In his recent opinion piece, “One Boca project means a better, beautiful Boca Raton,” Bob Tucker paints an optimistic picture of the One Boca redevelopment. Optimism has its place in civic planning, but so do scrutiny, restraint and a clear-eyed look at long-term consequences. Supporting Boca Raton’s future does not require unquestioning acceptance of a single vision for redevelopment, especially when public land and public trust are at stake.
Few residents would argue against the goal of a vibrant, attractive downtown. The question is not whether Boca Raton should invest in its future, but how. Large-scale development projects like One Boca warrant careful examination because their impacts extend far beyond architectural renderings and promotional language. When public land is committed, especially under a 99-year lease, the decision is effectively permanent, shaping the city’s finances, infrastructure demands and community character for generations.
Michelle Grau has been a Boca Raton resident for over 40 years and is a candidate for Boca Raton City Council, Seat A. (courtesy, Michelle Grau)
Much of the pro-One Boca commentary misses a fair representation of the mission driving opposition to the project. Save Boca is often portrayed as anti-development, yet the group’s stated platform is grounded in a simple principle: Public land should remain a public asset, managed with fiscal discipline, transparency and long-term accountability that reflects the desires of residents. From that perspective, several core issues raised by the One Boca proposal deserve serious consideration.
First, despite this being a public-private partnership, the city is largely funding its own improvements. Under the current structure, taxpayers are responsible for roughly $200 million in public components, while the developer funds the private components, leaving the city reliant on future ground-lease payments to justify today’s expenditures.
This structure places excessive risk on the city while limiting its upside. If construction costs escalate, revenues fall short, or the developer faces financial or legal strain, Boca Raton, not the private partner, would bear the consequences.
Equally troubling is the loss of control over public land. A 99-year lease effectively transfers decision-making authority to a private entity for multiple generations, limiting the city’s ability to adapt the land’s use to future community needs and locking residents into a single development vision for a century.
This surrender of control is especially difficult to justify given Boca Raton’s strong financial position. As one of the wealthiest cities in South Florida, with a AAA bond rating, a $34.6 billion tax base, minimal debt and growing reserves, the city has the capacity to fund improvements through phased, strategic planning.
One concern raised by Save Boca, and largely absent from enthusiastic praise of One Boca, is fiscal accountability. Public-private partnerships can offer benefits, but they also carry risks. Taxpayers deserve full transparency regarding long-term costs, projected revenues, debt obligations and opportunity costs. When public land is used to subsidize private development, residents have a right to ask whether the financial assumptions are realistic and what happens if they are not. Forecasting revenues over a 99-year period stretches credibility, as economic models typically lose reliability within five years, making century-long projections speculative at best.
Save Boca also highlights the city’s limited capacity to negotiate highly complex public-private partnerships. These agreements require deep expertise in risk allocation, finance and long-term contract enforcement, areas where private developers often have far greater resources and leverage than municipalities.
The debate over One Boca is not about resisting change, but about ensuring that progress is fiscally sound, transparent and aligned with the long-term interests of residents rather than driven by glossy renderings or speculative promises. Equally important are real-world impacts on infrastructure and quality of life, as Boca Raton residents already express concerns about traffic congestion, public safety and strain on city services. Any redevelopment proposal should clearly demonstrate how it will address these challenges, not assume that growth alone will solve them, because bigger and newer do not automatically mean better.
Boca Raton has thrived for a century because its residents care deeply about where the city is headed. Before embracing a project of this scale, the city owes its residents not just enthusiasm, but assurance — assurance that all reasonable alternatives have been considered, all risks fully weighed, and all voices genuinely heard.
Michelle Grau has been a Boca Raton resident for over 40 years and is a candidate for Boca Raton City Council, Seat A. She co-founded Grau & Associates with her husband Antonio and brings decades of experience serving as a CPA performing governmental and nonprofit audits.
