Palm Beach County Breaks Ground on 45th Street Complex

On January 23, 2026, Palm Beach County, Florida, broke ground for the first phase of its 45th Street Complex, a new two-story 57,000-square-foot office building that will house the county’s community services department. The project is part of the county’s 2026-2030 Capital Improvement Program.

The future Maude Ford Lee Building will replace the 50-year-old community services facility located at 810 Datura St. in West Palm Beach. The modern facility will have space to provide essential services to promote county residents’ independence and quality of life. The 6-acre site includes a 200-space parking lot and a 20-foot-wide perimeter landscape buffer.

Palm Beach County selected Erdman Anthony as the civil engineer for the project, responsible for designing water, sewer, paving, and drainage systems. Our design includes a water distribution system for fire protection for the new building, domestic water service for existing facilities, and provisions for future expansion. A transportation plan was developed for site access, signing, pavement markings, and future Australian Avenue improvements.

Careful collaboration with the contractor was required during design, and that coordination will continue during construction in order to maintain water, sewer, drainage, and site access for existing buildings. Our firm will also provide construction inspection services for the new building.

The 45th Street Complex is part of a plan to repurpose 41 acres that Palm Beach County has owned for more than a century. Vanderbilt University plans to redevelop the vacated property on Datura Street for its new graduate campus.