Everglades Holiday Park Finally Brought Up To Date After Nearly $16-Million Expansion Project

FORT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) – A two-phase, nearly $16-million expansion project at Everglades Holiday Park has transformed it into a state-of-the-art facility.

For years, the park has been home to airboat rides, boating and fishing, but wear and tear caused it to become rundown.

"Well, it was kind of unsafe," Broward County Parks and Recreation Director Dan West said.

It became apparent to West that it was time to modernize the 39-acre park, so money was secured through multiple pots, including the Broward County parks capital budget, Broward Boating Improvement Program, 2000 Safe Parks and Land Preservation Bond Program, as well as South Florida Water Management District.

"By having more of the boat ramps over by the airboat dock, there was a lot of congestion with the pedestrians and them back their boats and trailers into the water," Senior Park Manager Shawn Davis told CBS News Miami.

The space was redesigned, giving fishermen a dock, one for airboat loading and three boat ramps on the west end, and all of it was raised higher to avoid flooding.

"So one of the things we did was raise the site level, the elevation site, almost 2 feet," West explained.

Prior the renovation, during a major storm, much of the park would flood when water was pumped out of nearby neighborhoods to project homes.

"We actually put in a $1.5 million levee wall which is again protecting the shoreline as well as the area behind the levee," West added.

The ribbon-cutting to welcome visitors back is on Thursday, however, since completion, park managers think attendance already looks busier than before the improvements.

Officials also said, they are planning to look at other additions, possibly more hiking trails, or even an observation area for visitors in the near future.