The Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach launched its public fund-raising efforts for the redevelopment of Phipps Ocean Park on Monday, but already has raised $21 million for the project.
During an event at Club Colette, the foundation announced the launch of the public phase of its capital campaign for the $30 million project, which is expected to be completed in mid-2024.
In the silent phase of its campaign, the foundation said it raised 72% of its $30 million fundraising goal.
Concept design for the project also has been approved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission, the foundation said Monday.
Final approval will be needed from the Town Council.
“Phipps Ocean Park presents the unique opportunity to preserve our town’s rich history while ensuring an environmentally sustainable future,” said President and CEO Amanda Skier. “We want to build on the Preservation Foundation’s legacy of town-serving projects to create something that benefits our entire community.”
The foundation, which works to preserve the architectural and cultural heritage of the town, is spearheading renovation plans and raising funds to redevelop Phipps Ocean Park.
It underwrote the $160,000 cost for a phased master plan for the project, and is working closely with Miami-based landscape architect Raymond Jungles, Inc., on design development.
When complete, the 20-acre park will immerse visitors in Florida’s native flora and fauna and preserve the natural legacy of Palm Beach, said Betsy Shiverick, board chairman of the Preservation Foundation. It also will provide new and updated recreational and educational resources for the community.
“Phipps Ocean Park is already a beloved community asset, and this revitalization will ensure that it will continue to be a destination for many generations to come,” Shiverick said. “I am incredibly proud to be part of this important project team, and share in the vision of preserving our cultural and natural heritage and building a powerful national model of an environmentally sustainable park that is also a welcoming recreational destination.”
The foundation has been involved with Phipps Ocean Park since 1990, and operates its living history program at The Little Red Schoolhouse, a one-room schoolhouse built in 1886 that now serves as a place of learning for fourth-grade students from Palm Beach, Broward and Martin counties.
Two years ago, the foundation commissioned Jungles to design a phased master plan for park improvements.
Last June, the Town Council agreed unanimously to proceed with design development and permitting for the project.
Phipps Ocean Park, which sits just north of the Palm Beach Par 3 golf course in the town’s South End, was donated by the Phipps family in 1948. It has not undergone a significant redesign since it opened, the foundation said.
Redesign plans call for restoring and moving the Little Red Schoolhouse to a more visible spot in the park, near the base of a 22-foot beach dune. The schoolhouse will anchor the great Great Lawn and wildflower garden to the west.
Visitors and passersby will be able to view the schoolhouse across the wildflower garden and Great Lawn.
A new feature to the north of the schoolhouse is an outdoor classroom, which was designed in collaboration with the Garden Club of Palm Beach.
Another educational centerpiece of the park will be the Coastal Restoration Center, a nursery and propagation area for native plants that will support healthy beach dune ecosystems within the park and throughout the island.
The park’s recreational facilities will be improved with ADA accessible walking paths, spaces for the community to gather, a bespoke playground inspired by native fauna, and new cabana bathrooms and beach pavilions.
“We hope to create something truly special that brings joy to the Town of Palm Beach and the entire Florida coast,” Shiverick said.