Fernandina Beach Seaside Park overhaul moves toward construction with $3.9M plan

By Mike Lednovich/Editor

FERNANDINA BEACH - The City’s long-anticipated overhaul of Seaside Park is moving toward construction, with city officials and consultants telling commissioners Tuesday that design work is essentially complete and bidding could begin this summer.

The project — part of a broader Amelia Island Beach Harmonization effort — represents a $3.9 million investment in the Sadler Road beach access area, funded through a proposed 30% city share and 70% from Nassau County tourist development tax dollars.

Deputy City Manager Jeremiah Glisson and representatives from Halff Associates outlined the status of the effort.

“This is a long-range multi-agency effort to rethink how the island's public beach parks function, both for residents and visitors,” Glisson said. “It’s less of a single project and more of a master plan framework guiding decisions over decades.”

The harmonization plan has been in development for several years, beginning with county-led discussions in 2021 and followed by public outreach that generated more than 1,200 survey responses — 86% from Fernandina Beach residents.

“We’ve talked about this hit and miss over the last year or two, but it’s finally closer to becoming a reality,” Glisson said.

The Fernandina Beach City Commission approved the conceptual framework in 2023, with the stipulation that the city would oversee design elements and construction of improvements to its beach parks before county funds are spent.

Seaside Park was selected as the first phase due to aging infrastructure and deteriorating conditions, according to the presentation.

Design and engineering are now between 90% and 99% complete, and all required state environmental permits have been secured, presenters said.

An interlocal agreement between the city and Nassau County is currently being drafted and will determine final funding and construction responsibilities.

Plans call for a comprehensive redesign of the park and adjacent beach access, with an emphasis on both infrastructure upgrades and environmental protection.

“There’s not much that we can actually change as far as the organization of items… we can do improvements to the original layout,” said Max Spann of Halff Associates.

The illustrative plan presented to commissioners shows reconfigured parking along Fletcher Avenue, improved pedestrian connections, and a redesigned park entrance featuring pavilions, boardwalks and landscaped buffers.

“We’ve done significant improvement to the parking and really the infrastructure of the project,” Spann said.

Key elements include:

• Reworked parking layout without reducing total spaces

• New and reconstructed boardwalks to improve beach access

• Pavilion upgrades and additional shaded seating areas

• Expanded bike parking and shared-use paths

• Wayfinding signage and designated pedestrian crossings

• Native landscaping and dune protection measures

Stormwater management is also a major component, shifting from surface ponding to underground systems with exfiltration trenches and sand filtration structures to improve drainage and reduce environmental impact.

Officials emphasized that the project is designed to balance increased tourism demand with protection of sensitive coastal ecosystems.

Plans incorporate turtle-friendly lighting, reduced intrusion into dune areas, and the use of native vegetation in compliance with Florida Communities Trust requirements.

A key goal of the redesign is limiting human impact on sensitive dune and wildlife areas while still improving access.

“We want to make sure we don’t plant too far down into the bottom area where most of the wildlife is… but we want to make sure that there’s a significant buffer where you can’t actually go down into that area,” Spann said.

The design intentionally discourages foot traffic into protected interior areas of the park.

“We’re discouraging it,” Spann said.

The harmonization concept also standardizes signage, materials and design elements across multiple beach parks to create what planners described as a “cohesive beach experience” island wide.

Once the interlocal agreement is finalized and funding confirmed, the project is expected to move into procurement this summer, with construction beginning in the fall of 2026.

Commissioners are expected to receive final construction documents and additional details on funding and the agreement with Nassau County in the coming months.

“We’ll bring more information on that back here soon,” Glisson said.

Seaside Park is the first of seven locations identified in the island-wide plan, which includes Main Beach, Peters Point, Burney Park and other access points.