South Gate Complex Planning and Design - Port of Palm Beach, Riviera Beach, Florida

The Port of Palm Beach is a 153 acre niche port located on the Southeast coast of Florida, approximately 60 miles North of Miami. Over the past decade, the Port of Palm Beach has transformed to a modern Port able to meet the planned needs of its tenants and implement their 1995 Master Plan. Today, due to efficient land use, it has one of the highest container throughputs per acre in the country. The Port continues to grow in through-put at a rapid pace and it is imperative that they adapt there current and restricted land to meet the expanding demands. In 2005, the Port developed a 2005 – 2015 Master Plan that established nearly $150 million dollars in Capital Improvements to expand the Port's operations by more efficiently using the existing lands and proposing Southward expansion into new land. One project within the 2005 Master Plan is the creation of a South Gate Facility which includes: Demolition of an existing 160,000 SF office/retail building; Construction of a 60,000 SF Warehouse and associated Security Offices; Construction of Access Road Improvements; Construction of a New Multi-Lane Gate Facility; and, Construction of a 5.5 acres of cargo laydown area. The South Gate project is budgeted at $16 million for planning, design, and construction. At completion, this project will open up/develop 2 acres of waterfront by consolidating the warehouses spread throughout the Port as well as create nearly 6 acres of additional cargo lay-down space for expanded Port business. This project is expected to be the cornerstone project to start the remainder of the 2005 Master Plan projects including a future tie-in to planned future state highway improvements. It is expected that the South Gate Facility will be accomplished while maintaining uninterrupted business operations. Through tenant partnering, aggressive planning and decisions, this project is expected to be completed at the end of 2007. This paper will outline the process of planning, security considerations and requirements, the functional layout of the facility and the construction phasing processes used in order to maintain business flow during construction.