ASBPA awards 2023 best restored beaches

The American Shore and Beach Preservation Association has released the much-anticipated annual list of the nation’s best restored beaches.

The award winning projects this year are Central Reach Reimbursement Project (CRR) Holden Beach, North Carolina; City of Boca Raton, City of Deerfield Beach and Town of Hillsboro Beach, Florida Joint Nourishment Project; and Foss Park District, North Chicago, Illinois.

The Central Reach Reimbursement Project (CRR) in Holden Beach was selected as a Best Restored Beach as this project demonstrated a long-term commitment by the community to nourish and renourish their beach after a series of severe storms devastated the beach from 2017 to 2022. The project was designed as a repair project from storm damage but was the first of its kind to combine multiple FEMA storm repair projects into one large initiative.

The City of Boca Raton, City of Deerfield Beach and Town of Hillsboro Joint Nourishment Project was selected for a Best Restored Beach award as it demonstrated how the partnership between three municipalities, each represented by their own consultant, could enter into a tri-party agreement to accomplish a large-scale project that was beneficial to all three municipalities. It also demonstrated how the municipalities could share permits and work together to accomplish a common goal.

The Foss Park District was selected as a Best Restored beach as it combined beach nourishment for a recreational beach and a coastal habitat restoration component into the project. The project restored approximately 1,300 feet of shoreline with approximately half dedicated to recreational swimming and the other half to coastal habitat restoration.

The Best Restored Beach award project teams will be honored during the spring 2024 ASBPA Coastal Summit in Washington, DC.