
The Port of Palm Beach continues to make site improvements that it expects will increase volume and appeal to new markets.
By Janice Hoppe
The Port of Palm Beach is in a state of continuous improvement as it begins a year-long redevelopment project on Berth 17 to increase production and focuses on acquiring adjacent land. “We are working on our master plan and embarking on a more strategic plan because of the way I envision the port over the next five to 10 years,” Executive Director Manuel Almira says.
The port was chartered in 1915 and is located 80 miles north of Miami and 135 miles south of Port Canaveral. Ship entrance is through an inlet channel 400 feet wide with no aerial obstructions. The Port of Palm Beach is an independent special taxing district with statutory authority to levy ad valorem millage tax, but its board of commissioners has not done so since 1974. The port operates on revenue earned by the tenants that conduct business there.
Port of Palm Beach is ranked one of the top-20 ports in the United States. The ranking is justified because of its movement of 250,000 20-foot equivalent units in 2013. “We are the most efficient port when you measure TEUs per acre,” Almira says. “We take up a relatively small amount of real estate, 162 acres.”
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