A new destination park for Homestead with a distinctly South Florida landscape
Losner Park

A new destination park for South Florida located at the crossroads of the Everglades, Biscayne National Parks, and the Florida Keys
Sasaki expanded and transformed a downtown park at the center of Homestead, Florida, growing the city’s green spaces and amenities while appealing to its growing population. Funded entirely through impact fees and grants, the $6M redesign of Losner Park creates a significantly expanded green space at the heart of downtown Homestead. The new design grows the existing park from .68 acres to 3 acres, extending westward from Krome Avenue, the city’s main commercial avenue, to the newly constructed police station.
To the south, the park is adjacent to the recently renovated historic Seminole Theater. With the City of Homestead geographically functioning as a gateway to the Everglades and Biscayne National Parks, the park offers a new destination for residents and visitors, attracting and introducing them to the region while supporting local economy and downtown businesses.

Before: Losner Park existing conditions featuring a small lawn and large paved lot

After: aerial view of the completed park. The central walking path serves as the axis connecting to the old City Hall on the east and the new police station on the west.

Enhancing a community asset
Formerly a .68 acre park adjacent to a large parking lot, the re-designed Losner Park is now the symbolic center of the community with abundant South Florida native planting, spaces for event programming, and a large children’s play area attracting families across the region. The entrance to the park from Krome Avenue has paths through planting mounds, inspired by the hammocks rising from the Florida Everglades, as well as a series of benches shaded by the tree canopy leading to several small event lawns. At the broadened center of the park to the north, is the adventure-style play area embedded in native vegetation featuring designed climbing structures, slides, swings, and sculptural pieces.

Hammock Garden at the entry with the Losner signage, seating, and shaded planting

Picnic area in the playground

A historical connection between the old city hall and the renovated park
To the south of the play area, a covered stage fronting an event lawn with sabal palms at the edges accommodates over 1500 people. At the west end of the park, adjacent to the police station, Sasaki designed a new Veterans’ Memorial. The monument is a table-height granite structure respectfully honoring those who served from Homestead, replacing what was once paving bricks with names in the former park.

The redesigned Veterans’ Memorial honors Homestead’s veterans, bringing more visibility to the names from formerly engraved paving bricks to eye level

The event lawn serves as a community amenity hosting a variety of events and programming
A design based on Homestead’s unique position between the Everglades and Biscayne National Parks
The playground in tropical vegetation is an exciting and accessible space for children of all ages to explore the park by offering distinct zones catered to children across all age groups. The planting and colors used in the paving and play structures are derived from the tropical landscape of the region. Topographical features such as slides and picnic tables on mounds contrast with Florida’s flat landscape, while hues of bright blues and greens relate to Florida’s unique coastal geography.

Sculptural climbing structure

Entry to play area featuring sculptural animals of native Florida species

Slides set into mounds

Climbing ropes

Stone climber and seating in the play area
Sculptural climbing structure
Entry to play area featuring sculptural animals of native Florida species
Slides set into mounds
Climbing ropes
Stone climber and seating in the play area
Sasaki collaborated with Florida landscape architect Raymond Jungles on the planting design, which offers an abundance of native and regionally beneficial plants from local nurseries. In total, more than 150 unique plant species were installed throughout the park with a design that responds to Homestead’s culture, community, and the South Florida region.

Dense planting surrounding play area

The raised planting bed and the dense planting echoes the hammocks in Everglades
A catalyst for Homestead’s downtown revitalization
The design team worked closely with the City to assure that the park’s design is durable, resilient, universally accessible, and meets the functional needs of the park operators and a variety of users. These efforts are expected to aid the revitalization of downtown and spur new economic investment in the Homestead. The grand opening of the park in November 2022 welcomed over 3,000 visitors celebrating the new space with presentations by public officials on the history of the park, live music, food trucks and fireworks.

A looping path circulates the playground, the main event lawn, and the covered stage

A new destination for social gathering for the community of Homestead

The park offers a space for food trucks and outdoor dining
For more information contact Alan Ward.