By Brian McBride
Associate Editor

If plans go as scheduled, Lakefront Park in downtown Kissimmee will look completed in about two years.

The City Commission un-animously approved spending the $13.2 million needed for phase two of the project at its Feb. 1 meeting; work on the project is expected to begin March 14.

“I think the thing we are doing is that when we finish phase two, it (the park) will look like it’s completed,” City Commissioner Jerry Gemskie said.

City Manager Mike Steigerwald agreed with Gemskie’s assessment.

“In summary, the project is going to complete the vast majority of the guts of the proposed lakefront project,” Steigerwald said.

The scope of the work, according to Steigerwald, will cover the major marine construction, including building the pier and replacing several hundred feet of sea wall, which will bring visitors right to the edge of the lakefront. It also will add more parking spaces near the boat ramps

Moreover, phase two calls for building a large urban plaza on Ruby Avenue near Lakefront Drive, which will encompass several pavilions and a concession area. And it will build a playground along Monument Avenue as well as a pavilion for large events.

The city is wrapping up phase one, which should be completed in July. That $7.7 million project involves much of the utility work and included transforming Lakeshore Boulevard into a pedestrian walkway, while realigning Johnson Street to accommodate vehicular traffic.

Phase three will add park amenities over several years, including a 30-foot, cube-shaped fountain that will be featured in a plaza on Ruby Avenue.  Local artist Jefre Manuel, who goes by jefrË in the art world, designed the sculpture, called “Rain,” which was selected from a short list in 2009.

In Manuel’s design, water will flow over the 30-foot cube, pausing at intervals to allow people to walk through a hidden door inside the hollow structure. The design also included an underground element that visitors could access from inside the cube. A tunnel under the sculpture would allow residents to stand underneath a pool of water and see activity going on above, and vice versa.

If the city can secure private funding for the $750,000 project, the cube fountain would be completed in phase two, Steigerwald said.

The city had budgeted about $25 million to compete the entire project.

According to the city’s website, the 25-acre park will preserve the tree canopy and boast more than a mile of paved trails for skating, biking and walking; the ability to launch boats or kayaks; a concession stand or restaurant; three playgrounds; and space to hold community events.

The park project started in 2006, when more than 300 residents invested their time to attend a series of three community meetings hosted by the city’s Parks and Recreation and Development Services Departments. They shared ideas, suggestions and comments about what they wanted to see in park improvements.