$3 million grant approved for Ocoee park

Ocoee residents will soon have another outdoor park to explore in the community thanks to a $3 million approved grant for the Ocoee Community Redevelopment Agency. 

The West Orange Chamber of Commerce announced plans for the “Healthy West Orange Wellness Park” on Tuesday in a press release. 

Tracy Swanson, CEO of the West Orange Healthcare District, which awarded the seed grant, said in the release that they are "excited" to get the project going.

"The Healthy West Orange Wellness Park will become a beautiful space for community connectivity and wellness, where Ocoee residents can get healthy and stay active," Swanson said. "This is exactly the type of opportunity we look for in our grant program."

The Ocoee CRA, the City of Ocoee and the West Orange Healthcare District, plan to build the five-acre park with a variety of amenities including a half-mile, 10-foot-wide multipurpose trail around both ponds, four shaded wellness stations, a shaded pavilion, a connecting boardwalk, and more.

Throughout the year, the organizations also plan for the park to host regular health and wellness programming such as 5k races and mind-body wellness events.

The project includes the addition of a safe route for Ocoee Middle School students to travel that will continue north along South Bluford Avenue and connect with the city’s downtown trail at the school. The whole trail will run 2.5 miles by continuing north along Bill Breeze Park and Silver Star Road. 

“We greatly appreciate the West Orange Healthcare District’s generous grant,” said Ocoee City Manager Robert Frank in the release. “Working in partnership with the district on this project supports the city’s goal of providing exceptional and accessible green spaces that allow our citizens to lead healthy and active lifestyles.”

According to the WOCC, the Healthy West Orange Wellness Park is expected to break ground later this year and open sometime in the fall of next year. However, the shared pathway north of the park is currently being engineered and is estimated to begin construction in late 2022 and completed in early 2024.