MIAMI – Construction crews began pouring concrete Thursday at Gratigny Plateau Park, taking the leap from blue print to imprint.
"Yesterday it rained all morning, so we put the concrete off until today," said David Woodland, of Woodland Construction. "It is a beautiful day. We want a good clean finish on it so the people can enjoy the park."
After nearly two years of planning and clearing, Local 10's dream of building the Gratigny Plateau Park is happening. A crew of half a dozen from Woodland Construction spent a full day pouring three full trucks of concrete donated by the construction company to build the sidewalk.
"The first big milestone of the project," said Marc Plancarte, of Miller Construction Company. "All of this work is being donated by every one of the contractors that are out here and that is why the project is not progressing at the normal speed a project would progress."
The work is the latest progress on the three-lot community park that bisects Northwest 116th and 117th Streets at 8th Avenue, as Local 10 and partners team up to give the neighborhood the kind of park that the original landowners might have envisioned when they deeded the land for that purpose decades ago.
Folks in the neighborhood, especially the kids, are excited to see the progress.
"When they come from school, they have somewhere to come and run around," said Leaford Williams, who has lived in the community 25 years.
"I can run and play on the sidewalks," said Benjamin Hilail. "I can play football on the sidewalks."
"The progress of the park will be slower than any other project and it's because of that reason," said Plancarte. "If somebody's willing to donate, like Woodland Construction here today, tens (of) thousands of dollars -- you know, 30 yards of concrete here is probably in the neighborhood of over $3,000, that's just for the concrete. That has nothing to do with all the work it took to put the forms up, to place the concrete and to finish it. They've really done an amazing job to help us out for this project."
Special section: Gratigny Plateau Park