Palm Tran to Hold Grand Opening Tuesday for New State-of-the-Art Delray Beach Headquarters

By: Robert S Weinroth

Clinton Forbes speaks at groundbreaking with Commissioners Mack Bernard, Gregg K Weiss and Vice Mayor Robert Weinroth seated

Palm Tran will hold a grand opening for its new headquarters at 100 N. Congress Avenue in Delray Beach on Tuesday, March 2, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. There will be remarks from County Commissioners, County Administrator Verdenia C. Baker, Palm Tran Executive Director Clinton B. Forbes and other dignitaries. The event will also commemorate the 50th anniversary of Palm Tran and feature the slogan: “New Day, New Way, Delray.”

In April 2019, Palm Tran broke ground on its new headquarters near Congress Avenue and Atlantic Avenue. The project expanded Palm Tran’s 3,800-square-foot Delray Beach satellite facility into a three-story, roughly 34,000-square- foot state-of-the-art facility for bus maintenance and offices. The upgrades and expansion included installing the initial infrastructure to charge fully electric, zero emissions buses.

Palm Tran is currently seeking grant funding to acquire electric vehicles. In addition to adding needed office space and a public meeting room, the project enables Palm Tran to service an additional 20 buses at the location for a total of 87 buses.

The $25 million dollar project was primarily funded by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA).

The event will also debut a new 2,000-square-foot tile mural that welcomes visitors to the expanded building. The colorful “On My Way” public art is inspired by the theme of movement and community connection. It was created by artists Rosario Marquardt and Roberto Behar of R & R Studios, a multidisciplinary award-winning practice weaving together public art, architecture and design.