King tide swamps Midtown Beach months after $20M seawall replacement advanced

Ocean water pushed all the way to the seawall at Midtown Beach in Palm Beach late last week, as a king tide combined with gusty winds and rough surf carved away sand and forced the beach to close — just months after sand was added to that same shoreline.

The king tide cycle peaked around October 27 and is expected to continue through the end of October, according to WPBF. High waves left only a narrow strip of usable sand in places, and the beach remained closed as of October 28. Similar conditions hit other South Florida coastal areas, with additional flooding reported along the Intracoastal Waterway, according to the Palm Beach Daily News.

We just stepped right over the seawall, took my shoes off, and I had my toes in the sand. But it's pretty astounding that that's all you can do.— Marla Falls, visitor from Atlanta

We're staying at the Colony Hotel. And a part of that was about being able to come down here, stay on the beach. So very disappointing.— Lisa Hawk, visitor from Atlanta

The timing is particularly pointed. According to the Palm Beach Civic Association, a beach renourishment effort concluded in May 2026 after crews dredged and deposited more than 500,000 cubic yards of offshore sand across 3.4 miles of shoreline stretching from Seminole Avenue to Banyan Road. Town Engineer Patricia Strayer said she pushed hard to get that renourishment finished before the next, larger project begins: a full replacement of the century-old seawall itself.

The existing seawall is a 2,715-foot-long sheet-pile structure with a concrete cap, running from Royal Palm Way to Gulfstream Road. According to the Palm Beach Civic Association, the structure dates to the 1920s, erected in response to hurricanes in 1926 and 1928 that stripped away as much as 80 feet of coastline and caused South Ocean Boulevard to crumble into the Atlantic. Engineers say the structure has reached the end of its useful life.

If the seawall fails, everything behind it starts failing. The road fails, then the condos.— Patricia Strayer, Town Engineer

West Palm Beach-based Murray Logan Construction has been chosen as the design-build contractor for the replacement project. Last August, officials signed off on $1.38 million to cover pre-construction engineering work and geotechnical surveys, with the full undertaking expected to carry a price tag of $20 million or more. Strayer told the Shore Protection Board that the main phase of construction could get underway as early as January 2027 and may take up to two years to complete.

The replacement wall is designed to last a minimum of 75 years structurally and will be set at an elevation of 15.9 feet NAVD88 in keeping with current coastal resiliency requirements. Visually, it will retain the existing scalloped border. The separate decorative knee wall will be eliminated, but ocean sightlines will be preserved.

The project is a structural upgrade that falls in line with our [coastal] resiliency program.— Patricia Strayer, Town Engineer

The seawall is estimated to protect $7 billion in private property and critical infrastructure. During construction, all public parking at Midtown Beach will be banned and South Ocean Boulevard will remain open with one lane in each direction. Given that Midtown Beach is one of only two lifeguard-protected beaches in Palm Beach, officials anticipate that displaced beachgoers will head to Phipps Ocean Park, R.G. Kreusler Memorial Park, or unguarded shorelines to the north, as well as Singer Island and Lake Worth Beach.

After seawall construction wraps up, the town intends to spend roughly $4 million redesigning Midtown Beach Linear Park — a plan that would grow green space by 15,000 square feet, a 48 percent increase, and introduce an ocean terrace near the Worth Avenue Clock Tower. Nearby Clarke Avenue beach will remain open throughout construction, Strayer said.

It's a great beach, love it. We're going to have to do it; let's just rip that band-aid off and get it done. It's going to be a little bit of a nuisance for now, but more importantly we need to keep this community safe.— Sandra Greenberg, West Palm Beach condo owner

Residents will have a chance to hear the town engineer lay out the timeline and construction details and ask questions at a public meeting scheduled for October 29 from 2 to 3 p.m. in the Town Council chambers. Signs of construction activity are expected to appear before the year is out.

Why it matters — Midtown Beach's king tide closure — coming months after a major sand replenishment and just before an 18-month seawall rebuild — shows how little margin Palm Beach has between the ocean and the road, condos, and $7 billion in property behind it.

Reported by wpbf.com, wpsl.com, palmbeachdailynews.com, palmbeachcivic.org, hoodline.com