Milani Park Has Waited Since 1987. Now the Holdup Is the Land's Own History

On the first Tuesday of October, cars sat parked on the grass at 4705 South Ocean Boulevard. That morning, Palm Beach County commissioners approved the latest step toward a public beach park on the site. CBS12 reported that the lot has no public beach access today, even though it is one of the few undeveloped oceanfront parcels left on Highland Beach's stretch of A1A.

Most of the talk about Cam D. Milani Park has been about parking. The county's own paperwork from this fall points somewhere else. Before a construction contract comes up for a vote, the park has to be fitted around what is in the ground, and in Highland Beach that means a Native American burial mound and the last surviving trace of the Yamato Colony.

Four Decades in Six Dates

The park's history explains why every step now moves slowly.

1. May 12, 1987. The County Commission approved buying two oceanfront parcels at 4705 S. Ocean Blvd for a public beach park. According to CBS12, Lucia Milani sold the 5.29 acres for $3.9 million on the condition that the land become a park named for her husband, Cam D. Milani.
2. April 27, 2009. The Town of Highland Beach approved a Special Exception for the park, Resolution No. 09-004 R, with 43 conditions attached.
3. 2010. The county and the town signed a Stipulated Settlement Agreement and Addendum, which still governs the park's design and timing.
4. April 17, 2024. The county told the town it intended to resume development.
5. September 26, 2024. Commissioners hired Brooks + Scarpa Architects for design, permitting and construction administration.
6. October 2026. Commissioners approved preconstruction services on October 6. Two weeks later, staff pulled the item that would have ratified an archaeology contract for the park.

The 43 conditions from 2009 still apply. To satisfy one of them, Condition No. 24, county staff this past March recommended giving the town an exclusive conservation easement, at no cost, over a 26,317-square-foot mangrove swamp inside the park, roughly 0.604 acres. Seventeen years on, the county is still working through conditions the town approved in 2009.

What $85,000 Pays For

The October 6 vote approved a contract with Kaufman Lynn Construction for preconstruction services, which covers cost estimates and scheduling. CBS12 reported that the vote does not authorize construction. The county estimates the full project at $8.65 million and has to bring a separate construction price back to commissioners.

The $85,000 is less than 1 percent of the estimated total. It pays for a builder to price the job. That price depends on the final design, and the final design depends on the archaeology.

A Million-Dollar Line Item, Pulled

Item 3H-3 on the county's October 20 agenda asked commissioners to ratify an emergency contract of up to $1,007,228.74 with Archaeological and Historical Conservancy, Inc., a Florida nonprofit based in Davie. The contract covers a "Phase III archaeological assessment" for the park, which the summary describes as "advanced professional archaeological exploratory services."

The summary gives three reasons the work is needed. It supports the site plan and design. It satisfies conditions the town attached to its approval. And it reduces the chance of harm to cultural resources during construction by exploring in advance, "as required by Chapter 267, Florida Statutes." The summary also says design is "nearing completion," helped by a preliminary archaeological investigation the same firm already finished as a subconsultant to Urban Design Studio.

The county's explanation for the emergency contract is about purchasing. It said that its existing consultant could not take on a contract this size without serious business risk tied to insurance limits and its Small Business Enterprise commitments. Bringing in a new archaeology firm would have meant repeating work, losing the knowledge built up so far and losing continuity in the monitoring required throughout construction. So the county contracted with the conservancy directly, and the summary says that emergency contract was approved and executed before it came to commissioners for ratification.

On the meeting's additions-and-deletions sheet, item 3H-3 is marked "DELETED" and described as "pulled for further review by staff." The county's planned construction price depends on that archaeological work.

The Last of Seven

The county has long known what this parcel holds. In July 2025, The Coastal Star reported that county planners have known for years about a Native American burial ground on the property. The same parcel also has historical ties to the Yamato Colony, a group of Japanese pineapple farmers who worked the area in the early 20th century. Bryan Davis, a principal planner with the county, told The Coastal Star why the Yamato connection matters:

"Every other piece of the Yamato Colony is gone. It's the only parcel left that's still identifiable as associated with the Yamato Colony."

Davis also told the paper that the burial ground is the last of seven similar mounds between Riviera Beach and Deerfield Beach, and called the area "a unicorn." The paper reported that the archaeological study was finding part of the property more historically significant than first thought. It also reported that the county had submitted a National Register of Historic Places nomination for part of the property, and that Florida's Division of Historical Resources confirmed the site is eligible.

Local history shows why "last of seven" carries weight. Palm Beach County History Online describes the Spanish River Complex, which spans Highland Beach and Boca Raton, as one of the largest Native sites in southern Florida, including a burial mound and Barnhill Mound. Parts of the complex were excavated in the 1950s and '70s. Barnhill Mound stood 20 feet high on 24 acres north of Yamato Road and east of U.S. Highway 1. A promoter bought that land in 1953 and excavated the mound with archaeologists from the Florida State Museum. The other mounds in that history were excavated or built over. The one at 4705 S. Ocean Blvd remains.

Why the Boardwalk Is Elevated

The park's features follow from that history. The county's March 2026 agenda item lists a parking lot, a guard house with an access-controlled gate, an elevated boardwalk, a restroom, a lifeguard station and landscaping. According to The Coastal Star, the elevated walkways would run over the historically significant areas, with educational material posted along the way.

An elevated boardwalk lets visitors cross the land to reach the beach without disturbing the ground underneath. The Phase III assessment in the conservancy's contract is the step that maps that ground in enough detail to build over it. Davis said much the same when he connected the parcel's significance to its design.

The Parking Lot Comes Second

The parking dispute is still part of the story, and it belongs to the west side of the road. CBS12 reported that the original plan called for 100 spaces west of A1A, with beach access and the park amenities across the street. The county and town agreed to build 46 spaces in a first phase. A second phase of 54 spaces has no set timeline. Residents have raised concerns about traffic and about people crossing A1A.

The town is following the project closely. Milani Park is the first item, SP 1, in the town's FY 2026 Strategic Plan, which notes that the county has one more five-year extension under the settlement agreement. The plan dated March 3, 2026 expected construction in summer 2026. A week later, a county agenda item expected construction to start in the fourth quarter of 2026 and finish in the fourth quarter of 2027, subject to the town's approvals. Summer has come and gone with no construction under way. As of early November, the county has approved only preconstruction services, and the archaeology ratification is back with staff.

The next public milestone is Kaufman Lynn's construction price, which the county has to bring to commissioners before work starts on the lot at 4705 South Ocean Boulevard.

We follow projects like Milani Park because they shape daily life along Highland Beach's stretch of A1A, and we're happy to talk through what they mean for your building. Hall Luxury Homes Group offers a Concierge Consultation whenever you'd like one.