At 4 p.m. on a weekday in October, where can you sit under a tree in Brickell? Until the Fourth of July weekend, one answer was the corner of Southeast 10th Street and Brickell Plaza. That corner is a quarter-acre of banyan, black olive and gumbo limbo, wedged between the citizenM hotel and the Brickell Flatiron. Allen Morris Brickell Park has been fenced since early July.
The other answers come with a schedule. Simpson Park Hammock closes at 3 p.m. Alice Wainwright Park closes at sunset. The Urban Gym under the Metrorail tracks shuts at 9 p.m. In the densest blocks of the neighborhood, the question is no longer which park is closest. It is which park is open at the hour you have free. This fall, that clock matters more than the map.
The Lease on the Corner
The fence goes back to 1974. That year developer L. Allen Morris donated the land to the City of Miami, on the condition that it stay a park or revert to the family. In 1999 the city asked to let the neighboring Perricone's Marketplace use the space for seating, and over time the restaurant came to occupy the park. The Allen Morris Company sued in 2014, and after about a decade of litigation it won the land back.
In 2023 the City Commission dropped its appeals and rezoned the parcel from civic space to T6-48B-O, a high-density urban-core designation. In return, the company reopened the site as a private park for 18 months. That zoning allows up to 48 stories, plus 32 more in exchange for public benefits. The 2023 reopening was always temporary, and in July 2026 the park closed to the public again.
Next on the 7,780-square-foot lot at 25 Southeast 10th Street is Gavina. It's a 3,000-square-foot restaurant from Stefano Secchi, the chef behind Rezdôra in Manhattan, which holds a Michelin star. The terms of its permit matter more for the neighborhood's daily routine than the menu does. In April the city approved a temporary use permit for one year. The zoning administrator can renew it annually for up to three years, and anything beyond that needs a City Commission vote. The permit caps occupancy at 132 people, staff included, and allows the restaurant to operate daily from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Renderings show a wooden building with patios, built around the lot's mature banyan. The developer says it will plant six new trees to offset the five it has a permit to remove. Javier Fernández, the company's attorney, told The Real Deal the restaurant should run for "the better part of the next five years." He was also direct about what comes after:
"The restaurant is not the final plan. Certainly there is an interest in doing something else with the parcel."
Several pieces are still unresolved. No opening date for Gavina had been published in coverage through August. The challenge to the tree permit is still pending in the accounts available: The Real Deal reported on August 7 that neighbors had appealed and the permit remained in place, and the Miami Herald wrote a week later that the Sierra Club was planning an appeal. A resident has gathered almost 2,000 signatures on a petition to keep the park. Commissioner Rolando Escalona, who represents this part of Brickell, told the Herald he doesn't support a high-rise there.
Once Gavina opens, the corner will be green again, but its hours will be those of a dining room.
The Day, Hour by Hour
Here is Brickell's outdoor space for fall 2026, ordered by the time each place stops being an option:
- Simpson Park Hammock, 55 SW 17 Road. Open 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily.
- Alice Wainwright Park, 2651 Brickell Avenue. Open sunrise to sunset.
- The Underline's Urban Gym and Flex Court, Brickell Backyard. Open 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
- Gavina, once open. Permitted 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
- The Underline's main trail. Open 24 hours, seven days a week.
On this list, the largest preserve near the core closes before most offices let out. After about 7 p.m. in October, once the sun is down, the only public outdoor space that stays open is the strip under the Metrorail tracks.
Under the Tracks
Brickell Backyard was Phase 1 of The Underline. It runs from the Miami River to SW 13th Street beside Brickell station. Along that stretch are a fenced Flex Court, mini-pitch soccer, body-weight equipment, a running track with spectator seating, and the Inter Stage at SW 8th Street and SW 1st Avenue. The Inter Stage has a digital screen and a cantilevered canopy.
The Inter Stage is also where the neighborhood's Saturday routine has returned. The Underline Market came back on October 3, running 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. with local farmers, makers, produce, artisan goods, food and music at 805 SW 1st Avenue. The official calendar didn't list later market dates at last check, so confirm before you go.
One correction for dog owners. Miami DDA's attractions page describes a dog park on the Brickell section, but The Underline's own destination map puts its named Chewy Bark Park in Coral Gables, at 4500 Ponce de Leon Boulevard. The October 15 Chewy Pack Walk, 6:30 to 8 p.m., starts there.
The corridor is also getting longer. On August 15 a 1.17-mile section opened between Dadeland and South Miami, bringing seven of the planned 10 miles into service. The last three miles, through Coral Gables, were still under construction in September and were expected by year's end. Once that segment is done, a run that starts at the Miami River can follow a continuous path south.
The Edges Have the Canopy
For a sense of scale, the Herald counts Mary Brickell Park at two acres and Simpson Park Hammock at eight. The fenced corner is a quarter-acre. Brickell's real tree cover sits on its bayfront and southern edges, and each edge works on its own schedule.
Simpson Park Hammock is a forest preserve with walking trails, bathrooms, picnic tables and parking. On Saturdays and Sundays it offers free half-mile naturalist walks at 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Each walk takes 20 people, first come, first served. The city may close the trails ahead of weather alerts or after heavy rain, strong wind or fallen trees, so check before a weekend visit.
Mary Brickell Park, at 501 Brickell Avenue, is a tree-lined path from Brickell Avenue down to Biscayne Bay. The city's new seawall and baywalk behind the neighboring First Presbyterian Church is now marked complete, so the detour routes used during construction are no longer needed.
Alice Wainwright Park has a tropical hardwood hammock, waterfront, outdoor gym equipment, basketball, a playground, picnic tables and grills. Phase I, with a new seawall, baywalk and landscaping, is complete. A restroom renovation starts this month and is expected to finish in February 2027, and the park stays open throughout. During the roof replacement this October, the water fountain next to the restrooms will be out of service, so bring water.
Brickell Key Park, at 500 Brickell Key Drive, has skyline views across the water. The city's bridge repair schedule projected completion in mid-2026, but its page doesn't say whether the full perimeter loop is open or what the hours are. Expect a possible detour on the way around.
A Second Park Is Also on Hold
Allen Morris isn't the only Brickell green space with an uncertain status. The city's directory lists Southside Park, on the west side, as closed until further notice. The developer of a Mercedes-Benz-branded condo tower has been using it as a sales center. According to the Herald in August, the project had stalled, which left the park's future unclear.
That leaves two of the neighborhood's smaller green spaces with timelines decided outside the parks calendar. Casey Piket, a Brickell history blogger who once helped move a black olive into Allen Morris park from the lot that became the citizenM, summed it up for the Herald: "I look at what we have for green space in Brickell, and it just continues to narrow."
Filling In the Weekend
Some of the outdoor routine now happens at private venues. Brickell City Centre's Fitness Sundays continue through November 15: Pilates outside Zara on October 18, a lululemon workout on November 1 and a final Pilates class on November 15, each from 10 to 11 a.m. For the late hours the parks don't cover, Granado's opened October 2 at 1250 S. Miami Avenue. It serves daily from 11 a.m. and stays open until 3 a.m. Thursday through Sunday, with a Choripan Burger topped with chorizo and chimichurri.
On a free Saturday this month, you could start with the 10:30 a.m. walk at Simpson Park Hammock, head to the Underline Market at the Inter Stage before it closes at 4, and end the day on the baywalk at Alice Wainwright before sunset. Bring your own water to that last stop.
When a quarter-acre lot like the one on Southeast 10th Street changes from public park to a permitted restaurant, it changes what the blocks around it offer day to day. At Juliana Savoia, we follow those changes block by block in Brickell. If you'd like to talk through how the neighborhood's open space is changing around your building, Request a Private Consultation.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
