Lake Nona has announced today, July 11th, 2019, their new plans for a seven-acre park that is linear and next to an open waterway. This waterway will be designed to be an alternative for the management of stormwater. Featured in the surrounding areas of the waterway will be trails, pocket parks, and space for activities that stretch more than 100 feet wide. The length of the park will be a half-mile path from the Lake Nona Town Center to the heart of Laureate Park. Construction of the linear park is expected to begin next year.

“In Lake Nona, we’re always looking for ways to do things better,” said Tavistock Development Company President Jim Zboril. “We could have gone the traditional route of building a road and the infrastructure to manage stormwater underground, but instead we challenged our team to be resourceful and think differently. Creative thinking led to this linear park that not only provides a solution for stormwater, but creates an amenity our residents and visitors can benefit from.”

This linear park will be a first of its kind for Southeast Orlando. With incorporated recreational activities and paths, including a stormwater management solution for Lake Nona. The innovative design of this stormwater solution will replace more than a half-mile of roadways with an open waterway and surrounding park. The flow of the water will go through a series of low-head dams, called weirs, from west to east, leading into an existing lake. To ensure that the water is flowing, the water from the existing lake will recirculate to a series of other sources.

“Tavistock continues to be a critical partner in ensuring as our Orlando grows, it is done in a sustainable way, focused on innovation, while serving and benefiting our residents,” said City of Orlando Planning Official Elisabeth Dang. “This proposed project shows some of that same vision, with potential to create not only unique places to gather, but to also preserve and expand green space, further mobility options and increase water quality in one of the fastest growing areas in our city.”

The new park was designed by a local landscape architect called Dix.Hite + Partners, and will support multiple paths with lush landscaping, water features, and seating underneath canopies along the waterway. Included in the plans are transportation lanes to support the Move Nona initiative and a network of paths for walking, running, biking and autonomous. A two-acre communal area will provide a new space to host more community events with a large lawn, playground, and shaded areas for recreational activity.

In addition, the new linear park will provide several options to support two of Lake Nona’s growing community programs. The design of the park provides numerous options for new outdoor art installations. Also, the plans will further improve the quality and nature of green space, providing additional shade. In 2019, Lake Nona plans to relocate more than 200 trees.

Operated by Tavistock, the linear park will be one of three park projects commenced in Lake Nona. The other two parks include Heroes Community Park (which opens this Saturday) and McCoy Community Park, which is scheduled for later this year.