A Small Edgewater Gem

Residents in the Edgewater neighborhood of Miami are enjoying a new park.

A June 2019 ribbon-cutting ceremony unveiled Paraiso Park, a .6-acre patch of greenery amidst four high-rise condominiums constructed in the recently created Paraiso District, along Biscayne Bay just south of Interstate 195, which connects I-95 in the west with Miami Beach in the east. It is located at 3101 NE 7th Ave. between NE 30th Terrace and NE 32nd Street.

According to the Trust for Public Land (TPL), Paraiso Park serves 6,905 residents living within a 10-minute walk. It is the result of a project led by the development firm Related Group, which built the small waterfront park for the city in exchange for closing NE 31st Street to allow construction of the new district. Although it is a City of Miami park, it is maintained by the Paraiso District.

South of Paraiso Park is neighboring Icon Bay Park, a similar bayfront public-private partnership created in 2015 by Related Group.

Visitors traveling by car can find PayByPhone street parking along NE 7th Avenue, although the park is mostly frequented by local residents. Bike racks are positioned in front along NE 30th Terrace.

The park may be tiny, but it holds several key amenities: an outdoor fitness zone, a children’s playground and a fenced-in dog park.

Three Kompan Fitness Zone machines are installed on rubberized safety flooring in the western section of the park. There is ample room for one or two additional pieces of equipment if desired in the future.

In the park’s southernmost area, a children’s playground is built on a large expanse of blue safety surfacing. It features a three-seater spinning bouncer and a tall rope climber, as well as a couple of benches and a water fountain. It is not a fenced space, but low hedges and security cameras help keep kids protected.

Paraiso’s most popular amenity is the fenced-in dog park in its western section, next to the fitness zone. There is a continuous stream of dog walkers leading their charges to this spot for a game of fetch or just a romp with other furry friends. Here, an attractive sculptural metal fence is installed on gravel, and there is a pet-waste station with bags (another stands outside the dog park). A dual human-canine water fountain and two benches are smartly positioned on concrete slabs.

Two additional wooden benches are placed within the garden area facing the water. There is night lighting and landscape lighting; decorative light wraps around many of the park’s native and non-native trees, such as oak, seagrape, palms and royal poincianas. Clusia, black-eyed Susans and fescue round out the landscaping. Many of the trees are supported by wooden bracing, perhaps due to Tropical Storm Eta, which blew through South Florida in November.

Paraiso Park welcomes Art in Public Places. A large totem-like sculpture, “Column Tree” by Florencio Gelabert Jr., is installed at the southwest entrance. An elaborate lighting fixture, “Arbol de Luz” by artist Rafael Villares, towers above all else in the garden parkscape.

Arguably the latest main attraction in the Paraiso District is the wide grey-brick baywalk that runs adjacent to the park. It is part of the Biscayne Line, a 10-mile waterfront promenade connecting Edgewater in the north with downtown Miami in the south. It is lined with mature coconut palms and offers a fantastic view of the bay, including the Julia Tuttle and Venetian Causeways. Next to the park along the baywalk is the restaurant Amara at Paraiso, where diners can safely enjoy pandemic-compliant outdoor seating amid bay breezes.

Among the great aspects of Paraiso Park do lie two minor shortcomings. Sadly, all of the fescue grass plants have been cropped, preventing the lovely natural bushiness of the plants, and in a couple of high traffic spots, the grass needs resodding. 

Paraiso Park

3101 NE 7th Ave. Miami, FL 33137

Hours: Open 24/7

Picnic tables: No

Tennis courts: No

Fenced dog park: Yes

Playground: Yes

Outdoor fitness zone: Yes

Swimming pool: No

Night lighting: Yes

Baywalk: Yes