Delray Beach — The Downtown Development Authority on Monday told city officials the Old School Square campus storage reconfiguration is interfering with the DDA’s ability to operate the museum, amphitheater and stage and asked for a negotiated fix.

The DDA said a temporary wall and changed layout installed by the city have narrowed access to a storage area used year-round for theater sets, museum crates and event equipment. “The space is mission critical to us operating the campus,” DDA board members and staff said during the meeting, and they urged the city to restore at least more usable clearance.

Why it matters: Old School Square is the DDA-managed cultural hub in downtown Delray Beach. The DDA manages day-to-day programming under an interlocal agreement with the city; the DDA says the second amendment to that agreement describes the campus areas it may use. Staff warned the reduced access already caused difficulty moving crates and pallets into climate-controlled museum storage and could impair theatrical set construction and event load-ins.

DDA operations staff described several concrete problems: kiln and ceramics classes are operating in adjacent space, the current set-up limits the pottery class capacity and makes equipment movement tight, and some incoming deliveries have required crates to be stripped of their pallets so they could be hand-trucked through the narrower passage.

City officials acknowledged the operational friction and said the fire department raised egress and aisle-width concerns if the wall was moved without a coordinated plan. Assistant City Manager Jeff Forrest told the DDA the city had offered alternative storage in the wedge under the parking garage and offered labor support to move items when needed; he also said staff would be involved in solutions if the DDA and city agree to modify the layout.

Mayor Carney urged caution before treating the city’s decision as final and suggested the parties observe how the revised space functions over time while continuing talks. The mayor also cautioned that because the city owns the building, the city has property-rights considerations that differ from a tenant paying rent.

Board members asked the city and DDA staff to set a short workshop to explore options — including a temporary external “pod” storage unit, moving pieces of equipment to alternate storage on event days, changes to class capacity, or a longer-term capital change if the campus needs a physical expansion. No formal vote to escalate (for example via legal action) was taken; the board asked staff to continue negotiations and present options.

Ending: The DDA said it will push for a collaborative city–DDA workshop to produce a short, visible plan before the end of the year so fall and winter events are not disrupted.