hardwood hammock and one of the last remnants of the old Brickell Hammock. It has more than 162 plant species, at least 96 of them native, including red stopper, spicewood, live oak, strangler fig, Jamaica dogwood, gumbo limbo and lignum vitae. According to the city, 15 endangered and 9 threatened species grow there, including wild cinnamon, silver palm and Gulf licaria.
Park naturalists lead free half-mile walks every Saturday and Sunday, from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. and from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. Each walk is capped at 20 people, first come, first served. The park also has bathrooms, bike racks, parking, picnic tables and a recreation center, which makes it easier to spend a whole morning there than at any of the Underline rooms.
The catch is the hours, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. every day. The park and trail were also closed from October 10 to 26 to set up for the free Halloween event on October 22 and 23. The city also closes the trail ahead of heavy rain, strong winds or downed trees, and posts updates on the park line, 305-533-3577. Call that number before a weekend walk.
Alice Wainwright takes the dog to the bay
If you're walking a dog, Simpson Park is out. The Underline allows leashed pets and asks owners to use the bags at its pet waste stations. For trees and open water, the dog-friendly choice is Alice C. Wainwright Park, on Biscayne Bay along south Brickell Avenue. The city allows leashed dogs, and the park has basketball, BBQ grills, outdoor gym equipment, a playground, shelters and waterfront access. It is open from sunrise to sunset.
Phase I of the city's seawall and baywalk project is finished. It added a baywalk of about 33,000 square feet, new seating and 115 native trees. The park's closed-canopy hammock is a wilderness area with no public access, according to Miami & Miami Beach.
The city scheduled work on the restroom building to start in October, with completion expected in February 2027. The park stays open during construction, and the city said the water fountain next to the restrooms would be out of service during the October roof repairs. Bring water for the dog.
The smaller green spots are changing hands
Allen Morris Brickell Park isn't the only small green spot in Brickell with a new owner or a new purpose.
At 501 Brickell Avenue, the city's historic preservation office designates the bayfront green as the Brickell Park and Mausoleum Archeological Zone. It covers a Tequesta archaeological site and the Brickell family mausoleum. It's a quieter stop with history behind it rather than a place you'd plan a walk around.
On Brickell's west side, South Side Park is being used as the sales center for the Mercedes-Benz-branded condo tower. On October 21, the South Florida Business Journal reported that the developer, Michael Stern's JDS, was close to new financing and a new partner but first needed to settle a city deal involving a fire station.
A few blocks east, the 121-year-old Jackson cottage at 190 SE 12th Terrace, where the Dade Heritage Trust has its offices, is set to move to Coconut Grove and keep serving as the Trust's office. The Miami Herald reported that buying the cottage gave Ken Griffin the whole city block, across the street from the Brickell Bay Drive site where Citadel's new global headquarters is going up. No date has been given for the move.
The city also has longer-term work planned on Brickell Bay Drive, between SE 14th Street and SE 15th Road. The plans include a new seawall, baywalk, sidewalks and landscaping, with construction scheduled from February 2027 to January 2029.
At Alex Miranda Group, we keep track of how Brickell's streets, parks and tree cover change, and we factor that into the advice we give clients. If you'd like to talk about how the changing green spaces near your building fit into your plans, we're glad to. Schedule a Consultation with our team, in English or Spanish.
