DeBARY, Fla. – A massive nature park covering over 200 acres is set to open in DeBary next year.
The city bought the land in 2023 to save it from being developed and now, with the help of a recent $2.5 million grant from the county, the city is on its way to making its vision come to life.
Alexander Island is stretched along the St. Johns River.
“We’re planning on building not only kayak launches, fishing piers, overlooks, etc... We want to turn this into a one-of-a-kind nature park,” City Manager Carmen Rosamonda said.
Rosamonda walked News 6 through the plans and different areas of the future park.
He said a berm created by the Army Corps of Engineers in the 1950s when they dredged the river will turn into a boardwalk along the water and around the property.
One of the reasons the city paid $3.5 million last year to save it from being developed into 64 homes is a 50-acre oak forest.
“It’ll be unpaved trails through this here, so even during the summertime when it’s hot, there’s a 1- or 2-mile walk of shaded walk through the historic oak hammock and you can see what old Florida really looks like,” Rosamonda said.
The city recently received a $2.5 million echo grant from the county to boost its funding.
“We have $4.3 million to get started. That’ll provide a good foundation for this project, but this is going to be a 10-to-20-year project, taking this boardwalk all the way around the berm on the edge of the river,” he said.
The entrance to Alexander Island will be off Fort Florida Road. Just outside of the entrance is the end of the trail that leads down to the SunRail station in DeBary and the future Main Street the city is currently building for a downtown.
Rosamonda said the city hopes to have the majority of the park open by December of next year.