A Gem on the Intracoastal

Sullivan Park

Sullivan Park is a 3.38 acre site that sits on the intracoastal waterway and Hillsboro Boulvard.  On this parcel formerly stood a packinghouse (1920s) that later became The Riverview Club, a restaurant and gambling house. When gambling was outlawed, it became the Riverview Restaurant, well-known for its seafood and steaks.

In 2017, the Deerfield Beach CRA completed the construction of a new park on this beautiful intracoastal location.

Originally, the easternmost parcel at the Intracoastal, known as Kester Point, it was donated to the City in 1961 by William Livingston Kester (1873-1954), an early Pompano Beach pioneer who owned property in Deerfield.

The second parcel, which abuts Hillsboro Boulevard and runs east from the Deerfield Beach Chamber of Commerce toward the Intracoastal Waterway, was deeded to the City in 1963 by the Sullivan Family with Robert “Bob” Sullivan, Sr. (1921-2000) as patriarch. A developer, Sullivan developed such communities and commercial properties as The Cove (Deerfield Beach), Camino Gardens and Hidden Valley (Boca Raton), Venetian Isles (Lighthouse Point) and Crystal Lake (Pompano Beach). He also developed several golf courses, among them Crystal Lake and Tam O’Shanter (Pompano) and Hidden Valley (Boca Raton), the latter two now closed.

Also on this parcel formerly stood a packinghouse (1920s) that later became The Riverview Club, a restaurant and gambling house. When gambling was outlawed, it became the Riverview Restaurant, well-known for its seafood and steaks.

Acquisition of the northernmost parcel of Sullivan Park was funded by the CRA Tax Increment Revenue and was purchased out of foreclosure for $2.23 million in 2012 from New York Holdings LLC.