Commercial demolition · Palm Beach County
Commercial demolition in Palm Beach County
A commercial teardown in unincorporated Palm Beach County gets a full technical plan review, a health department asbestos notice even when the survey comes back clean, and a stack of utility releases. The machine work is the last part. We plan the rest first.
West Palm Beach shows what the paperwork looks like. Its demolition checklist asks for releases from FPL, Florida Public Utilities, AT&T, Comcast and the city’s own water and sewer utility, a licensed pest-control letter, a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan, and a Historic Preservation sign-off. A permit to cap the sewer lateral has to issue before the demolition permit does.
Coastal towns add their own layer. Highland Beach asks for a fire-service water meter removal letter where a building has sprinklers or standpipes, and an FDOT Maintenance of Traffic permit if staging sits in the right of way, because A1A there is a state road.
Debris goes to Solid Waste Authority–permitted facilities, and some cities limit who may haul it: Wellington requires a village roll-off hauling permit, and West Palm Beach lists approved franchise haulers. Where footings, slabs or a basement have to come out, Romco self-performs dewatering, Support of Excavation and deep foundation work.
Send the survey, the site address and any environmental reports you hold. We will walk the property and price the full sequence.
Sequence
- Walk the property and collect surveys, drawings and environmental reports.
- Arrange a licensed asbestos survey and file the notice with DOH-Palm Beach.
- Request the utility releases and the sewer cap-off on the department’s list.
- Submit the demolition permit for plan review.
- Notify Sunshine 811 at least two full business days before work starts.
- Demolish, separate materials and haul to SWA-permitted facilities.
- Grade the site to the permit’s final condition and close the permit.
The usual problems
What tends to go wrong, and how it is handled
Release letters arrive out of order
A permit file can sit incomplete for one missing letter. We request every release on the department’s list at the start and track each one to the file.
A tenant’s leftovers
Refrigerants, fuel tanks and stored chemicals do not go in a dumpster. Boca Raton, for one, asks for a refrigerant affidavit and has a separate permit for underground fuel tank removal. We list these items at the walk-through.
Trucks on a busy corridor
Plazas front arterial roads. Staging, truck routes and any right-of-way use are planned with the city before mobilization.
Below-grade surprises
Old footings, slabs and tanks can sit deeper than the drawings show. Because we self-perform dewatering and Support of Excavation, a deep removal stays under one schedule.
Outside our license
Utility disconnects are made by FPL, the gas supplier and the water utility. Asbestos is removed by a licensed abatement firm. Environmental assessments and tank closures go to licensed specialists. We coordinate each of them and carry the schedule.
Questions
About commercial demolition
Does a commercial building need the asbestos notice if the survey finds none?
Yes. The Florida Department of Health in Palm Beach County requires written notice for every regulated demolition of a commercial building, even when no asbestos is present. The notice goes in at least 10 working days ahead, with the survey attached. County-owned buildings file with FDEP’s Southeast District instead.
Who may haul demolition debris in West Palm Beach?
The city publishes a list of approved roll-off and franchise haulers. A contractor that hauls its own debris pays a demolition debris disposal fee at application, figured from the structure’s volume. We confirm the current list and fee with the city before quoting.
What does a demolition cost, and what moves the number?
We do not publish prices, because the number depends on what surrounds the building. The main drivers are structure type and size, asbestos findings, truck access, the permit and utility requirements for the address, any below-grade work, and the haul to SWA-permitted facilities. Local rules move it too: the Town of Palm Beach requires a bond of the demolition cost plus 35%. Send the survey and photos, and we will price it.
Do you quote demolition of any size?
Yes. Size never rules a job out: we price everything from a single shed or an interior strip-out to a commercial site or a concrete tower. Every job is priced from the same questions: which department issues the permit, what the asbestos rules require, which utility releases are needed, and in what sequence the structure comes down. Send what you have, and we will say what else we need.
Is Romco licensed, and who does the specialty work?
Romco Builders is a licensed Florida general contractor. We self-perform demolition, dewatering, Support of Excavation and deep foundations. Asbestos surveys come from independent licensed consultants and removal from licensed abatement firms. Utility disconnects, tree removal, electrical, plumbing, fire sprinkler work and engineering go to the licensed parties for those trades, and we coordinate them under one schedule.
Order of work
From first call to closed permit
Call or send the form
Give the address, what is coming down and anything that must be protected. Photos or a survey help.
Walk the property
We check the structure, live services, truck access, trees, the seawall or neighbor close by, and any association rules.
Scope and price in writing
Removal, protection, haul-off and anything that depends on the asbestos survey are listed line by line.
Notices, letters and permit
The licensed asbestos survey and any health department notice, the utility releases, then the application to the right building office.
Take it down and haul it out
Work runs in the agreed order. Loads go to Solid Waste Authority–permitted facilities, or the hauler your city requires.
Final inspection and close-out
The inspector signs off and the permit closes. You keep a graded lot or the shell you asked for.
Commercial demolition throughout Palm Beach, including West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Palm Beach (the Town), Jupiter, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Wellington, Lake Worth Beach, Unincorporated Palm Beach County, and every other Palm Beach city.
More demolition
Other demolition we quote
- Interior demolitionStrip-outs inside condos, offices and stores, with the asbestos question settled first.Interior demolition in Palm Beach →
- Selective demolitionOne wing, one floor or one wall removed while the rest of the building stays in use.Selective demolition in Palm Beach →
- House demolitionSingle-family teardowns, with the sheds, pool and septic tank handled to code.House demolition in Palm Beach →
- Structural demolitionConcrete towers, parking garages and steel frames, taken down in engineered sequence.Structural demolition in Palm Beach →
- Concrete removalSlabs, driveways, patios, walks and footings, broken out after the locates are in.Concrete removal in Palm Beach →
- Pool removalBottom broken out and filled, or the shell, deck and equipment removed entirely.Pool removal in Palm Beach →
- Mobile home demolitionSingle units or several in one park, with approvals and permits in order first.Mobile home demolition in Palm Beach →
- Storm damage demolitionTaking down what a hurricane or tornado left unsafe, once the adjuster has seen it.Storm damage demolition in Palm Beach →
- Site clearingBrush, stumps, buried slabs and old fill cleared once the vegetation permits are in.Site clearing in Palm Beach →
- Asbestos coordinationLicensed survey, health department notice and licensed abatement, in the right order.Asbestos coordination in Palm Beach →
- Accessory structure demolitionSheds, detached garages, cabanas, carports, barns and signs, one or several.Accessory structure demolition in Palm Beach →
- Something else?Every type of demolition is quoted, whatever the size. If your job is missing above, describe it on the phone.Call (561) 273-9189 →
Every type, every size, all of Palm Beach County
Tell us the address and the scope. We will put a number on it.
Romco Builders is a licensed Florida general contractor, headquartered in Fort Lauderdale. A single wall or a whole building, each quote arrives as a written scope with a price.