The 27th Avenue Playground Was the Trial Run. This Fall, Three More Parks Get the Results.

"Kids don't like it," Zone 3 Commissioner Jason McGuirk said of the old playground at Esther Street Park. "They get bored with it very quickly." He had been on the commission when that playground was installed. He also had two children who had grown up using the city's parks, and he asked whether another company might be doing something better.

The commission answered that question on March 24, 2026 by staying with KOMPAN, the playground company the city already had a 2024 piggyback agreement with, and approving replacements at both Detwiler Park and Esther Street Park. The city didn't try something new. It chose equipment it had already watched hold up in beach conditions for about a year. Six months after that vote, the first of the new playgrounds is open two blocks from Flagler Avenue. A second is due this fall in Central Beach, and the largest of the group is going up inland on Turnbull Bay Road.

The Test Case on South Atlantic Avenue

The proof the commission relied on sits at 27th Avenue Beachfront Park, 3701 S. Atlantic Avenue. In June 2025, the city announced that new playground equipment had been installed there, with shade sails due by the end of July. The ADA-accessible playground reopened with a ribbon cutting on Sept. 2, 2025. Public Works Director David Ray described the reopening as a sign of resilience and community pride.

The material is the important part. When Ray made the case for Esther Street this spring, he pointed straight back to that park:

"These materials have demonstrated durability and performance and are currently being used successfully at the 27th Avenue playground. The Greenline system aligns with the city's sustainability goals by reducing environmental impact while maintaining long-term structural integrity."

That quote ran in Hometown News Volusia's coverage of the approval. KOMPAN's Greenline system uses stainless steel, KDPE components and post-consumer recycled materials, and it is built to last in tough conditions. Commissioner Lisa Martin made a point of saying the new equipment "incorporates recycled plastic and materials as much as possible." That was a direct answer to McGuirk's question about recycled plastic.

Esther Street Got the Proven Formula, but Not the Shade Yet

The city's Sept. 16 update describes the change at 551 Esther St. bluntly. A small monochromatic playground on wood mulch has been replaced by a two-tower playground on padded turf. The headline of the same update also carries the catch. Shade sails are expected by mid-2027.

The order matters. When the project was approved, Hometown News reported that Esther Street would get "integrated shade" as part of the proposal. The city's later update moves the shade to the middle of next year. This is the same sequence 27th Avenue followed in 2025, when the equipment went in first and the sails were scheduled afterward. Shade sails have also been a separate line item elsewhere in the city. At Pettis Park, 800 Mary Avenue, a May 2025 staff report treated the shade structure as its own design-build contract, recommending a $99,077 award to PlayCore Wisconsin, doing business as GameTime, to be reimbursed through Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds. In New Smyrna Beach, shade has usually been its own project on its own schedule.

For families, this means the newest playground on the beachside is open now, and for at least the next several months it is a padded-turf playground without overhead cover.

Detwiler Park Gets Something Different on Purpose

Esther Street got the formula already proven at 27th Avenue. Detwiler Park is getting a different design. The city describes a 20-foot-tall climbing dome with swings and a toddler play tower, due "this fall." In Hometown News's description, the dome offers progressive climbing challenges, gliding, and both horizontal and vertical swaying ropes. It is designed to support physical, cognitive, social and emotional development and "to grow alongside children," offering new challenges as they get older. Of everything in the program, this design speaks most directly to McGuirk's complaint about boredom.

Esther Street and Detwiler were approved together, with a projected cost of $701,508 for both projects, fully covered in the 2026 fiscal year capital budget. Public information officer Phillip Veski said the old structures would come out in summer 2026, and both new playgrounds were expected to be finished before the end of the year. One of the two is now open. As of the city's Sept. 16 update, the other was still listed as coming soon.

The city locates Detwiler at Oakwood Avenue and Horton Street, between Flagler Avenue and 3rd Avenue. Other listings give the address as 510 Horton Street or 701 Oakwood Avenue, so the intersection is the most reliable way to find it. The park has five lighted tennis courts, a lighted basketball court, restrooms and a picnic area. Volusia County's listing notes that parking is limited, and the park sits less than half a mile from the shoreline.

The Biggest Build Is Inland

The most ambitious playground in the program is not at the beach. At the New Smyrna Beach Sports Complex, 1800 Turnbull Bay Road, the city is building a 30-foot-tall, baseball-themed net tower surrounded by sensory and inclusive features. The tower is 10 feet taller than the Detwiler dome and was still under construction when the city posted its Sept. 16 update. No opening date has been announced.

A July 2, 2026 summary of city material reported that construction would begin July 13. It put the playground's estimated cost at $1.16 million, paid for with Community Redevelopment Agency funds and park impact fees. If that estimate holds, this one playground costs more than Esther Street and Detwiler together, and it comes from a different source of money than the beachside pair's capital budget line. The setting helps explain the scale. The city describes the Sports Complex as a 68-acre facility with a football stadium, three softball fields, three soccer fields, two multipurpose fields, four Little League fields and a baseball field. The baseball theme suits a place where many families already spend weeknights in the bleachers.

Here is where the program stands as of the Sept. 16 city update:

1. 27th Avenue Beachfront Park, 3701 S. Atlantic Ave. Reopened Sept. 2, 2025, and is the reference point for the Greenline system.
2. Esther Street Beachfront Park, 551 Esther St. Open now on padded turf, with shade sails expected by mid-2027.
3. Detwiler Park, Oakwood Ave. and Horton St. Climbing dome, swings and toddler tower coming this fall.
4. New Smyrna Beach Sports Complex, 1800 Turnbull Bay Road. A 30-foot net tower under construction, with no opening date yet.

Where the Fall Calendar Overlaps

The two beachside parks sit close to Flagler Avenue. Esther Street is two blocks north, and Detwiler is between Flagler and 3rd. That puts both near the Flagler Avenue Business Association's fall calendar. The Sports Complex hosts the city's own fall event while its playground is still being built.

The month-long Pumpkin Hunt is the one event that lines up with both beachside parks for all of October. The Oct. 24 Fall Festival, with rides, food trucks, a costume contest, a corn maze, children's games and live music, will take place at the Sports Complex while the net tower is still a construction site. Anyone with questions about the timeline can raise them with Mayor Fred Cleveland, who is hosting a meet-and-greet at Clancy's Cantina, 301 Flagler Avenue, on Oct. 1.

The latest firm dates are the ones in the city's Sept. 16 update: Esther Street is open, Detwiler is due this fall, the Sports Complex tower is under construction, and Esther's shade sails are due by mid-2027.

If you're curious how a new playground two blocks from Flagler, or a finished dome near Central Beach, affects day-to-day life on a particular street, I'm happy to talk through the specifics. Drew Henner keeps up with these city projects as they happen. Let's Connect.