Kirk Munroe Park

Kirk Munroe Park, named for the author, adventurer, and conservation advocate who built the first tennis court in Miami-Dade County, anchors the civic life of Coconut Grove's Center Grove and has long served families, recreational tennis players, and students from nearby Coconut Grove Elementary School. A $5 million redesign approved by the City of Miami — funded through a public-private partnership in which the city committed $3 million from its Capital Improvements Plan and Allen Morris Company committed $2 million in public benefit contributions, with the firm acting as development manager — brings more than 100 new native trees, an ornamental pavilion, a great lawn, a playground, a fitness area, butterfly gardens, oolitic limestone seating, five refurbished tennis courts with two shelters and a hitting wall, new pathways, upgraded crossings, enhanced lighting, and buried power lines. Architecture is led by Rafael Portuondo of Portuondo Perotti Architects with landscape by Andres Arcila of Naturalficial, developed with planting guidance from Florida International University's Dr. Chris Baraloto, while the companion Fuller Street rebuild uses a suspended paving system to protect the mature canopy and knits the park, neighboring restaurants and shops, surrounding residential blocks, and the Coconut Grove waterfront into a more walkable public realm.