It's a happy update for Brickell residents.
After years of litigation, a public park in the neighborhood will reopen for people to enjoy. The Allen Morris Brickell Park has been locked up in a legal battle and physically locked away behind fences.
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NBC 6 broke the news on the agreement Thursday. Brickell residents were excited to hear the update.
“We can’t wait to see what they do with the park,” said Mia Port and Bethany Cornish who are living in Brickell.
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“I want to see all the dogs running around,” said Cornish.
“I want a park for my dog to play at,” said Port.
Allen Morris Brickell Park which is located on the corner of Brickell Plaza and Southeast 10th Street is one of the few green spaces in the neighborhood.
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However, it’s been off limits for years because of a legal battle between the City of Miami and the Allen Morris Company; which donated the land.
On Thursday a vote from the Miami City Commission ended the fight. The city of Miami voted to end the appeal process.
“Relief I think is the biggest sentiment for the family,” said council for the Allen Morris Company, Javier Fernandez. “This is not a fight we wanted but we are glad that it’s resolved.”
The Company has been fighting for almost a decade to reopen the park. Telling NBC 6 it spent more than a million dollars in the process.
WHY A LEGAL BATTLE?
It all started when The Allen Morris Company gifted the land to the City of Miami in the ’70s. One of the terms of the deed to the land was that it stays a park.
But in the late 90’s the restaurant next door; Perricone’s Marketplace asked to use a portion of the park for outdoor seating. The Allen Morris Company agreed. However, the restaurant ended up taking over the entire park and paying the city thousands of dollars in rent, according to court documents. So, the Allen Morris Company sued to get the park back.
Now, almost 50 years later this land will once again be used as a public park for everyone to enjoy.
“We’re glad that we were able to resolve this and we are looking forward to reopening the park,” said Fernandez.
The fences surrounding the park are expected to come down in the next few weeks. The city is now working on a licensing agreement because the property was returned to The Allen Morris Company.
This means the park will remain privately owned, but will be operated by the city as a public park.
