Chapman Field Park

Story

Chapman Field Park is a 483acre urban park in metropolitan Miami in Miami-Dade County, Florida, in the southern part of Coral Gables, Florida on historic Old Cutler Road. Of its 493acre, 432acre remain as mangrove forests and saltwater estuaries; 51acre is developed as a park.HistoryThe property was first used as an army airfield in World War I. It was later declared surplus and in 1923 the United States Department of Agriculture began using 160acre as a plant introduction garden. As early as 1940 the county expressed an interest in acquiring the remaining property. In 1947 an additional 37acre was added to the garden leaving 633acre and the property was declared surplus by the War Department. In 1949, the University of Miami (UM) bought 150acre for the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science and the county the remaining 483acre. UM did not utilize their portion and in 1956 a local developer took their portion under a long term lease to build a golf course. This portion has gone through several owners. In 1990 it was then called Deering Bay and owned by Armando Codina and others and the lease was extended through 2030. Little has been done to develop the park since the county acquired it in 1949. Money from the Decade of Progress bonds in 1972 led to the construction of three lighted baseball fields. The county does have plans to improve the park sometime in the future.