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Developer plans major renovations to Riverfront Park in Daytona Beach

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Daytona Beach may soon have its own park that would be similar to downtown Orlando's Lake Eola Park.

The city is mulling a plan to hand Riverfront Park over to a nonprofit in exchange for millions of dollars in upgrades.

City officials said the idea may be a catalyst to spark growth downtown.

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There wasn’t much going on at the park Thursday, and residents who live and work in the area said their biggest complaint about the park is the homeless.

If the city makes the improvement, it's promising locals the project could be a positive for downtown.

At the moment, there's not much for families to enjoy at Daytona Beach's Riverfront Park.

While it sits on the Halifax River and in the heart of downtown, people find the park, at best, lacking. At worst, some say it can be dangerous.

“There's a lot of homeless people,” said Daytona Beach resident Crystal Fowler. “They can be aggressive. When I do go, I go with my co-worker. We walk in pairs.”

Documents obtained by WFTV News show the city is considering an idea that could transform the park completely.

The city would lease the park to the Brown Riverfront Esplanade Foundation for the next 50 years. In turn, the nonprofit would add $15 million worth of improvements to the park.

Those include a botanical garden, splash pad, interactive fountain, riverfront promenade and more.

The city would cover the maintenance costs, which run roughly $800,000 a year.

Plans show the park would also complement the new insurance headquarters Brown and Brown is building across the street, with roughly $15 million in tax credits.

“You hope that it's going to be a positive thing,” said Rosemarie Mirino, who owns Rosie’s Italian Bakery.

Mirino's restaurant sits right across the street from the park, and she said anything that brings more families to Beach Street is good.

“When you start drawing in families, you know, you draw in a different atmosphere,” Mirino said. “And that's a positive thing and maybe the park will do that.”

A positive mark that some feel could get downtown Daytona Beach back on track.

The city commission has not taken any action on this proposal yet, but the item is expected to be brought up at a future meeting.

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