'It feels amazing!' Mexico Beach reopens first park completely rebuilt after Hurricane Michael

Nathan Cobb, The News Herald
·2 min read
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MEXICO BEACH — Almost four years after Hurricane Michael, Mexico Beach continues the slow walk down the long road to recovery.

Sunset Park reopened Wednesday, the first park in the town to be completely rebuilt following the historic Category 5 storm, which made landfall near Mexico Beach in October 2018.

"It feels amazing!" Douglass Baber, city administrator for Mexico Beach, said of the milestone. "We haven't had anything other than porta-potties and a few businesses that had restrooms. ... Now, we have an official covered area with restrooms and facilities that residents and tourists can use.

"It's a beautiful grassy area. It's perfect."

Sunset Park, in Mexico Beach, reopened Wednesday offering a covered area with restrooms and facilities for tourists and residents. The park was destroyed in Hurricane Michael in 2018.
Sunset Park, in Mexico Beach, reopened Wednesday offering a covered area with restrooms and facilities for tourists and residents. The park was destroyed in Hurricane Michael in 2018.

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Located at 1813 U.S. 98, Sunset Park sits along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. City officials announced the reopening of the park in a Facebook post Wednesday. As of Thursday afternoon, the post had more than 130 reactions, seven comments and six shares.

While Mexico Beach has opened other parks after Hurricane Michael, Sunset is the first to reopen with all new amenities, Baber noted.

He did not know Thursday morning how much money was spent to reconstruct the park, but said the project was funded entirely by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

"We've had parks that have been open since Michael, but this is the first pavilion and completed project that we've done for a park," Baber said. "It was completely redone — everything from the dune area (to) the grassy area. We put in a parking lot, pavilion (and restrooms).

"It was just 100% redone. There was nothing left after Michael."

Mexico Beach was ground zero for the hurricane, which obliterated most businesses and homes in the city. Baber said the community still does not have a doctor's office, dentist's office, pharmacy or emergency clinic almost four years after the storm.

Baber also said he believes reopening Sunset Park adds a sense of normalcy, which he described as still being only 30% to 40% rebuilt.

"We still have a long way to go. However, the residents and businesses are starting to build back," he said. "We have a lot of vacant lots still to be built, (and) we're lacking in some commercial areas. ... It's a great road, and we're really making huge strides."

This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Mexico Beach reopens first park rebuilt after Hurricane Michael