The Village's October calendar keeps sending families to the same address. Beginner bike riding, kids' pickleball clinics, open gym, Senior Tech Connect and the Shores Spooktacular are all at the C. Lawton McCall Community Center, 9617 Park Drive. Miami Shores' first Parks and Recreation Master Plan was adopted in May. It describes that building's structure and systems as deficient enough that they "likely warrant a full reconstruction vs. a renovation."
So the plan has moved past the question of whether the Village's main recreation building works. Its open questions are what replaces it, what gets built first and how it gets paid for. A resident survey on those questions is expected in late October or early November.
October at 9617 Park Drive
Here is what the Community Center and the Village's other public spaces are hosting this month, based on the Village's event listings.
| Date | Event | Where | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct. 6 | Farmers Market, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. | Landon Courtyard, Barry University | Not listed |
| Oct. 7 | "The Little Green Witch" live puppet show, 4 p.m. | Brockway Memorial Library, 10021 NE 2nd Ave. | Not listed |
| Oct. 10 | Beginner Riding with Pedal Yard, ages 2 to 10, 9 to 11 a.m. | Community Center, 9617 Park Dr. | $40 per person |
| Oct. 16 | Family Movie Night, The Nightmare Before Christmas, 6 p.m. | Miami Theater Center, hosted by the Arts & Culture Board | Free with RSVP, $5 at the door |
| Oct. 23 | Shores Spooktacular, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. | Community Center basketball courts | Paid wristbands |
The month started with two events on October 3. Brockway's 9th Annual Artisan Fair ran from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., and the Aquatics Complex hosted Doggie Dip, with separate pool sessions by dog size, a food truck and a puppuccino bar. Details for the movie night are listed on the Village's event page. That listing is the one to trust, because the printed newsletter names two different films for the same night.
What the Plan Found Inside the Building
FRMWRK Planning & Design prepared the plan. Its final-draft presentation, dated April 21, 2026, assesses the Recreation Complex in plain terms.
"Windows, glazing, and mechanical systems warrant full replacement. Water-damaged ceiling tiles in Community Center indicate potential moisture intrusion. The interiors are inflexible, limiting programming capacity."
The same page lists "numerous barriers to accessibility and code compliance" and says program demand exceeds the building's capacity. The October lineup above runs at full speed in that building today. That is the plan's point about capacity: demand is already there, and the building holds it back.
Council adopted the plan unanimously as a 10-to-15-year framework. Council members urged a phased approach. They asked staff to return with timelines, bond and grant options, and community engagement plans before any referendum.
Residents Put a Café at the Top of the List
When the planners asked which Community Center amenities deserved investment, the top-rated item was a café. It narrowly beat fitness space. The plan's Priority Investment Ratings for Community Center amenities rank:
- Café, 187
- Aerobics, yoga, fitness and dance space, 183
- Weight room, 173
- Cardiovascular equipment area, 165
- Multipurpose courts for basketball, volleyball and pickleball, 146
- Indoor running and walking track, 145
- Rental space for events, 144
Space for senior programs and clubs rated 119, space for teen activities rated 85, and an indoor golf driving range rated 80.
The building program in the plan reflects that ranking. Its concept totals 57,485 conditioned square feet. The largest single line is not the double gym at 13,747 square feet. It is "Flexible Spaces," including terraces, at 22,429 square feet. Exercise and fitness gets 6,409 square feet, multipurpose rooms 7,569 and a gymnastics room 4,720. The concept also includes a café, after-school and senior-program space, and a running and walking track.
At the October 29 and 30 planning workshops, residents' investment tallies pointed the same direction. Additional recreation programs and events tied with improvements to existing parks and facilities at 492 each. Bikeways and trails followed at 205, new parks and natural areas at 182, and indoor recreation at 164. On its own, indoor recreation ranked below every named category except "Other." Read alongside the building assessment, those numbers make a narrower case. The programs residents ranked highest need a building with room for them, and the plan says the current one is out of room.
The Bigger Map Wraps Around the Golf Course
The plan reaches well past one building. Its inventory covers the Aquatics Center, Bayfront Park, Constitution Park, the Dog Park, Memorial Park, Optimist Park, the Recreation Complex and the Tot Lot. It calls for systemwide updates to meet current needs, add revenue-generating programming and improve safety and accessibility.
The most detailed concept is a diagram labeled "Village Commons Park + Constitution Park." It shows a new recreation center, athletic fields and a "Grand Concourse." Paths connect them to the racquet complex, the aquatic center, the dog park and the Country Club clubhouse. The diagram also includes a shared-use path around the perimeter of Miami Shores Country Club. These drawings are a vision. No construction budget, contract or first-phase project list has been approved for them, and the plan's own roadmap marks the referendum "DATE TBD."
The plan does put rough numbers on the options. Its action plan sketches two general obligation bond scenarios. The first covers a new indoor recreation center, Village Commons Park, Bayfront, Memorial, Optimist and Constitution parks, the Dog Park, the Aquatics Center and a sidepath to the racquet complex, at an estimated $60.5 million to $78.0 million. The second covers only the recreation center, Village Commons Park and the sidepath, at $51.1 million to $62.7 million. The plan lists the golf course perimeter path separately and pairs it with a golf course revenue bond, not the general obligation bond.
That perimeter path ties the parks plan to the club. Both sit on Village-owned land, and both are in a season of open decisions.
The Club Has a New Operator and Its Own Open Questions
The Village's request for proposals sought one operator to run, maintain and promote the golf course, pro shop, clubhouse, and food and beverage service. A February 10, 2026 notice ranked Kemper Sports Management first of four firms evaluated, ahead of Hampton Golf, Troon Golf and Eagle Admin. Council approved the ranking and authorized contract negotiations.
Members started seeing the change on October 1. New membership categories and rates for the 2026–27 golf season took effect that day, with details posted behind a QR code in the Village newsletter. The club and the Village describe the past three months as a transition focused on strengthening operations and the member experience. The club is also taking reservations by phone for a Thanksgiving buffet.
The question of who weighs in is still open. In September, Country Club Advisory Board chair William Griffith told Village Council the board had been "left out" of membership, budget and branding decisions since the new management company took over. He asked Council to define the board's role. Council agreed to hold a governance workshop and a separate finance workshop on course renovations. No dates for either workshop have been published. At the same September meeting, Council adopted a roughly $56 million budget for the fiscal year that began October 1. Village Manager Kantor's presentation attributed the increase from the prior year largely to the Golf and Country Club management agreement.
Where the Decisions Land Next
FRMWRK's team returned to Miami Shores on September 15 and 16 to meet with Council, the Parks Department and the Recreation Advisory Committee. They discussed how to turn the plan into action, including a possible public referendum to fund a first phase of high-priority projects. Here is the order of events on the public record so far:
- A resident survey on implementing the parks plan is expected in late October or early November.
- Staff is preparing timelines and bond and grant options for Council, as Council requested at adoption.
- Any referendum comes after that work. The plan's bond scenarios give estimated ranges, but no referendum date or final amount has been announced.
- On the club side, Council's governance and course-renovation finance workshops are pending. No dates have been announced.
The Village posts project updates at msvparksmasterplan.org, and the full final-draft plan presentation is on the Village website. The plan names the building, the parks and the paths. The survey due this fall is where residents start ranking them.
Shared facilities, advisory boards, renovation budgets and the question of who decides are the daily work of association-governed living, and they come up just the same when the shared property belongs to a whole village. If you want to talk through how capital plans and governance questions like these affect what you own in Miami Shores, Leonor Ortiz brings a condominium-management background and bilingual counsel in English and Spanish to that conversation. Request a Consultation.
