Construction of a new Midtown Beach seawall is expected to begin in December and require 18 months to complete, town officials say.
The town plans to close Midtown Beach to the public, either partially or entirely, for the duration of the construction, the Town Council was informed by staff at its September 8 meeting.
Complete closure would mean that the popular beach, one of only two public beaches with lifeguard protection in the town, would be inaccessible to the public from December until the spring of 2028.
Council member Lew Crampton said beachgoers no longer able to access Midtown Beach may instead crowd the beaches east of Sunrise Avenue and at Phipps Ocean Park, which is under construction but scheduled to reopen in November.
“Those folks are going to go south, and you are going to have a potential overload there,” said Crampton, a South End resident.
Crampton said there needs to be further discussion about whether the Midtown Beach closure is partial or complete before the council makes the decision.
Jake Hurley, senior project engineer with Palm Beach’s Public Works Department, said the plan by the design-builder, Murray Logan Construction of West Palm Beach, calls for construction of a dune that won’t leave much room for beach accessibility.
But Hurley said staff will question Murray Logan about the impact of leaving the beach partially open during construction and report the answer at a future council meeting.
“But, very likely, it would be extended duration of the project and extended cost,” Hurley said. “We can come back and report on those impacts in further detail.”
The new seawall is expected to cost $20 million or more to build, including $1.5 million appropriated by the council in July for design and planning.
The 2,715-foot-long wall extends from Royal Palm Way southward to Gulfstream Road, protecting $7 billion in private property, according to Palm Beach County Property Appraiser Dorothy Jacks. It also protects public streets and utility and telecommunication infrastructure.
The structure is nearly 100 years old and needs to be replaced, though its failure is not imminent, town officials have said.
“We have multiple engineering reports that it is near the end of its useful life,” Hurley said.
Proactive replacement of the seawall is significantly more cost effective and less disruptive than emergency repairs, Hurley said.
Mayor Danielle Moore said the town has been discussing the project for years and the time has arrived to get it done.
“I can imagine some condo owners would be upset if we allowed the wall to fail, the road to fail, and everything else to fall apart,” Moore said.
If the Atlantic Ocean were to breach the wall, Crampton noted that the grade of the land would lead the flood water downhill, meaning disaster not just for the buildings on South Ocean Boulevard and Worth Avenue but also for area residential streets.
A public outreach meeting about the project is planned for October 29. The meeting will focus on the construction impact to residents, including closure of Midtown Beach throughout construction, and traffic. A flier will be circulated before then, he said.
Two-way traffic will be maintained on South Ocean Boulevard during the construction, Hurley said.
“Throughout the project, we should see better traffic,” he said. “We’re not going to have individuals coming from off-island to park at the beach.”
Murray Logan will provide a guaranteed maximum price or GMP – an all-encompassing cost – to complete the seawall. That will be accompanied by drawings and visuals and a much more detailed project schedule. The GMP will be reported as early as November, Hurley said.
Linear park
The town has budgeted around $4 million for a companion project – a makeover of the Midtown Beach Linear Park that abuts the seawall.
Plans call for construction of the updated park to begin toward the end of the seawall construction. The park will be reborn with more green space and landscaping, safer crosswalks, and a new, wider sidewalk.
Town Engineer Patricia Srayer said the town’s intent is to preserve as many as possible of the 42 coconut palm trees in the park.
Palms will be left in place if possible but relocated, preserved and replanted in the park if necessary. Some of them will likely have to be replaced, she said.
The park redesign, including the plan to preserve the existing palms, is subject to review and approval by the Architectural Commission at its October 28 meeting.
Plans called for adding 15,000 square feet of open space – a 48 percent increase over the existing park.
A single, wider sidewalk would replace the park’s two existing sidewalks. New benches, additional landscaping, and a new beach access with stairs at Royal Palm Way are also part of the proposed design mix.
At the Worth Avenue Clock Tower, a terrace would be built so people can walk through the tower for a better ocean view.
To calm traffic and enhance safety, traffic islands would be built on South Ocean Boulevard along with additional pedestrian crossings where the boulevard meets Brazilian Avenue and Royal Palm Way.
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