Story by Mike May | Photos By Frank Koester
One of Wellington’s most unique outdoor recreation destinations, a huge, passive park on the western edges of the community, is going through what is expected to be a seamless and significant expansion.
Thanks to the village’s recent purchase of the 45-acre Moncada property in western Wellington, the Wellington Environmental Preserve at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Everglades Habitat will be getting larger, which is great news for those who currently enjoy this recreational paradise, popular with walkers, runners, bicyclists, bird watchers and anybody who simply enjoys mingling with Mother Nature.
The existing park includes a boardwalk, butterfly garden, learning areas, an observation tower, a trellis, walking trails, equestrian trails and restrooms. The good news is that this outdoor destination for nature lovers will continue to be available free-of-charge during the current expansion and after it is completed.
The Village of Wellington has had an eye on purchasing the Moncada property, which lies just north of the existing preserve, for many years, but it took some time to arrange both the sale agreement and the financing. The village spent $4.5 million to buy the 45-acre property, but $3.4 million of that was paid for by the Florida Communities Trust Program, which means that the village paid roughly $1.1 million for the land.
In addition to being a well-designed passive park, home to an impressive array of native Florida flora and fauna, the current 365-acre Wellington Environmental Preserve, located off Flying Cow Ranch Road, serves as a complex engineering project that is critical to Wellington’s drainage infrastructure.
According to Scott Fletcher, senior maintenance technician with Wellington’s Public Works Department, there are three positive aspects to understand, as it relates to the Wellington Environmental Preserve and its expansion into the Moncada property.
“Firstly, this is part of Everglades restoration. Secondly, we will be able to expand Wellington’s current ability to handle more water storage. And, lastly, we want to expand the current passive park, which will be a great enhancement,” Fletcher explained. “By adding the Moncada property to the existing Wellington Environmental Preserve, it makes it all complete and helps top it off.”
Having access to the Moncada land will help add roughly 30 million gallons of offline water storage to Wellington’s existing capabilities.
According to 20-year Wellington resident Garry Gruber, a senior vice president for the West Palm Beach-based engineering firm Mock-Roos, which is the lead engineering firm and engineer of record on the Moncada expansion project, the current undertaking by the village is a win-win-win for the environment and Wellington’s ability to expand its water storage capacity, as well as expanded access to passive outdoor recreation for Wellington residents and visitors.
“The Moncada expansion embraces the goals that inspired the original Wellington Environmental Preserve, providing the village with additional rainfall storage, drainage system resiliency and water quality treatment, while offering a great opportunity to provide the general public with access to connect with nature and wildlife flourishing in its natural environment,” Gruber said.
Gruber is pleased that the Village of Wellington is making sure that the preservation of the environment is its main priority.
“The Moncada expansion project is a wonderful example of the village’s local leadership in continuing its efforts to restore the Everglades back to its natural state,” Gruber added. “The original 365-acre Wellington Environmental Preserve was the final piece to the Wellington Basin B Plan. Since the early 2000s, the Basin B Plan has been the village’s framework toward restoring, protecting and preserving the greater Everglades ecosystem.”
Before the Basin B Plan, stormwater in southern Wellington drained directly into protected Everglades lands. The Basin B Plan “replumbed” the entire area, rerouting Wellington’s stormwater. The preserve serves as critical water storage and also functions as a native Florida habitat that helps naturally cleanse the water.
When the Wellington Environmental Preserve was first completed back in 2011, Mock-Roos was the lead engineering firm, while Gruber was the project manager for that job.
Right now, crews are transforming the Moncada property by removing all the invasive plant species so that it can become a natural extension of the current preserve.
“We are reshaping it, draining it, putting in trails, and it will blend in with the current Wellington Environmental Preserve,” Fletcher said.
Fletcher agreed that the overall goal of the project is to respect the fact that this is a natural wetlands area. It will become a piece of property that will also enhance and complement the natural environment.
What’s great about this current project is that the existing Wellington Environmental Preserve will remain open and fully operational during this construction time period on the adjacent Moncada property.
According to Wellington Village Engineer Jonathan Reinsvold, one of the goals of this expansion is to complete the work without negatively impacting the general public’s access to the Wellington Environmental Preserve in its current state.
“The recent purchase of the adjacent Moncada property will not affect the day-to-day operations of the existing preserve,” Reinsvold said. “We have taken and will continue to take all necessary steps to ensure that impacts to the local community during construction remain minimal. Our primary focus is on maintaining the current status quo while integrating the new property into the overall plan.”
Not only is Mock-Roos working with the Village of Wellington again on this expansion of the preserve as the engineer of record, but H&J Contracting has returned as the construction company on the project. Mock-Roos’ current role is serving as the village’s representative, assisting H&J Contracting in understanding the intent of the design and providing services to determine if the project is being constructed in accordance with the contract.
While a project like this is always subject to change, the scheduled completion date is July 8, 2025.
When all is said and done, the Village of Wellington will have seamlessly integrated the 45-acre Moncada property into the existing Wellington Environmental Preserve to create one single hydraulically connected and common passive park, which will become the new and improved 410-acre Wellington Environmental Preserve — even bigger and better than ever. And it will be accessible and available, free-of-charge, to the general public.
The Wellington Environmental Preserve at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Everglades Habitat is located at 3491 Flying Cow Ranch Road. Learn more at www.wellingtonfl.gov.
