WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A West Palm Beach couple says they haven't been able to use the street outside their home for more than a year due to an abandoned construction project that has become a hub for drug activity.
Christopher Young and his wife live on 20th Street, where blockades, garbage and water leaks now dominate the landscape outside their front door.
WATCH BELOW: Couple can't use street due to abandoned construction for 14 months
The construction project came to a halt about 14 months ago, leaving residents dealing with safety concerns and daily inconveniences.
"It is absolutely a ticking time bomb," Young said. "We just want to be safe. We just want to have a normal place to live."
The couple says they haven't seen construction workers at the site in several months. The abandoned project has created multiple problems for residents, including limited parking and difficulty receiving deliveries.
"The parking is a bad situation," Young said. "Good luck getting a delivery here."
More concerning are the safety issues that have emerged. Young says people have started camping between the barriers at night, and he has found drug paraphernalia inside his gate.
"I've seen fights in the streets. I've seen drug usage," Young said. "We have seen somebody defecating in front of my house."
The situation has become so problematic that Young says no one in his household goes outside after dark. If nothing changes, he and his wife are considering moving.
"We want out, and we want out badly," Young said.
The city of West Palm Beach provided a detailed timeline of the construction issues. Code enforcement officers initially cited the property for violations in July 2025. The property owner obtained the required permits to continue construction at that time, and the case was closed. However, the property was later sold while construction was still underway.
"Following the sale, construction activity paused, and the initial permits expired after six months of inactivity," the city said in a statement. "In January 2026, Code Enforcement opened a new case after observing ongoing impacts to the street and sidewalk and work occurring in the public right-of-way without active permits."
The project is associated with private development at 2032 N Dixie Highway and is not a city engineering project. The new owners, Essential Living, are now responsible for completing the work.
The city says the property owner has been advised of the steps needed to become compliant, including obtaining updated permits.
"The City understands that the property owner is working to improve the building, and our goal is to work collaboratively with them to address safety concerns, keep the right-of-way clear and accessible, and ensure the site is properly maintained as the project moves forward," the city said.
ChenMoore, the engineering company involved in the project, said they were hired in 2023 by the property's previous owner to design and certify a new water main extension.
"The project did not advance at that time due to a lack of required resources from the owner," ChenMoore said in a statement. "The property has since changed ownership, and we have worked with the surveyors engaged by the new owner to obtain the data required for certification. We received comments from the City of West Palm Beach dated February 20, 2026 and are actively addressing those items."
A violation notice from the city gives the owners less than two weeks to fix the site, obtain required permits to finish the work and stop blocking the street. If these requirements aren't met, a hearing is scheduled for next month where the owners could face fines of $1,000 to $15,000 per day.
"I would love to see that this road gets reopened," Young said. "Go back to normal, the way (it was) three years ago when I moved in."
If the problem isn't fixed by the owners, the city says it might clean up the site itself and send Essential Living the bill.
When contacted about the issue, Essential Living declined to comment.
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