PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – St. Johns County is breaking ground on a major makeover for a popular neighborhood park in Ponte Vedra Beach.
The new $1.9 million project at DeLeon Shores Park off Dolphin Boulevard East will completely revamp the skate park, add three new lighted pickleball courts, upgrade the multipurpose field, and build a walking path around it.
Recommended Videos
The 4‑acre park already features a playground, tennis and basketball courts, a pavilion, and a dog park, which will also see upgrades.
County officials say neighbors helped shape nearly every part of the plan.
“Everyone that uses this park who wanted to give us feedback to collect the survey information, put it together and then present it to the county. Once we connected with the county, they were fantastic partners,” said Eileen Tondreault, president of the Dolphin Cove Community Association. “They listened. They gave guidelines. They kept us on track. It was a wonderful experience.”
Commissioners say DeLeon Shores is the next step in a broader effort to upgrade neighborhood parks across the county.
“We needed to redo some. We just redid Cornerstone Park. That had not happened yet. This park really needs to be done,” St. Johns County Commissioner Krista Joseph said. “I mean, it’s in the middle of Ponte Vedra Beach. There’s plenty of homeowners around it, and it was time.”
Parks leaders say it’s rewarding for crews to actually build what residents asked for.
“The public works team was able to really meet with the residents and hear what their wants and needs were and be able to, you know, the construction team be able to hear that,” said Ryan Kane, St. Johns County Parks & Recreation Director. “And now they’re going to see it come to fruition and really see the people who wanted that actually what they’re building, you know, see that turn out to a final result.”
Construction at DeLeon Shores Park starts with Friday’s groundbreaking and will continue through the coming months.