FishHawk area residents will be pleased to hear that plans are moving ahead for the former skate park area next to Bevis Elementary School in FishHawk Ranch.

According to county officials, the land will be the location of the county’s first pump track/skate park combination and although plans are not yet final, Parks and Recreation representatives are working on permitting plans and pricing with the contractor.

Look for groundbreaking as soon as the next few months.

Original Story printed in March, 2018.

Two well-loved FishHawk area parks are experiencing exciting changes.

Construction is expected to be complete this month on a new playground at FishHawk Ranch’s Osprey Club.

The new equipment, located adjacent to the Osprey Club swimming pool, replaces a playground installed approximately 18 years ago with a more modern “Kids in Motion” set featuring multiple new slides, climbing apparatus and rope features. Rubberized playground mulch will also be installed to make the area safe for young children.

“Additionally, a new ‘Global Motion’ sphere will be incorporated into the new playground, expanding the total size of the current site,” said Terrie Morrison, Chairman of the FishHawk Community Development District (CDD 1), which funded the project.

The CDD Board of Supervisors voted in August to approve the project after reviewing several proposals and playground designs.

“Several designs were considered by the board,” said Morrison. “And Assistant FishHawk Community Director Melanie Crouse solicited input from young children which helped the board make the final decision on which equipment to select.”

The $89,539.77 cost of the project was paid for with existing CDD 1 funds and the work was done by Rep Services Inc., a family-owned company based in Lake Mary, Florida with expertise in outdoor spaces and extensive experience with neighborhood playground areas.

The FishHawk CDD is a local unit of special purpose government created under Florida Law. It constructed and is responsible for certain improvements, infrastructure and facilities within the district.

For more information, visit www.fishhawkcdd.org. The Osprey Club is located at 5721 Osprey Ridge Dr. and can be reached at 657-6629.

In addition, a new amenity is in the planning stages on the site formerly occupied by a skate park next to Colleen Bevis Elementary School. According to Dana McDonald with the Hillsborough County Parks and Recreation department, a contract is in the final stages of development to build a new facility on the space.

“The next step for the project is design and planning and we expect to be moving on to that soon,” said McDonald, who hopes to have more to announce on what the amenity will consist of in the next month.

For more information, contact the county parks and recreation department at 744-5595.

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Kate Quesada
Assignment Editor Kate Quesada started working at the Osprey Observer in 2004 after graduating from the University of South Florida with a masters degree in Mass Communications. Since then, she has held various positions at the paper and has been working as the assignment editor since January 2020. She lives in Lithia with her husband Mike and sons Dylan and Max and stays active in the community on school PTA boards and volunteering with local organizations.