On opening week this summer, Carlos Solis, Marathon's director of engineering, watched riders line up at the new wheel park at Marathon Community Park. He told Keys Weekly that some of them had come from much farther than the Middle Keys: "I even had kids telling me 'We live up in Key Largo, man, but this thing's awesome. We'll be here all the time.'"
Four months later, the concrete is finished and the rules are settled. The rest of that corner is still a schedule. A splash pad, a restroom and a concession stand all have funding. The pad's plans are finished, the building's design is at 90%, and both are lined up to follow the skate park one at a time. Donors and a tourist-tax grant cover most of the cost. The order comes from a city engineering department that runs a long list of projects with a small staff, and that is why the full corner will arrive in pieces through the winter.
The Wheel Park Is Done, and Its Rules Have Changed Since Opening
The city announced the soft opening on June 23, 2026, which Keys Weekly reported was the first time the site had wheels on it since 2023. The $1.4 million park was designed and built by the Platform Group. The firm held workshops with local skaters to plan the layout, which includes rails, quarter pipes, ramps and a pump track.
In July the park was still fenced off in sections while crews finished the landscaping and irrigation. The city's October 13, 2026 engineering update says the final asphalt and the sidewalk are now installed and the permit for the skate park is closed. The contractor still has a punch list of items to finish under a separate infrastructure permit, and the city won't release final payment until that list is complete. Marathon's September Parks and Recreation report says the park has been used "quite a bit each day" and that feedback has been good.
What's allowed on the ramps has changed since opening week. Early coverage described skateboards, scooters, bikes and rollerblades all arriving on the first days. The city has since clarified the rules, which KeysNews reported:
- Permitted: skateboarding, inline skating and freestyle bicycling
- Not permitted: scooters, electric or not, because city officials say they raise the risk of collisions on the ramps and rails
- Hours: sunrise to sunset, as reported at opening
According to the city, keeping the list of permitted activities consistent makes the park safer and the rules easier to follow.
Most of the Money Came From Gifts and a Grant
Who paid for this corner explains why the pieces are showing up in this order. The skate park came first because one local nonprofit pushed for it for years. Matt Sexton, the entrepreneur who founded the Florida Keys Community Center, spent what Keys Weekly called an eight-year campaign arguing for the rebuild, and the Center gave $265,000 toward it. On June 29, while his own children rode the new park, Sexton described how long it had taken: "This has been through three city managers, three city councils." He also credited Christina and Tina Belotti with championing the original park.
United Way of Collier and the Keys followed with gifts from anonymous donors, as Keys Weekly reported in January 2025. That money included $75,000 for the skate park and $500,000 for a splash pad. Leah Stockton, who leads UWCK in the Keys, said the money was meant to give young people somewhere to play outdoors in the heat and to give Marathon a place to gather.
| Piece of the corner | Committed funding | Source of the money |
|---|---|---|
| Wheel park | $1.4 million total build | $265,000 from Florida Keys Community Center; $75,000 from United Way of Collier and the Keys; balance from the city |
| Splash pad | Up to $700,000 construction contract | $500,000 from United Way of Collier and the Keys |
| Restroom and concession stand | $300,114 grant | Tourist Development Council grant |
Add up the outside gifts and they come to $840,000 in private money for the two recreation pieces. The tourist-tax grant pays for the building that will serve both. In other words, money was not what held the splash pad back.
The Splash Pad's Clock Moved From June to November
In May 2026, the city council approved up to $700,000 for SplashPads USA to build the pad next to the skate park. Keys Weekly reported at that meeting that Solis expected construction to start in June, once the skate park was done.
June arrived with the skate park still open-ended, and the pad entered the permitting stage instead. Here is how the timeline has moved since then:
- July 2, 2026: Keys Weekly reports the splash pad is "about to enter permitting."
- September 8, 2026: The city reports the site plan is complete, the site has been graded and the utilities are in. Final engineering plans for the piping and equipment are expected by mid-September.
- October 13, 2026: Engineering drawings and city site plans are complete and are being submitted for permits to both the Building Department and the County Health Department. The city expects construction to begin in November and finish within 100 days.
If construction starts in November and takes the full 100 days, the pad would be finished in late winter or early spring 2027. That is the city's forecast, not a promised opening date. The County Health Department review is one step a public water feature needs that a slab of skate concrete does not.
The restroom and concession stand come right after it. Solis's October update puts the building's design at 90%, with final comments sent back to the architect. City engineers are drawing the site plan and the sewer pumping station in-house, and the city expects to put the project out to bid in early November. Keys Weekly reported in July that muralist Claudio Picasso, one of the first artists to work on the original skate park, has agreed to create an art installation across the finished park. Sexton called it "a full-circle moment."
One Engineering Department Runs the Whole List
The splash pad's delay looks less odd next to everything else on Solis's desk. In both its September and October updates, the city said it is holding off on bidding the Seven Mile Marina building renovation because it has several construction projects underway and wants "to ensure our limited project management staff is not overwhelmed." Here is what else the same team is moving this fall, per the October 13 update:
- Seven Mile Marina docks: The finger piers are finished and ready for leasing. A canopy over the boat lift the Fire Department will use is on back order. The long marginal dock along the south seawall stays closed until city crews finish concrete restoration, which is expected by the end of October.
- Seven Mile Marina building: Once renovated, it will be the permanent reception for Pigeon Key. It will also hold a marina office, space for lease and enclosed lockers for charter captains. It has not gone out to bid yet.
- Quay property redevelopment: The stormwater system, road subgrade and base are installed, and the project is on schedule to finish by the end of January.
- 117th Street bridge: The pre-construction meeting was held October 6, and the Notice to Proceed is expected in early November. The awarded bid was $1,561,817.29, below the $1,751,644 estimate, and the contract allows 240 days for final completion. The plan is to rebuild half the bridge at a time so one lane stays open, with occasional short full closures announced in advance.
- US 1 Beautification Project: The pre-construction meeting was held October 1. The Notice to Proceed is on hold until November 9 so a utility contractor can finish a force main for the deep injection well project.
November is shaping up to be the month several of these start at once: the splash pad, the restroom bid, the 117th Street bridge and the US 1 work. The city has said it will bid the marina building only as its current projects near completion, so closing out jobs like the skate park's punch list frees the same staff for the next one.
By the end of January, if the city's forecasts hold, the Quay work will be done, the bridge will be a little more than a third of the way through its 240-day window, and the splash pad will be in its final weeks of construction. The restroom and concession stand have no completion date yet.
A new splash pad, new docks at Seven Mile Marina and a rebuilt bridge all change daily life near a Marathon address. If you'd like to know how the parks, docks and public projects near your property factor into its value, the Middle Keys team at Ocean Sotheby's International Realty would be glad to prepare a home valuation for you.
