Arcadia updates council on five-site municipal wireless infrastructure rollout; staff expects sites to be on air by end of 2025

Representatives from Arcadia Towers updated the council June 23 on the village’s wireless infrastructure program, which includes five primary sites and a proposed sublease at Wellington National. Arcadia presented site status, carrier interest and timing for construction and colocation.

Cori (Arcadia) said the five sites in the development queue are Greenbrier Park; Owsley Farm South (4311 Flying Cow Ranch Road); the Municipal Complex; Section 24; and Palm Beach Central High School. Arcadia said four of the five sites have been submitted for building permits and that approvals are expected in one to two weeks; of those four, three are forecast for construction start in July or August with carriers aiming to be “on air” by the end of 2025.

Arcadia reported leases completed with T-Mobile for Greenbrier and Owsley Farm and ongoing lease negotiations with Verizon for Greenbrier, the Municipal Complex, Palm Beach Central High School and Section 24. The firm expects Greenbrier and the Municipal Complex leases to be completed within months and anticipated carrier equipment on-air by the end of 2025.

Arcadia described outstanding issues: Section 24 requires coordination with Florida Power & Light (FPL) on power design and a village easement to allow FPL power onto the property; Palm Beach Central requires coordination with Lake Worth Drainage District for construction access and further work with the school district on easement language that preserves maintenance access; Wellington National requires finalization of a sublease from the golf-course owner before Arcadia’s sublease (village lease) can proceed.

Arcadia said initial coverage maps used a one-mile radius and that carriers’ interest and propagation will determine which residents see improved coverage; staff said the carriers that sign leases will determine who benefits directly and that other carriers may seek colocation once the towers are in service. Arcadia and staff said they are actively marketing the sites to carriers including AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile and that carrier onboarding timelines for additional colocators would typically take several months for permitting and equipment deployment after a tower is constructed.

Council members asked whether all five (plus Wellington National) would be on air by end of 2025; Arcadia and staff said they expect the five core sites to be on air by the end of 2025 barring unknown delays and that Wellington National is slightly behind but still expected to be on air by the end of 2025. No formal action was taken at the workshop; Arcadia provided a status update and staff said easement authorizations (for example, Section 24) will be brought to council for approval as needed.