"BHA has been advocating for more parks for much of its two-decade existence." The Brickell Homeowners Association wrote that line in its Fall 2011 newsletter. The occasion was the groundbreaking of a small green space at the corner of South Miami Avenue where the Brickell Emporium deli used to be.
Fifteen years later, the same patch of ground is back on the neighborhood's agenda. On October 21, City of Miami District 3 Commissioner Rolando Escalona hosted a community meeting at 1121 South Miami Avenue about something his office calls the Flatiron Dog Park. Anyone who walks a dog in Brickell has reason to follow it. The question that will decide the outcome is older than the dog park idea. It goes back to who owns the land and what the City is allowed to do on it.
A park that started on someone else's land
The BHA's history of Flatiron Park traces the arrangement to a 2010 decision. That year the City Commission adopted Resolution R-10-0044, which authorized a license agreement letting the City run a passive public park on about 8,900 square feet at 1121 South Miami Avenue. The resolution names Brickell Flatiron LLC as the landowner and calls the space "Pointe Park." In BHA's own words, this was "authorization for park use on private land, rather than a transfer of ownership to the City."
That arrangement is the background to everything that followed. Over 16 years, the site and the parcel beside it have changed hands and uses several times:
- 2010. Resolution R-10-0044 authorizes City park use on the private parcel.
- September 2011. Residents celebrate the groundbreaking. Then-Commissioner Marc Sarnoff, developer Mallory Kauderer and landscape architect Raymond Jungles brought the project together, and Jungles donated his time.
- 2015. By February, Ugo Colombo's website describes a building inside the park serving as the Brickell Flatiron Sales & Design Gallery, featuring the work of artist Julian Schnabel.
- 2021. CMC Group sells the sales-center property at 1101 South Miami Avenue to Retail Ocean LLC for $6.5 million, with reporting describing a restaurant-oriented redevelopment.
- 2026. Commissioner Escalona raises the idea of a community dog park, then invites residents to talk it through on October 21.
The 2011 coverage already anticipated this. BHA's newsletter acknowledged future development on part of the property while describing a substantial portion as remaining publicly accessible park space. The neighbor at 1101 has also run on its own clock. In 2021 the Miami Herald reported that the site's investors expected to pick a tenant by late 2021, demolish the former sales center and open a new building by late 2023. That date has come and gone. Next door, the green space is being asked to take on a new role.
What Jungles drew, and what a dog park would ask of it
The original design was meant for sitting. Jungles' 2011 plan called for new trees, preservation of existing trees, large oolite boulders arranged as seating and a platform, and movable furniture. The stated aim was to bring nature into the built environment and give neighbors a place to gather.
The original landscape plan called for new trees, preservation of existing trees, large oolite boulders forming seating and a platform, and movable furniture.
A dog park works differently. It needs a defined edge, surfaces that hold up to daily use, shade where dogs actually run and a clear owner for maintenance. Those are the same subjects BHA put on the table when it encouraged neighbors to attend, listing "shade, landscaping, seating, accessibility and the needs of dogs, their owners and neighboring residents," along with "clear answers about boundaries, public access, maintenance and next steps."
BHA's list of questions for the meeting is worth reading in full, because the fourth one is the license question from 2010, asked again:
- What are the proposed park boundaries and improvements?
- How will shade, landscaping, seating and accessibility be addressed?
- How will the space serve dogs, their owners and neighboring residents?
- Who owns the park land today, and what agreement governs City use and public access?
- Who will maintain the park?
- What are the next steps and anticipated schedule?
These are open questions, not settled terms. The idea first surfaced publicly at BHA's Breakfast Briefing on August 25 at DUA Miami, Autograph Collection. There, according to BHA's recap, Escalona "highlighted ongoing work around Flatiron Park, including efforts to support its future use as a community dog park." Neither the recap nor the October invitation gives a design, a budget or a date.
Where a Brickell dog goes in the meantime
Until there are answers, the daily walk depends on a patchwork of public spaces with different rules. Most of them allow dogs to pass through on a leash. Very few were designed with dogs as a primary use, and the closest dog park in the City's listings is across the river in Downtown.
| Place | What the listing says about dogs | Hours listed |
|---|---|---|
| The Underline's River Room, Miami River to SW 7th Street | Described by the County as "the place for dogs and their owners to rest and play" | Not specified for dogs |
| 1814 Brickell, 1814 Brickell Ave | Dogs allowed on leash; no dog park listed | Sunrise to sunset |
| Alice C. Wainwright Park | Dogs allowed on leash; no dog park listed | Sunrise to sunset |
| Simpson Rockland Hammock Preserve Park | Dogs prohibited | 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily |
| Margaret Pace Park, Downtown | Dogs allowed on leash; dog park listed | 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. |
The River Room deserves the most attention. It is the northern terminus of the 10-mile Underline and connects to the Miami River Greenway. The County's Phase 1 page describes it as a city block of rolling topography planted with native grasses and pollinator plants. Brickell Backyard, the half-mile Underline segment it anchors, opened in February 2021 at a cost of about $16.5 million in state, county and city funds. For now, it is the neighborhood's best-documented answer to the dog question.
Simpson Park is the opposite case. The City lists it as a preserve, and its listing prohibits dogs entirely. Margaret Pace Park, north of the river in Downtown, is the closest listing in the City's directory that includes a dog park. For fenced areas generally, Miami-Dade County's dog park guidance says dogs stay leashed until they are inside the fenced area, which is then off-leash.
November on the Underline, with or without a dog
The Underline is already the closest thing Brickell has to a shared backyard, and its November calendar shows it. BHA's calendar lists Underline yoga on Saturday mornings, November 7, 14, 21 and 28, from 9 to 10 a.m.
The month's dog-specific event is farther down the line. On November 19, The Underline's Chewy Pack Walk meets at Chewy Bark Park, Lot 40, 4500 Ponce de Leon Blvd in Coral Gables. It is a guided group walk with social time, and local rescue partner Paw Patrol is bringing three adoptable dogs. The event page lists check-in from 6:30 p.m. but gives two different end times, so confirm the schedule with The Underline before you go. A park built around dogs, farther south on the same Underline that starts at the River Room, is a useful reference for what a finished version of the Flatiron idea could look like.
Following the next step
BHA describes the October meeting as a chance to share "memories and ideas for a welcoming, useful space." The answers on boundaries, maintenance and the governing agreement will come from the District 3 office. You can reach it at 305-250-5380 or [email protected], and BHA also points residents to the District 3 newsletter for updates.
Jungles' boulders were placed for people to sit on. If the park is redesigned, every choice about fencing, shade and surfaces will have to fit about 8,900 square feet, under whatever agreement now governs the land.
At Jomed Construction, we plan outdoor rooms the way Raymond Jungles planned Flatiron Park: around shade, native stone, mature trees, and the people and pets who will use the space every day. If you are planning a home where the garden and a run for your dog are designed together with the house, we would welcome the conversation. Request a Project Consultation.
