WGI analyzed the effects of sea level rise on the infrastructure within the Delray Beach Marina Historical District. The analysis examined various components of the district, including the recurring problem of King Tides events, the missing pedestrian link between the City marina to the south and Veteran’s Park to the north, private property rights, stormwater management, and environmental constraints. In addition to analyzing the infrastructure and land ownership issues, the City requested the services of WGI’s Public Planning Division to perform a fully integrated public outreach program to keep the residents in the vicinity of the historical district involved throughout the entire planning, permitting, and design process.

WGI planners drafted a Public Involvement Plan (PIP), maintained a list of residents and stakeholders, facilitated public meetings, and created a website to ensure that the community was informed and involved in the entire process.

The design phase of the project will incorporate the information gathered in the initial data and fact-finding phase and will include separate engineering design options, including preliminary engineering plans and cross sections for Marine Way, street lighting, seawall design, landscaping, wayfinding signage, private dock removal and replacement, stormwater pump station design, and cost analysis.

In addition, this contract included the preliminary design of a seawall along the Marine Way right-of-way and ties into the Atlantic Avenue Bridge to the north and to the seawall in the City marina to the south. The wall is being designed to meet the sea level rise anticipated in the next 75–100 years.