On Dec. 16, crews moved the Little Red Schoolhouse about 100 feet. They took it from its old spot near South Ocean Boulevard to a more visible site at the base of a 22-foot beach dune inside Phipps Ocean Park. The Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach describes the building as Southeast Florida's first schoolhouse and the oldest landmark in Palm Beach. The reason for the move was elevation. The new site is higher ground near the dune, out of reach of the frequent flooding and high winds the schoolhouse dealt with before.
That short move explains the rest of the project. On the South End, behind the fence at 2201 South Ocean Boulevard, the town and the Foundation have spent roughly 18 months building a park where nearly every feature does a second job. It handles rain, holds back the ocean, shields the lakefront, or grows plants for other parts of the island. The Foundation has set a free public grand opening for Thursday, Nov. 19, 2026, at 11 a.m.
A 1948 Gift, Rebuilt Around Higher Ground
The Phipps family gave the land in 1948 as a public beach and oceanfront park. The Foundation's own project page calls it "long-underutilized" in the decades since. The site runs from the Atlantic Ocean to the Intracoastal Waterway and includes 1,200 feet of oceanfront.
Betsy Shiverick, the Foundation's chairman, described the redesign in the campaign brochure as a marriage of "two approaches to coastal resilience." One is avoiding flooding by moving to higher ground. The other is building a resilient coastline by bringing indigenous plants back across all 20 acres of the park. The schoolhouse is the first approach. Most of what surrounds it is the second.
Inside the schoolhouse, the work stays the same. It remains home to the Foundation's living history program, which brings fourth graders in for a day of 1890s schooling in a one-room wooden classroom. In its new position, the building anchors a Great Lawn and wildflower garden to its west.
Where the Rain Is Supposed to Go
The campaign brochure lays out a park designed around stormwater as much as recreation. These are the planned figures:
- Wildflower Garden, 13,000 square feet. It sits in the park's natural basin, which collects rainwater from nearby green space so the plants can survive without irrigation. Its native wildflowers and grasses change with the wet and dry seasons, and a gravel path runs through it.
- Great Lawn, 19,450 square feet. Open space for group programming that links the schoolhouse to the Wildflower Garden and keeps sight lines to the schoolhouse open from across the park.
- Rain gardens and parking. The park's 18,000 square feet of parking lots are woven into the design and described as the first public parking lot in Palm Beach to use only permeable pavers, so runoff filters into the ground instead of sheeting off.
- Dune and mangrove restoration. Invasive species come out on both coasts. The dune protects the park from the ocean on the east, and the mangroves shelter it from the Intracoastal on the west.
These numbers come from the Foundation's planning brochure, which was published before construction began. The April 2026 construction update reported design changes during the build, so final dimensions may differ from the plan. The intent behind them is clear in the brochure, which presents the permeable lots and rain gardens as "a model for localized flood control." A parking lot is easy to overlook as a park feature. At Phipps it is also a test of a stormwater approach the town has not used in a public lot before.
A Nursery That Grows Plants for the Rest of the Island
The Coastal Restoration Center reaches furthest beyond the park. It sits next to the relocated schoolhouse and serves as a nursery and propagation facility for native plants, supporting healthy dune ecosystems "within the park and throughout the town." The brochure sets aside 12,400 square feet for growing native species for both the park and the Town of Palm Beach, along with educational panels and new programs for K–12 students.
In plain terms, the dune plantings that protect beaches elsewhere on the island can begin as cuttings and seedlings on the South End. When the town released its April update, crews had installed the center's interior systems and inspections were underway.
The planting rule applies to the entire site. Raymond Jungles, the landscape architect behind the concept, put it this way in the campaign materials:
"Located between the Atlantic Ocean and Lake Worth, the space will be planted only with native species, making it a cross between a public park and a nature preserve."
Architects Anne Fairfax and Richard Sammons carried the same idea into the buildings, describing a design that relies on "simple natural materials" meant to blend with the native planting. C&G Partners created the park's signage plan, which the Town Council approved in February 2026.
The Recreation Layer, Built on Top
None of this takes away the beach-day basics. The site plan lists beach pavilions, picnic tables, beach showers and drinking fountains, sand paths to the beach, a dune crest path, ADA-accessible paths and beach access, a remodeled lifeguard stand, an outdoor classroom, a schoolyard garden, and the Horizon Plateau, a gathering spot with open views of the Atlantic horizon. A custom playground by the Danish firm MONSTRUM sits near the schoolhouse.
The April progress report showed how far the build had come. Adam Rossmell, project manager for contractor Burkhardt Construction, told the Town Council on April 14 that all four picnic pavilions were built and roofing was underway. Two restroom buildings were at a similar stage, and playground equipment was being installed. The lifeguard station was moving more slowly. Crews renovating the original wood structure had to modify openings for new windows and doors and repair the steps and the parts underneath. Crews were also regrading and replanting along the west side of South Ocean Boulevard as part of the project.
Why November and Not Labor Day
The redevelopment began in May 2025 on an 18-month timeline. Count forward from May 2025 and you reach November 2026, which is when the grand opening falls. For a while this spring, the town hoped to finish sooner. Town Engineer Patricia Strayer told the council in April:
"There have been some requests for changes. I can't give you a timeline right now."
She said the town hoped for September and had been aiming for Labor Day, but that the date depended on "how many more changes we embrace."
The Preservation Foundation leads the renovation plans and pays for most of the $31 million project, and Strayer said any cost changes would come from the Foundation's requests. That same night the council approved a $20,000 change order with engineering consultant Kimley-Horn for added construction-phase work, paid for by a Foundation donation. The early-finish target slipped, and the grand opening is now scheduled for the month the original 18-month timeline pointed to.
Planning for Nov. 19
One part of Phipps is already open. The tennis center and its parking area reopened on Nov. 1, 2025, while the rest of the park stayed closed. The redevelopment plan also calls for new pickleball courts near the tennis center.
Here are the details for the grand opening:
- When: Thursday, Nov. 19, 2026, at 11 a.m.
- Where: Phipps Ocean Park, 2201 South Ocean Boulevard, Palm Beach.
- Admission: Free and open to the public, with registration through the Preservation Foundation.
- Questions: The Foundation's events line is 561-832-0731, and RSVPs go to [email protected].
The Foundation's Oct. 2 announcement does not list regular park hours, Phipps parking rates or a lifeguard schedule, and it does not say whether everyday public access starts on the day of the ceremony. Those details will matter on the first ordinary weekday after the ribbon is cut.
A park built to handle stormwater, keep its oldest building above the flood line and supply dune plants to the rest of the town is also a statement about how the South End plans to hold up over the long term. If you'd like to think through what coastal investments like Phipps could mean for a property you own or are considering nearby, Fran Hall Finch is glad to talk it through privately. Let's Connect.