A new park is on the horizon for the Innerarity Point area near Perdido Key. The park is being developed by the Trust for Public Land, a national non-profit organization which conserves land for use as parks and public spaces.
Escambia County commissioners could vote Thursday evening to approve an agreement with the organization on a 3.38-acre parcel bounded by Innerarity Point Road, Bob O Link Road, Cruzat Way, and the Intracoastal Waterway. Under the agreement, the Trust for Public Land would develop the park, donate the property to the county, and fund the maintenance of the park for a ten years.
A conceptual drawing for a park on Innerarity Point, near Hub Stacey’s. (Escambia County/Special to The Pulse)
The park — located adjacent to Hub Stacey’s at the Point and the Galvez Landing boat ramp — would include on-site parking, picnic pavilions, restrooms, playground structures, a beach area, and a dock for fishing and launching kayaks and other paddle craft. Existing tree canopies on the site will be preserved wherever possible and an open lawn area in the center of the park will be created for use by festivals and other activities.
“Innerarity Point Park provides an opportunity for public use of the waterfront in a more passive way than at the neighboring marina,” said the Trust for Public Land in conceptual program documents. “A high vantage point allows for sweeping views of the waterway, which are captured and maximized at multiple locations along the shoreline.”
“Escambia County citizens are going to be getting a phenomenal product, using money that came from outside of Escambia County,” said county commissioner Doug Underhill, in whose district the park will be located.
The acquisition and development of the property is being funded by Phase V of the Natural Resources Damage Assessment (NRDA) process, which is part of the restoration process stemming from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.