When did you last walk Kendall Drive on purpose? For most of Pinecrest's history the stretch between Ludlam Road and Red Road was a road to get through: four lanes of SW 88th Street with a narrow sidewalk on the south side. This fall that edge of the village looks different. The Village's written goal for the corridor is a stretch that resembles "a tree-lined park more than an arterial road."
Three projects are adding up to that. Each would have been a modest news item on its own. Together, on one mile-long stretch, they turn the northern border into a place to start a walk.
The sidewalk that got three feet wider
The base layer is the Kendall Drive Shared Use Path. It came out of the Village's Transportation Master Plan, which was approved in 2018. On the south side of Kendall Drive, from Ludlam Road at SW 67th Avenue to Red Road at SW 57th Avenue, crews removed the old 5-foot sidewalk and built an 8-foot asphalt path for two-way walking and cycling.
Those extra three feet change how the path gets used. Five feet fits one person walking a dog. Eight feet lets a jogger pass a parent with a stroller while a cyclist comes the other way.
Building it cost some trees. Some had to come out for the wider path and to keep driveway sightlines clear. The Village's August 2025 construction notice laid out how it plans to make up for that:
"The Village is planting mature trees on the north side of Kendall Drive to offset the immediate impact of removing trees along the shared-use path."
The same notice promises mature replacement trees along the path itself once construction wraps up. The aim is to leave the corridor "more verdant than it was before." By mid-October 2026, Village notices were calling it simply "the new shared-use path."
A park where the path begins
At the path's western end sits the second project. Gary Matzner Park covers 3.76 acres at the southeast corner of Kendall Drive, between SW 67th Avenue and SW 65th Court. The Village Council approved buying the two-parcel site in 2021 and approved a conceptual design in May 2023. Construction started in August 2025.
The park's name ties it to the village's own story. Gary C. Matzner was Pinecrest's second mayor, and the Village's September newsletter calls him "widely known as the founding father of the Village." Putting his park at the village's northern gateway on Kendall Drive fits that.
The adopted design includes:
- Wide open lawns and natural play areas
- A covered playground
- A walking path
- A restroom shelter and parking
- Preserved specimen trees, among them the large live oak at the center of the site
- All-native landscaping meant to grow into a canopy
The park site kept by Matzner's family lists the dedication for October 13, 2026, at 9:15 a.m. The Village's project page gives an expected opening of October 2026, so check it for the latest status before you make it a Saturday plan.
The location is what matters. A park at the corner of Ludlam and Kendall, opening onto an 8-foot path that runs east to Red Road, makes that path a route with a destination at one end.
Six crossings, one at a time
The third project ties the path to the streets behind it. Starting tentatively on October 26, the Village is building six raised crosswalks with decorative pavers where neighborhood streets meet the path. Raised crossings make people on foot and on bikes easier for drivers to see. The pavers mark the entrance to each street.
Each crossing should take about a month, and the work goes in this order:
| Order | Crossing at Kendall Drive | Timing |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | SW 64th Court | Starts tentatively Oct. 26 |
| 2 | SW 63rd Court | Follows in sequence |
| 3 | SW 62nd Court | Follows in sequence |
| 4 | SW 61st Court | Follows in sequence |
| 5 | SW 60th Avenue | Begins after Jan. 1 |
| 6 | SW 65th Court | Last in sequence |
If you live on one of these streets, plan around the closures. People on foot and in cars will be closed out of each work area during construction. For SW 60th Avenue through SW 64th Court, residents can get in and out by way of SW 92nd Street. The Village says the dates may shift with weather and field conditions. The schedule and access notes are on the Village's crosswalk announcement.
SW 65th Court comes last, and it runs along the eastern edge of the Matzner Park site. When that crossing is finished, the streets east of the park will connect to it by path and paver crossing.
The same idea, at the other end of the village
There is a policy reason behind all this. The Village Council has committed that every resident should have a green space within one mile of home, which the Village translates to about a 10 to 15-minute walk. Matzner Park covers the northern edge. The next project covers the southeast.
Aleyda Mas Park sits on 5 acres at SW 120th Street and SW 60th Avenue. The property has trails, a lagoon, a resort-style house and a collection of exotic and native trees. It first belonged to the Montgomery family, who founded Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, and later to the Mas family. The Village bought it in 2024. Groundbreaking is planned for this fall, and once finished the park will host small-scale programs for adults 18 and older.
A few blocks east on that same street, the Village added a new landmark in September 2026. Traversal, by artist Michael Szabo, stands at Old Cutler Road and SW 120th Street. It is a set of 29 sculptural columns in bronze, corten steel and textured glass, set in a neighborhood pocket park, and it looks different as light passes through it and as you walk past. The Village counts it as a stop on its free self-guided public-art trail.
Closer to the center of the village, the Veterans Wayside Park makeover was finished in August 2026. The park, on Pinecrest Parkway between SW 110th and SW 112th Streets, now has an enhanced Veterans Memorial, a larger gathering area, ADA-compliant paths, a new playground for ages 2 to 12, and a stone wall that also serves as seating. A bioswale filters stormwater into the existing pond.
Kendall Drive is one piece of a larger plan. The Village is filling in walkable green space around the whole village, one corner at a time.
Where a walk leads from here
The path ends at Red Road, and Pinecrest Gardens sits at 11000 Red Road. That is where most of the village's fall and holiday calendar happens. Here is what's on it after this post goes up:
- Sundays through November 22, 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The Pinecrest Farmers Market runs in the Gardens' south parking lot, with dates on the official calendar for November 1, 8, 15 and 22. A Community Newspapers feature published October 20 counts more than 80 vendors and describes a monthly Sunday Funday plus a December Holiday Toy Drive.
- Saturday, November 7, 8 p.m. Allyson Briggs & The Dan Gabel Big Band play the Banyan Bowl as part of Jazz at Pinecrest Gardens.
- Wednesday, November 11, 9 a.m. The Veterans Day Ceremony takes place at the newly renovated Veterans Wayside Park.
- Saturday, November 14. The Reyes del Dominó tournament comes to Evelyn Greer Park, with check-in at 3 p.m. and play starting at 4 p.m.
- Friday, December 4. Nights of Lights opens at the Gardens with a tree lighting and carolers, and the Gardens page lists select nights through December 27. That same evening, Movie on the Lawn starts at 7 p.m. at Evelyn Greer Park.
- Saturday, December 12, 8 p.m. Allan Harris performs Nat King Cole Christmas in the Banyan Bowl.
The crossings go in one at a time between now and early next year, starting at SW 64th Court on October 26 and finishing at SW 65th Court beside the new park. Each one tied into the path means one more street with a direct walking link to Matzner Park.
If you have questions about how these Kendall Drive changes affect your street, your commute or your home's place in the village, the team at Elena Kemper Group knows this part of Pinecrest well and is happy to talk them through with you. Contact Us whenever it's convenient.
