"Well, it'll open no later than the end of December."
That was the update the District 2 office posted from inside Morningside Park on September 18, in a short City of Miami District 2 video, answering residents who had been asking when the park would open. The same video says when the office would like to open it: "We're looking at a Saturday morning."
On the Thursday this post goes live, seven Saturdays are left in 2026: November 14, 21 and 28, and December 5, 12, 19 and 26. One of them is likely to be the first morning in almost two years that the Morningside shoreline is open to walk. The north end of Biscayne already has a Saturday routine of its own. The market at Legion Park runs every week, and two new counters have opened on the boulevard this fall. Once the baywalk opens, it becomes a waterfront stop on a morning that is already full.
Behind the fence since December 2024
The City of Miami's Morningside Park Waterfront Improvements page gives a start date of December 4, 2024 and notes that a construction fence went up around the work area. The project budget is $16,886,344. It pays for 1,200 linear feet of new seawall and 2,250 linear feet of new baywalk.
The seawall is the engineering. The baywalk is what people will use. Phase I covers the park's eastern, bay-facing side and includes the following:
- A new baywalk, trailways, landscaping and tree planting
- Benches, trash receptacles and a water fountain
- Solar-powered lighting along the shoreline
- Upgrades to the boat ramp area, including its parking
- Improvements to the floating dock
The original schedule called for Phase I to finish in Summer 2026. The City's most recent progress label is dated August 2026 and still reads "Work in Progress." The September video explains the gap between those two dates. It names delays from flooding and from a change in the materials used on the baywalk, then adds, "but we're all good now." The written description under the video puts it a little differently, citing "a change in Baywalk materials and engineering," and says that a look through the fence shows the work "looks beautiful."
The west side of the park never closed
During construction the City fenced only the shoreline. Its project notice said the western side of the park would stay open throughout. That inland side is most of what the City's Morningside Park directory page lists: tennis courts, basketball, baseball, volleyball, a playground, outdoor gym equipment, picnic tables, BBQ areas and a recreation center. Dogs are allowed on a leash.
The hours matter more after the switch to standard time. General park hours run 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. The loop road and pedestrian gates close earlier, at 7 p.m. in summer and fall and at 6 p.m. in winter and spring. The boat ramp's listed hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day. The park's address is 750 NE 55th Terrace.
The shoreline opening completes Phase I of the waterfront project. The City's plan for the same project includes a Phase II on the park's western-side shoreline, with drainage improvements and landscaping.
Saturday already starts at Legion Park
The District 2 office wants a Saturday morning opening, and the Upper East Side already has a fixed Saturday morning event on Biscayne. The Legion Park Farmers Market is at 6601 Biscayne Blvd and runs Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The market's operator, the Urban Oasis Project, runs its markets year-round, rain or shine, and cancels only for extreme weather. Free parking is in the main park lot at 6447 NE 7th Ave. The current event calendar lists the market at those hours on November 14, 21 and 28 and on December 5 and 12.
So the year's remaining market Saturdays overlap almost exactly with the window for the baywalk opening. The ribbon-cutting, whenever it comes, will land on a morning when Legion Park is already set up a short way up the boulevard.
Two new counters on the boulevard
This fall, the stretch of Biscayne between the two parks added two places to stop along the way.
Teo Teo, 7285 Biscayne Blvd. It is a rotisserie chicken shop from the Caracas Bakery team, in the space right next door to the bakery. Miami New Times reported that it opened October 18 with a short Venezuelan menu: half or whole chickens with potatoes and carrots, a choice of dipping sauces, and a chicken Caesar sandwich on a soft baguette. The outlet described it as a fit for "a quick, delicious lunch or an easy takeout dinner."
El Deli, 6411 Biscayne Blvd. This small café sits just south of the market's block. It serves coffee, matcha and a short list of sandwiches, including a tuna melt, a ham and cheese, and a breakfast sandwich. The Infatuation's October 27 review noted that most sandwiches cost under $15 and recommended it for meeting a friend for breakfast or lunch in MiMo. El Deli's online ordering page lists it as closed Mondays and open Tuesday through Sunday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Those hours cover the Saturday morning.
The boulevard has also lost a long-running name this year. Blue Collar, at 6730 Biscayne Blvd, served its last meal on May 17. Miami New Times noted that the restaurant first opened in MiMo in 2012 and moved to a larger space with a full bar in 2024. It kept its menu the same through the move, from the dry-aged burger to the year-round Chanukah latkes.
Further south, nearer Morningside, the historic General Tire Building at 5600 Biscayne Blvd has a new tenant lined up. In July, Miami New Times reported that Burgers & Shakes, the South Florida chain from Benoli Hospitality Group, will put its MiMo location there. It will be the first new restaurant in the building since Andiamo Brick Oven Pizza closed after 23 years.
A Saturday route, once the gate opens
- Legion Park Farmers Market, from 9 a.m. It runs at 6601 Biscayne Blvd until 2 p.m., with free parking at 6447 NE 7th Ave.
- El Deli, 6411 Biscayne Blvd. Coffee or a breakfast sandwich, open from 8 a.m. on Saturdays.
- Morningside Park, 750 NE 55th Terrace. This is where the new 2,250-foot baywalk will open, with its new seating, trees and solar lighting along the water. Park hours start at 7 a.m.
- Teo Teo, 7285 Biscayne Blvd. A takeout chicken to carry home for dinner.
Until the gate opens, the route works with step three cut short. The western side of Morningside stays open with its courts and playground. The bay edge can be seen through the fence, which is how the District 2 office described the progress in September.
The Morningside Civic Association's events calendar is the community-level place to watch. Its most recent listing was the Halloween Block Party Bash on October 24. The District 2 office has set the end of December as the latest date for the shoreline to open.
For residents of Bay Point and the surrounding Upper East Side who want to talk through what Morningside's reopened shoreline means for the homes nearby, Bryan Halda and The Halda Group are glad to share what they're seeing from the neighborhood. Let's Connect.
