Delray Beach DDA presses city for Old School Square storage solutions after ceramics studio move

The Delray Beach Downtown Development Authority held a workshop Sept. 30 focused on an interlocal agreement dispute after city staff moved ahead with converting part of a shared storage area at Old School Square into a ceramics studio and a refrigeration/pantry area for the Crest building.

The DDA’s board chair, Alan “Al” Castello, and DDA Executive Director Laura (last name not specified in the transcript) told the board the storage area is part of the DDA’s rights under the interlocal agreement’s second amendment and said the city acted without adequate coordination. “Please do not sign this agreement. Please do not agree to this agreement,” Castello said, urging caution about a proposed fourth amendment to the ILA.

Why it matters: The storage area houses large items used across the campus — concert and event equipment, folding tables and chairs, museum crates and climate-sensitive artwork storage — and DDA staff said the reduction in usable space is already creating operational problems that could worsen when Old School Square returns to full activity.

Board and staff accounts DDA museum director Mariska (also written as Maruska in the transcript) described current constraints: after prior renovations the museum still has “no closets, very minimal closets,” and a portion of the campus storage had been converted in 2017 to hold the museum’s permanent collection under climate controls. She said the newly carved-out DDA door is too narrow for pallet jacks and some incoming museum crates: “I had a situation where I was receiving two crates of art last…