Grand Central Park Set to Begin Construction, Groundbreaking Ceremony to be Tuesday October 18th

Oct. 17, 2011 - PRLog -- Mark Lesniak, Executive Director of Omni Parkwest Redevelopment Association Inc. (OPRA) a 501 (c)3 non-profit corporation in Miami, Florida is pleased to announce Florida’s first Instant Park will hold official Groundbreaking Ceremonies with City of Miami District 2 Commissioner Marc Sarnoff and the Southeast Overtown Park West Community Redevelopment Agency chaired by City of Miami Commissioner Michelle Spence-Jones at 700 N. Miami Avenue this Tuesday, October 17th, at 5pm.

Grand Central Park received final permits from the City of Miami, allowing construction of Florida’s first Instant Park to begin on the former site of the Miami Arena. Formal groundbreaking ceremonies for the park are to be held this Tuesday, October 18th, celebrating the start of construction.

In March 2010, the Omni Parkwest Redevelopment Association (OPRA), a not-for-profit corporation, began Phase I of Grand Central Park with the idea of improving the site in order to improve perception of the area, and residents' quality of life.

Private funds were used to hire local workers and indigents to improve the site. OPRA received a $200,000 grant from the Community Redevelopment Agency to complete Phase II.

OPRA has also received in-kind contributions of material and labor from a variety of sources. Walter Meyer and Jennifer Bolestad of Local Office Landscape and Urban Design, a landscape design firm based in Brooklyn, NY, designed the Instant Park Concept for Grand Central Park.

Grand Central Park will be built in 30 days according to OPRA’s Architectural plan, leading the movement of rapid deployment multi-use recreational facilities for temporary and permanent use across the State of Florida.  

"Every corner of the City of Miami deserves to have public park space that residents can utilize. Grand Central Park will not only serve that purpose but it also will begin to alleviate the blight this area has suffered under for far too long," said Commissioner Marc D. Sarnoff.

OPRA is a community-based not-for-profit group, founded by Bradley Knoefler in 2009, focused on progressive, low-cost urban renewal projects. Grand Central Park will be operated by OPRA and it's community Board of Directors led by Executive Director Mark Lesniak.

“Grand Central Park will bring activity and jobs to the neighborhood,” said Mark Lesniak, Executive Director of OPRA, “It can also serve as a pilot project for other temporary uses of vacant land in downtown Miami,”

For questions and further information, please visit http://www.grandcentralpark.org or contact Mark Lesniak at 305.814.6219 or gcparkmiami@gmail.com. Follow the Grand Central Park twitter account @gcparkmiami for the most up to the minute developments related to Grand Central Park.

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Omni Parkwest Redevelopment Association is a not for profit community organization with a citizen board of directors located in Downtown Miami