Once an asphalt parking lot that covered much of Clearwater’s waterfront, the city envisioned the 19-acre site as an urban bayfront destination that could be a catalyst for downtown economic development. With the $84-million transformation of Coachman Park, a grand staircase with a cascading water feature now leads visitors from downtown into a public space that joins St. Petersburg’s Pier and Tampa’s Riverwalk as one of the region’s signature urban features.

The park features green spaces, a nautical-themed playground, recreational facilities and a music venue dubbed the BayCare Sound. At the north bluff of the site, a water feature with cascading fountain basins aims to invoke the historical element of natural springs flowing into the bay. The Civic Gateway Plaza welcomes parkgoers to 525,000 sq ft of new park greenspace. Visitors can enjoy a 10,000-sq-ft ocean-themed playground and adjacent splash pad.

Photo by Seamus Payne

The new amphitheater can host up to 9,000 guests and features a 42,934-sq-ft acoustically treated tensile membrane canopy. With more than 1 million lb of steel, 140,000 bolts and 3,000 connections, the BayCare Sound amphitheater was designed without a single field weld, which required seamless connectivity across complementary materials. This method assured the team of greater quality control. Meticulous coordination was required during design to ensure that custom-built fixtures—such as the 189 DMX lights suspended 88-ft above the stage—illuminated performances.

The original design envisioned the amphitheater at the center of the park, but the city council wanted to move it to the extreme north end of the site to capitalize on the bayfront views. Both design and preconstruction had been completed when that decision was made. Crews had already started building the underground infrastructure for the venue and the rest of the park. To keep the project on budget and on time, the design and construction team collaborated to redesign and execute the below-ground infrastructure and all hardscapes and softscapes.

Photo by Seamus Payne

The team also helped the city leverage the site’s topographical slope, fitting the venue into the waterfront bluff. The owner-directed change led to a 13% growth in Coachman Park’s contract value. The contractor ended up at a final $70 million guaranteed maximum price, which included $4.5 million in program enhancements. As a result, the new venue offers a viewing experience on the waterfront with the sunset as a backdrop during evening performances.

Connectivity is a critical component of the park’s design. The park connects the waterfront to the rest of the city; a new civic gateway plaza links the park to downtown Clearwater; and the Bay Walk promenade provides visitors an unobstructed view of the Intracoastal Waterway. The park also connects to the Fred Marquis Pinellas Trail, a 75-mile continuous multiuse pathway stretching through Pinellas County.

Development of Coachman Park required sourcing materials globally. Splash pad nozzles were imported from Germany, structural engineering was performed by Maffeis Engineers in Italy, steel was sourced from Acesto in Guadalajara and lights came from China. The canopy membrane was manufactured in Japan and shipped to Mexico for shaping and sewing.