Allen Morris Park Is on a Permit Clock. Brickell's Shade Has Moved Under the Tracks.

At the corner of Southeast 10th Street and Brickell Plaza, the banyan is still there. Since the July 4 weekend, so is a chain-link fence, closing off the 7,780 square feet of black olive, gumbo limbo and banyan that sat between the citizenM hotel and the Brickell Flatiron. For years, Allen Morris Brickell Park was the shade you could reach on a lunch break from a Brickell office tower. Today the green space you can count on in Brickell runs north to south under the Metrorail guideway, and the old pocket park is on a permit that has to be renewed every year.

What happened at 25 SE 10th Street

The park was never a city park in the usual sense. Developer L. Allen Morris donated the land to Miami, and the city agreed to a reverter clause: if the site were ever used commercially, the Allen Morris Company could take it back. In 2014 the company sued after the city let the now-closed Perricone's restaurant next door use the park for seating. The case ran about a decade, and the developer won the land back, according to the Miami Herald.

The near-term plan is Gavina, a 3,000-square-foot restaurant from Stefano Secchi, the Michelin-starred chef behind Rezdôra in New York. The Real Deal reported the site details. Renderings show a wooden building with patios set in greenery, built around the lot's mature banyan. The developer's attorney, Javier Fernández, told the Herald the company will plant six new trees to replace the five that city permits allow it to remove. One of the five is a black olive whose trunk is nearly six feet around.

Neighbors don't agree on any of this. An online petition to save the park drew nearly 2,000 signatures, and in August the Sierra Club said it planned to appeal the tree-removal permits. Residents of the Brickell Flatiron across the street had long complained about trash and upkeep in the park, and some welcomed something new on the corner. City Commissioner Rolando Escalona, who represents this part of Brickell, told the Herald he opposes a high-rise there. "I don't believe we need more buildings in that area," he said.

Why the restaurant runs on a clock

Gavina's permit is temporary and has to be renewed. Here is how it works, per The Real Deal's account:

1. April 2026. The city approved a temporary use permit allowing a food service establishment on the site for one year.
2. Each year after that. The zoning administrator can renew the permit annually for up to three years.
3. Beyond that. Any further extension needs City Commission approval.
4. Day to day. Occupancy is capped at 132 people, staff included, and the restaurant may open daily from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Fernández told the publication he expects the restaurant to operate for "the better part of the next five years." He also said, "The restaurant is not the final plan." The land is zoned for high-density residential use. A restaurant rendering a neighborhood advocate received from the developer carried small type reading "BRICKELL PARK - FUTURE SUPERTALL SALES CENTER." Fernández told the Herald a supertall had been discussed but had faced "challenges," and that "for now, it's Gavina."

So the pocket park won't come back on its own timeline. In the meantime, the shade lies a few blocks west.

The shade under the guideway, north to south

The Underline's trails are open 24 hours a day, and its Brickell stretch is now a string of distinct outdoor rooms between the Miami River and Simpson Park. Walking it from the river south:

1. River Room, between the Miami River and SW 7th Street. Open lawn, butterfly gardens, river views and Hank Willis Thomas's sculpture Duality. It's the stretch for sitting under trees with a dog or a coffee.
2. Urban Gym, between SW 7th and SW 8th Streets. A fenced Flex Court, a mini soccer pitch, bodyweight equipment, a running track and artwork by Dominican artist Bony Ramirez. The gym and Flex Court run 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
3. The Promenade and Inter Stage, from SW 8th Street to the Brickell Metrorail station. Game tables, a 50-foot communal dining table, and an events stage at SW 8th Street and SW 1st Avenue with a digital community screen under a cantilevered canopy.
4. The 11th St. Plaza, between SW 10th and SW 11th Streets beneath the Metromover. A sculpture garden by local artist Typoe with seating built into the art.
5. The Oolite Room, between SW 11th and SW 13th Streets. Butterfly gardens and boulder seating among oolite bluffs, with The Allegory, a 90-foot mural by Haitian American artist Edny Jean Joseph.
6. The Hammock Playground, at SW 15th Road and SW 1st Avenue. A nature play area planted to echo the hardwood hammock next door, with Jeppe Hein's Modified Social Bench, Nice N' Easy's Hide and Seek murals and Athena Tacha's Leaning Arches.

In May 2026 The Underline reported reaching five continuous miles, so the same path keeps going south well past Brickell.

There's a transit wrinkle this month. Miami-Dade closed the Financial District Metromover Station at 50 SE 14th St. starting October 24 for switch upgrades. For about five weeks, Brickell Loop trains start and end at Brickell Station, at the south end of the Promenade. The county says the schedule may change, so check the county's service notice before you ride.

The two older green spaces off the line

The Underline is linear and close to the trains. If you want real canopy or a view of the water, Brickell's two larger green spaces fill that gap, and the sizes show how small the fenced corner was. The Herald describes Mary Brickell Park as two acres on the bay and Simpson Park Hammock as an eight-acre preserve.

Simpson Rockland Hammock Preserve Park, 55 SW 17 Road, sits right next to the Hammock Playground. The city lists walking trails, picnic tables, bike racks, parking and a recreation center, with usual hours of 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily. Weekend nature walks run 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. The city also listed the park and trail as closed October 10 through 26 to set up its Halloween event, so check the city's park page for current status before you go.

Mary Brickell Park, 501 Brickell Ave., is a tree-lined path from Brickell Avenue to Biscayne Bay. Miami DDA lists it for walking, exercise and family time.

Free classes on the calendar

Programming is the other thing the old pocket park never had. The Underline's November and December listings in Brickell include:

• UPilates at Inter Stage, free: November 4, November 11 and November 18, 6 to 7 p.m.
• UYoga at Urban Gym, November 7, 9 to 10 a.m. Free and open to the public, with registration required.
• Pride Run, The Underline x Out Collective, starting at the Hammock Playground on November 4 and December 2, 6:30 to 9 p.m. All are welcome.
• Walking with a Purpose, a community walk from the Hammock Playground on November 18 and December 16, starting at 6:30 p.m.

The other fence on the west side

The corner at Southeast 10th Street isn't the only Brickell green space behind a fence. Southside Park, 140 SW 11 St., is listed by the City of Miami as closed until further notice. Its listed features include a basketball court, a playground and picnic tables. The Herald reported that the developer of a Mercedes-Benz-branded condo tower has been using the park as a sales center. The project has stalled, and the site's future is unclear.

Both closed parks are tied to private development timelines. The open green space along The Underline and at Simpson Park and Mary Brickell Park is what Brickell has to use this fall.

If you live near Brickell Plaza and want to know what Gavina, the permit renewals or a possible tower could mean for your building, Melva Garcia follows changes like these block by block. Request a Concierge Consultation and we'll go over what's happening on your corner.