The All Access Card now opens the 102nd Street beach gate as well as the Waterfront Park. Using one card for both is new. Until this spring, getting onto the 102nd Street beach path meant carrying a separate key fob, one more piece of plastic alongside whatever opened the park itself. The Village folded that into a single credential, the All Access Card, and asked residents to turn in the old fobs for recycling during Earth Month in exchange for a five dollar credit toward future programs.
That consolidation reads like a tidy story: one card, one system, done. It isn't quite that simple. The card now opens more doors, but the doors themselves are not behaving the same way this season, and the reason has less to do with village bureaucracy than with a hundred year old jetty currently being rebuilt underneath it.
One Card, Three Gates
Bal Harbour residents reach the beach through three named access points, and each one currently operates under a different logic.
| Access Point | Location | Current Status |
|---|---|---|
| Jetty Beach Access | North end, near Haulover Cut | Inside an active, multi-year construction zone as the Harbourfront Park, Jetty and Cutwalk project moves through its permitting phase |
| 96th Street Beach Access | South end of the Village | Standard beach access, outside the construction footprint |
| 102nd Street Beach Access | South of Oceana Bal Harbour | Gated and reserved for residents, now opened with the same All Access Card that unlocks the Waterfront Park |
The 102nd Street gate is the cleanest illustration of what actually changed. It has always been resident only. What's different since this spring is that a resident no longer needs a dedicated fob to get through it. The same card that gets a family into the Waterfront Park for a Tuesday afternoon on the splash pad now electronically opens that gate too.
The Waterfront Park itself works the same way it has since it opened. Village rules state plainly that entry requires either the All Access Card or photo identification, so even non-card holders can get in with an ID at the gate. The 102nd Street path doesn't offer that workaround. It's card only, which is the point of restricting it to residents in the first place.
Why the North Gate Feels Different This Year
The Jetty Beach Access sits at the northern tip of the Village, where the Harbourfront Park project is currently underway. This is the Village's only public park in the traditional sense, distinct from the Waterfront Park, and it's being built in place around a jetty that the Army Corps of Engineers originally constructed nearly a century ago along Haulover Cut.
The design comes from Mikyoung Kim Design Studio, selected by Village Council to turn the aging rock rubble jetty into a landscaped cutwalk with wave pattern paving, stepped seating, and wooden canopies. Kimley-Horn & Associates serves as engineer of record. Construction is phased on purpose. The first stretch of work replaces the seawall running from the Haulover Bridge to the beach hardpack, and the plan calls for the cutwalk's elevation to be raised gradually toward the end of the jetty as work continues, all while keeping fire and emergency access open throughout.
As of the Village's capital program update in June 2026, the project was in the final stages of securing its last required building permit, with the next milestone being a Construction Manager at Risk's Guaranteed Maximum Price presented to Village Council. Part of the delay traces to design updates for lighting that meets Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission requirements, since the jetty sits along a stretch of coastline that matters for sea turtle nesting. Completion is targeted for 2027.
The Village has also been investing in the site ahead of that completion. Council approved a security camera contract for the Harbourfront Park, Jetty and Cutwalk project worth up to 196,811 dollars in October 2025, with an alternate option adding nearly 40,000 dollars more. That's not a detail most residents will ever think about directly, but it explains why the north end of the Village looks like an active jobsite with fencing and equipment rather than a finished amenity, even as the card in your wallet now opens gates on both ends of town.
What's Actually Running at the Park Right Now
None of the construction touches the Waterfront Park itself, which sits on its own 1.5 acre site closer to the center of the Village and has been fully operational. The park includes a public dock with a kayak launch, a walking path, a Zen Garden, an ocean themed splash pad, and two playgrounds designed by the Danish firm Monstrum around the story of a Florida Heron's life cycle. A three story community center anchors the site, with an indoor toddler playground and administrative offices for the Recreation, Arts and Culture Department.
Pickleball runs on a fixed weekly schedule using the multi-use courts set up on the basketball court: Mondays and Fridays from 8 to 11 a.m., Wednesdays from 6 to 8 p.m. Open play requires the All Access Card and no reservation, though anyone who wants more court time than that has access to eight additional courts at nearby Haulover Park on a first come basis.
Fall programming opened for registration on August 3. The current pickleball lesson series started September 16 and runs through October 14 on Wednesday evenings, with a second session beginning October 28 and running to December 2, skipping the week of Veterans Day. Each five class session runs 80 dollars for ages 16 and up. Residents who'd rather sample something new than commit to a full session get a free first class on any program with the All Access Card.
The fitness room, outfitted with treadmills, an elliptical, a recumbent bike, a rower and strength equipment, checks residents in by card for anyone 16 or older. For anyone who wants a standing habit rather than drop in visits, the Total Wellness Club runs 50 dollars a month for unlimited fitness classes at the community center, which covers sessions like the Tuesday afternoon 360 Body Workout aimed at the 55 and older crowd, or 10 dollars a class outside the membership. Book Haven, a small lending library and board game space on the community center's first floor, rounds out the building.
Getting the Card
Anyone who lives in the Village at least six months a year, or owns property there, qualifies. The process runs through the Village's CivicRec portal: register household members online, submit a photo ID and proof of residency, and the account status updates from non-resident to resident once the Village verifies it, typically within five to seven business days. From there it's a trip to the Waterfront Park for an ID photo and the physical card itself, valid for two years.
For residents who already had a card before this spring, the update is smaller: a visit to the park to have the same card reprogrammed for 102nd Street access, no new application required.
The card looks the same regardless of which gate someone plans to use most. What sits behind each gate this fall does not, and that gap will keep narrowing as the jetty project clears its permit and construction moves further out toward the water.
Bal Harbour changes in increments that are easy to miss if you're not watching closely. Chanel Hunter Homes keeps track of the ones that actually affect how the Village lives day to day, from a new card in your wallet to a jetty rebuilding itself one seawall section at a time.
