Key West begins cleanup, maintenance at newly city-run Higgs Beach

City workers wasted no time making Higgs Beach look like a city-run park.

Crews from Key West’s Community Services Department were back at the more than 16-acre oceanfront property at the end of Reynolds Street, mowing grass, cleaning amenities and rehabbing the exercise deck near the Edward B. Knight Pier. Urban Forestry workers also began trimming trees, an early sign that the city is moving quickly to take control of daily upkeep at one of its most visible waterfront spaces.

The ownership transfer took effect at midnight on May 1, after the Key West City Commission voted 5-2 on April 1 to accept the Higgs Beach parcel from Monroe County. A ceremonial key handoff took place April 30. City Manager Brian L. Barroso told commissioners the city had worked closely with the county to make the handoff smooth, with the immediate goal of maintaining continuity for people who use the park while officials build a longer-term worklist and management plan.

That transition matters because Higgs Beach is more than open sand. The city’s facility listing describes the site, officially known as Clarence S. Higgs Memorial Beach Park, as a major public park with calm, shallow water, a renovated wooden pier and nearby landmarks including the Key West AIDS Memorial and the Key West African Cemetery. The park also includes two children’s playgrounds, a dog park, tennis courts, volleyball courts, restroom facilities, showers, picnic tables, tiki huts, pavilions and a restaurant and concession area. Keeping all of that in working order will be the test of whether the city can preserve the beach’s daily appeal without visible disruption.

The transfer also comes with money and obligations. The deal includes about $3.7 million in grants and insurance proceeds for repairs and improvements, with about $3 million tied to Hurricane Ian insurance proceeds and Tourist Development Council grants. County officials said that funding was intended to cover long-term beach cleaning, maintenance, seawall repair, playground improvements and upgrades to the historic West Martello building. The city’s finance analysis projected about $240,000 a year in rent from tenants on the property.

Monroe County and Key West had discussed the switch for roughly a decade, and county officials said the transfer would let parks and recreation staff focus more efficiently on countywide facilities. Even so, the parcel remains part of broader planning, with the Monroe County Project Management Office still listing a Higgs Beach Master Plan and a Higgs Beach Park Access Road Realignment project budgeted at $5 million. For now, the clearest measure of the handoff is simple: if Higgs Beach stays clean, trimmed and functional, residents and visitors will barely notice the change. If it slips, the city’s new responsibility will be impossible to miss.