For four hurricane seasons now, the walk from Humiston Park down to the sand has run through a temporary wooden staircase bolted next to a pop-up pavilion. It has worked fine for beach access, which is the point of a temporary fix, but anyone who lives near the park has walked past that plywood-and-steel stand-in enough times to stop noticing it as temporary at all. It has just been there since Hurricane Nicole tore out the original boardwalk in November 2022.
That changes this fall, and it changes for a reason most residents probably haven't heard yet: the number that finally made the project real came in far lower than the number that nearly killed it.
Four Years of False Starts, Then a Number Nobody Expected
The city spent 2023 and 2024 going back and forth on what to build instead of a boardwalk. In June 2024, the council actually voted for the cheap option, a roughly $700,000 concrete sidewalk, over both a $2 million concrete boardwalk and a $1.4 million wood structure. That decision lasted about six months. By January 2025, public pressure had flipped the council back to wanting the real boardwalk, with council members John Carroll and Aaron Vos pushing a rebuild-the-boardwalk fund that pulled in early pledges as high as $100,000.
Then came the number that stalled everything again. At a mid-August 2025 council meeting, City Manager Monte Falls told council the cost estimate had more than doubled, to roughly $4.6 million. That is the kind of number that ends a fundraising campaign rather than accelerates it, and for months it did. By March 2026, the local paper covering the barrier island was openly asking whether the whole effort had stalled out for good.
It hadn't. The project was waiting on real bids. When the city put it out to bid this August, seven contractors submitted proposals, and the low bid from Ferreira Construction came in at $1,767,109.77, well under the $4.6 million estimate presented a year earlier. The council approved the contract on August 25, 2026.
Public Works Director Matthew Mitts credited the seven-bid response for helping the city leverage the donations and grants that had already been lined up. An early estimate and a competitive bid measure different things, and in this case the bids gave the city a clearer and considerably lower number to build around.
What Happens Next, and When
Construction is set to begin in November 2026, timed deliberately to start after sea turtle nesting season closes. The new structure will run the same 427 feet as the original, built on prestressed concrete pilings with Trex composite decking instead of raw lumber, which should hold up better against the next storm than the version Nicole took out. Two covered pavilions are part of the design: a smaller 12-by-22-foot one near the north end and a larger 12-by-42-foot pavilion at the south end that includes a handicap access ramp, something the old boardwalk never had.
The funding stack behind the project is a mix of public and private money that closed most, but not all, of the gap. The city budgeted $1 million for the boardwalk in its five-year capital improvement plan. Indian River County committed another $400,000. The state legislature added a $350,000 line item in its 2025-26 budget. FEMA kicked in $460,000 as a storm damage reimbursement. On the private side, a fundraising campaign managed through the Indian River Community Foundation has collected $145,713 in donations so far, with another $160,000 pledged, including a single $100,000 pledge from local philanthropist Tom Corr.
Even with all of that, Councilman John Carroll said in late August that the remaining shortfall still sits at $460,000. The city chose the more expensive boardwalk over a cheaper sidewalk because residents asked for it, and that choice is still being paid for in real time through community donations. Anyone who wants to put money toward closing that gap can do it through rebuildhumiston.org or by calling 772-492-1407.
The Restaurant Question Down the Street
The boardwalk isn't the only thing changing on this stretch this fall. The Tides, the island's longstanding fine-dining restaurant just off the same corridor, closed for a two-month renovation and is set to reopen in October with two additions it hasn't offered before: Sunday brunch and weekday takeout lunches. Owner and executive chef Leanne Kelleher brought the request to the city's Planning and Zoning Board, which approved it under the restaurant's existing permits in a unanimous 5-0 vote on August 20.
The approval wasn't quite frictionless. Nearby business owners raised concerns at that same meeting that the added traffic from brunch and takeout service would make Central Beach's parking situation worse during the winter season, when spaces are already scarce. That tension isn't new to this six-block stretch. Merchants and the city have wrestled with the same parking shortage for years, and it tends to resurface any time a business asks for expanded hours or new services. The board approved The Tides' request anyway, which tells you the calculus still favors keeping the island's businesses open and evolving over holding the line on parking.
The Shops That Don't Need Fixing
What makes this particular fall interesting is the contrast between what's changing and what has stayed exactly the same for decades. Walk the same stretch of Ocean Drive and you'll pass Twig Swim & Sportswear, a swimwear shop that has anchored the 3200 block since the 1970s, and Kemp's Shoe Salon, which has been fitting feet on Ocean Drive since 1959. Corey's Pharmacy sits right at the entrance to Humiston Park and has been serving the island since 1956, still functioning as a real pharmacy while stocking the kind of coastal gift-shop items that make it feel more like a landmark than a drugstore. The Beached Whale handles the sunscreen-and-souvenir run, the Lazy Daisy on Azalea Lane covers the Lilly Pulitzer end of the market, and Veranda has been selling fine jewelry here for more than 30 years. Market, the home and gift shop with a wine bar built in, rounds out the walk for anyone who wants to browse rather than buy anything beach-specific.
None of those businesses are part of this fall's news. That's exactly the point. The boardwalk and The Tides are the two things actually in motion right now, set against a shopping strip that has functioned the same way for half a century. The neighborhood absorbs change at its edges while the core of it stays recognizable, which is a big part of why people who already live along this stretch keep walking it.
If you live near Humiston Park, this fall gives you two concrete things to watch rather than one more vague promise. The boardwalk crews should be on site by November, working against a defined budget and a $460,000 gap that's shrinking rather than growing. The Tides should have its doors open again by October with a brunch menu it didn't have before. Between now and then, the same familiar six blocks of shops will still be exactly where you left them.
If you want a heads-up when the boardwalk crews actually break ground or when The Tides opens its doors this fall, reach out to Alexis Miller. I live and work in this stretch of Vero Beach and I'm keeping an eye on both.
