Stakes, markings sprouting at Gratigny Park

Land surveyors begin outlining paved walkways

MIAMI – A series of wooden stakes and bright pink markings sprouted in Gratigny Plateau Park Tuesday as land surveyors created the first outlines for paved walkways.

The work is the latest progress on the three-lot community park that bisects Northwest 116th and 117th Streets at 8th Avenue, as Local 10 and partners team up to give the neighborhood the kind of park that the original landowners might have envisioned when they deeded the land for that purpose decades ago.

Special section: Gratigny Park

"They're very excited about it," said James McLaughlin III, whose team spent the early part of the week staking and spraying the outlines of the walking paths. "Little kids will have some place to play."

McLaughlin Engineers, the land survey company McLaughlin's family started 75 years ago, is donating its time and resources to the project that began in April 2012.

The outline of the park will be the shape of a flower, a design created and donated by landscape architect Kona Gray. 

"There are going to be little bench areas where people can sit down, and as you get to that far north side that's where the actual flower is going to be," explained McLaughlin.


About the Author:

Glenna Milberg joined Local 10 News in September 1999 to report on South Florida's top stories and community issues. She also serves as co-host on Local 10's public affairs broadcast, "This Week in South Florida."