For reporters
For reporters: the record, in one place.
A fact sheet, a sourced timeline, credited photos and a contact who can point you to any primary document.
Our report reconstructs what the public record shows about the Riverwalk North seawall, from 2013 to today. Every factual statement carries an endnote, and most link directly to City Commission memos, grant applications and contracts in the City’s Legistar system. We encourage you to check the primary sources yourself rather than relying on our summary. Where the record is unclear, the report says so.
Save the Riverwalk is a community campaign, and our recommendations reflect that perspective. The findings themselves are limited to what the cited records show.
Contact
Media contact
Riva, AI spokesperson for Save the Riverwalk
riva@savetheriverwalk.org · savetheriverwalk.org
Riva is an AI spokesperson for Save the Riverwalk, not a person. Riva answers questions, shares updates and points people to the sources behind our report. Every fact Riva shares comes from our report and the public records it cites.
Corrections to the report are welcome at the same address.
About Save the Riverwalk
Save the Riverwalk is a community campaign about the Riverwalk North seawall in downtown Fort Lauderdale, an approximately 510-foot section of seawall and walkway on the New River between Andrews Avenue and the FEC Railway bridge. Our report, Findings, Timeline, and Recommendations (Version 2.0, October 2026), documents the public record and makes six recommendations to the City.
Save the Riverwalk · October 2026
Fact sheet: the Riverwalk North seawall
- Location: About 510 linear feet of seawall and pile-supported walkway (the “catwalk”) on the New River’s north bank between Andrews Avenue and the FEC Railway, downtown Fort Lauderdale, City Commission District 4.[1, 10]
- Condition: Found “structurally deficient” (2019) and requiring “immediate replacement” (December 2023). In 2025 and 2026 the City told FIND the catwalk slab “has lost all its reinforcement due to corrosion” and “may be on the verge of collapse.”[1, 4, 5, 6]
- Failure: Walkway collapse reported and the section barricaded by August 12, 2026.[7]
- 9/11 Monument: Dedicated September 11, 2020. Part of the base removed and stored by August 28, 2026, with no reinstallation date published.[8, 22]
- Design contract: HBC Engineering Company, awarded December 5, 2023 for $682,534.41. Now $1,227,735.74, due December 5, 2026. Extended five times, lapsed twice, revived twice by retroactive agreement.[1, 9, 10, 33]
- Schedule: The projected end of construction moved from January 2026 (2024 filing) to October 2026 (2025 filing) to December 2027 (2026 filing). The City now expects construction to start in summer 2027 and take at least a year.[6, 7, 11, 12, 13]
- Cost: About $8 million in the 2025 and 2026 filings, and $12 million per the City in September 2026.[12, 13, 44]
- Funding: CIP project P11722 has an unspent balance of $2,937,104 (May 31, 2026), $0 in FY 2027–2029, and $7,983,841 in FY 2030. FIND has awarded $1,032,636 and $2,967,364, each with an equal local match. The project doesn’t appear in any Resilient Florida plan for 2024–2027.[14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19]
- Commission agenda: No agenda item titled for the seawall from August 18 to October 6, 2026, other than adoption of the capital plan.[20, 21]
- Key officials: Vice Mayor Ben Sorensen (District 4) and Acting City Manager Christopher Cooper (since July 3, 2026).[10, 40, 66]
- Our six asks: See the six asks in brief.
What’s next
- October 20 · November 6 · November 17 · December 2 · December 15, 2026: City Commission regular meetings[52, 53] (details)
- December 5, 2026: Design completion deadline[33]
- March 2, 2027: The 2027 legislative session convenes[75, 76]
The full sourced timeline, from August 20, 2013 to December 5, 2026, is on The problem page.
In the City’s own words
Quotes from the public record
Verbatim, with original spelling. Safe to use with attribution.
“Only the pile cap is believed to be holding the seawall in place, which the cap was not designed to do structurally.”
“[The condition] may lead to a systematic failure of the concrete catwalk which could become a public hazard.”
“The section of the seawall on the New River between the FEC Railway and Andrews Avenue requires immediate replacement.”
“[The catwalk ribbed slab] has lost all its reinforcement due to corrosion and can no longer sustain the original design load it was intended to support and may be on the verge of collapse.”
“[The catwalk] can no longer carry it’s intended load, therefore it is a public safety hazard.”
“Retains the subbase for the entire Riverwalk north business area.”
“A section of the memorial’s base was proactively removed to protect it from potential damage and is being safely stored by the City.”
Press kit
Photos and credits
All photographs are by Nathan Stevenson, 2026. Please credit “Photo: Nathan Stevenson, 2026.” The aerial images are undated within 2026. For other sizes or questions about use, email riva@savetheriverwalk.org.
| Preview | Caption | Credit | File |
|---|---|---|---|
 | The barricaded section of Riverwalk North seen from above, with the brick walkway sunken and pulled away from the seawall. | Photo: Nathan Stevenson, 2026 (exact date not recorded) | Download (1200 × 1600 WebP) |
 | Overhead view of the Riverwalk 9/11 Monument, with displaced pavers and barricades along the edge of its base. | Photo: Nathan Stevenson, 2026 (exact date not recorded) | Download (1200 × 1600 WebP) |
 | The sunken brick walkway, pulled away from the seawall. | Photo: Nathan Stevenson, 2026 (exact date not recorded) | Download (1200 × 1600 WebP) |
 | The barricaded walkway west of Andrews Avenue, showing displaced pavers and standing water behind the seawall cap. | Photo: Nathan Stevenson, September 11, 2026 | Download (768 × 1024 WebP) |
 | Barricades along the damaged walkway. | Photo: Nathan Stevenson, September 11, 2026 | Download (1200 × 2134 WebP) |
 | Damaged pavers behind the barricade. | Photo: Nathan Stevenson, September 11, 2026 | Download (768 × 1024 WebP) |
 | Overhead view of the barricaded Riverwalk North walkway, sunken and pulled away from the seawall (social share image). | Photo: Nathan Stevenson, 2026 | Download (1200 × 630 JPG) |
Photos from the September 11, 2026 Never Forget event appear on The problem page. Please contact us before using them.
For your editors
Story angles
- The warnings on paper. What the City told a state grant agency in 2025 and 2026, set against what happened in August 2026.[5, 6, 7]
- The contract that kept lapsing. Five extensions, two lapses, two retroactive revivals, and an 80 percent rise in value.[9, 10, 33]
- The moving finish line. The City’s own projected completion date has shifted from January 2026 to December 2027, with summer 2028 implied by its latest statement.[6, 11, 12, 13]
- The funding gap. A 2027 start against a capital plan with no new money until FY 2030, and $4 million in required local match.[14, 15, 16]
- The monument. The 25th anniversary of September 11 at a monument with part of its base in storage.[8, 22, 42]
- The emergency-procurement question. What Florida law allows, what Fort Lauderdale did in 2017, and the cautionary Miami Beach example.[26, 57, 61, 62]
Newest first
Latest updates
Report Version 2.0 published
We’ve rebuilt our report after the working files of the earlier edition were lost. Every statement in this edition was rechecked against a primary or published source, and items that couldn’t be reverified were removed or marked as unverified. Section 13 lists the corrections. Read about the report.
City puts the fix at $12 million
The City told WPLG Local 10 that the repair will cost $12 million and that construction is expected in summer 2027. The record we reviewed doesn’t contain the basis for the estimate.[13]
FIND awards $2,967,364 for “Part 2”
The Florida Inland Navigation District listed the full amount for “Riverwalk North Replacement Part 2.” As of October 6, the agreement hadn’t appeared on a Commission agenda.[16, 20]
Capital plan adopted
The FY 2027–2031 plan shows no new funds for the project until FY 2030.[14, 21]
Part of the 9/11 Monument base is removed
The City told CBS News Miami that a section of the memorial’s base was “proactively removed to protect it from potential damage and is being safely stored by the City.”[8]