"To give direction to our architect, we really should do our homework first," Mayor Sam Kaufman said on Sept. 3. Moments later the Key West City Commission voted 5-2 to hold off on hiring Bender & Associates Architects to draw a master plan for Higgs Beach. The $188,130 task order comes back on Nov. 5.
The commission didn't pause because it had no ideas. It paused because a list of ideas was already in hand. The City had given the architect a sketch plan to design from. That sketch leaves the beach mostly alone and proposes a new layout for nearly everything behind it, from the dog park to Astro City. For anyone in Casa Marina who walks to Higgs on most days, the next month decides whether that sketch stays the starting point.
What the city took over on May 1
Monroe County owned Higgs Beach for decades. It handed the property over at an April 30 ceremony, and the transfer took effect May 1. Key West took on the beachfront parcel, the park around it, the buildings, the recreational amenities, and responsibility for running and improving all of it. The Key West Chamber described the site as about 16.5 acres, including the 400-foot Reynolds Street Pier. The city also became landlord to three existing tenants: Salute, Salute Watersports and the Key West Garden Club.
The first weeks were basic upkeep. City crews rehabbed the exercise deck by the Edward B. Knight Pier, mowed lawns, cleaned amenities and started trimming trees. The City Manager said the goal was continuity for park users while staff built a transition worklist and a long-term plan, according to Keys Weekly. At a community discussion after the transfer, Keys News reported that residents raised dog park problems: unmown grass, no bug spraying, fewer dog-bag dispensers with bags not regularly restocked, muddy parking and lights out. At that same meeting, an assistant city manager said there was no plan at that time to charge for parking.
That transition worklist became the sketch. Bender's proposal is dated Aug. 3, 2026, and is addressed to Doug Bradshaw, the City's Director of Engineering. It describes the job as a master plan for "the newly acquired Higgs Beach Park," and says the City "would like to see the park brought back to life for visitors and our residents."
The sketch puts the changes behind the sand
The features below come straight from the proposal. Many are worded as possibilities rather than commitments. The proposal also says the approved project "will then be built out as funding is available."
| Area of the park | What the City's sketch proposes |
|---|---|
| Pickleball | Possible expansion to 16 courts plus a tournament court, framed as a "higher-quality regional destination" |
| Tennis | Two conventional courts |
| Hockey | A covered rink, with the lighting kept inside it |
| Dog park | Porous artificial turf, shade, seating, and separate areas for large and small dogs |
| Astro City | Replaced with a rocket ship-themed play area |
| New additions | A pump track for bikes and skateboards, a walking and fitness trail, and an artificial-turf multi-use field on low ground that will likely need regrading |
| Picnic and events | Several new open shelters |
| Support buildings | A restroom building, maintenance shop, pro shop, concession stand, a dedicated maintenance area, and possible new parking on the north side |
| Beach and West Martello | "Little or no work" |
The proposal calls the park "family friendly." The pickleball line is written for a regional draw. Those two goals point the park at different audiences, and the commission has not yet said which one comes first.
The sand gets its own track. On the same Sept. 3 agenda, commissioners approved applying for up to $500,000 from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection for a $1 million restoration and nourishment project, with up to $500,000 more from the city's Fort Taylor Fund. The work is meant to restore sand volume and rebuild the beach profile once the Higgs Beach seawall is stabilized. They also approved a $510,248 contract with Beach Raker LLC for daily removal of seaweed, trash and debris through Jan. 25, 2029. Beach Raker was the only bidder. The beach part of the plan passed on the consent agenda without debate. The park part is the one that got postponed.
What the list doesn't mention
Some of the most familiar uses of Higgs Beach aren't on the sketch's list. The bocce courts, home to the free public league Casa Marina has hosted since 1987, aren't named. The pier isn't named either. Leaving them off the list doesn't mean they would go. It does mean their future isn't written down anywhere yet.
The African Cemetery isn't on the list as a feature, but it shapes the plan anyway. The proposal notes that an existing report maps graves inside the dog park area. It says no excavation is allowed there and that all improvements must be built above existing grade. Any work near West Martello and the nearby gravesites must meet HARC review, the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation, and State Division of Historical Resources requirements.
During public comment on Sept. 3, Arida Wright, who organizes the annual Day of Remembrance at the African Cemetery, and Sebai Sekayi Khita Hetep, both representing the Rose Diversity Group, asked for a sacred space or ancestral shrine and for signs explaining the site's significance. District 5 Commissioner Chris Massicotte said the cemetery has to be part of any Higgs Beach discussion. He pointed to earlier changes at the dog park across Atlantic Boulevard after graves were found there. Commissioner Monica Haskell said she was glad Bender & Associates had acknowledged the graves in its proposal.
The dog park is where the plan drew pushback first. "I am not sure about the artificial turf at the dog park, and there are a number of issues that need to be addressed," Vice Mayor Donie Lee said. "We need more public input." He suggested a public workshop and questioned paying a consultant to run one. "I think we should have a very clear direction for Bender & Associates before we engage with them," Massicotte added.
The money behind the sketch
Of the work proposed for the park, the nourishment project and the cleaning contract are the only pieces with funding behind them. At his first press conference on Sept. 9, Kaufman called the long-term finances of Higgs Beach "a big question mark." He cited about $1.2 million over five years for Beach Raker services and a possible $1 million in additional Higgs spending. He said the African Cemetery work, roof repairs at East Martello Fort, a multimillion-dollar seawall project and the neglected dog park are all unfunded and depend mostly on grants. In his view, those needs should come before projects such as expanding the city's pickleball courts.
That puts the largest item in the sketch at odds with the mayor's stated priorities. Bender's proposal anticipates this. It says that if funding isn't available for the whole project, the work can be phased to fit the budget over time. Under a phased plan, the order of the phases decides what neighbors see first.
The seaweed question is moving separately. The Sept. 22 special meeting on sargassum was listed as a discussion item, with no action adopted. A later resolution approved only a feasibility study for a possible pilot at Smathers Beach, not Higgs. Building or operating any removal system would need another vote. For now, seaweed at Higgs is handled by Beach Raker's daily cleaning.
From sketch to construction
Even if the commission approves the task order on Nov. 5, nothing gets built from that vote alone. The proposal covers a site plan, schematic designs and planning approval, but not construction documents. It assumes the project will need Major Development approval, possibly with variances, and lays out this sequence:
- DRC meeting and approval
- Preliminary approval from the Tree Commission
- Planning approval
- HARC approval
- Final approval from the Tree Commission
- City Commission approval
Readers who followed Bayview Park's split timeline will know the pattern. Projects that need a single vote tend to move quickly, and bundled master plans move slowly. Higgs now has both kinds of work in motion at once.
The first public step happened yesterday. Massicotte and the city held a Higgs Beach Community Input Meeting on Saturday, Oct. 3, at the Higgs Beach Pavilion, followed by a walking tour of the grounds. "I wanted residents to have more time to give input that we can give to them," Massicotte wrote to the community. City staff are compiling the comments to inform the plan. No summary of what was said has been published yet. Commission meetings, votes and video are posted at cityofkeywest-fl.gov, the place to watch for the Nov. 5 agenda item and any revised list of features.
If you own near Reynolds Street or Atlantic Boulevard and want to talk through what changes at Higgs Beach could mean for your home over the next few years, Stacy Stahl is glad to walk the park with you and share what she's seeing on the ground. Request a Complimentary Home Valuation, and we'll include our notes on Higgs Beach with it.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
