As opposition mounts against a plan to overhaul Boca Raton’s downtown near the Brightline station with homes, restaurants, shops and new government facilities, the developer behind the project has made some revisions.
The updated plan, discussed at a public city meeting Monday, includes:
— Reducing the number of residences from 912 to 704 units.
— Removing the hotel and reducing commercial space.
— Keeping six of the site’s banyan trees in their original locations and putting a playground next to them.
— Working with the city and veterans to design a monument commemorating the 17-acre Memorial Park located within the government campus.
— Adding and improving recreational facilities in the downtown and throughout other parts of the city closer to where residents live.
— Increasing green space.
— Enhancing a minimum of eight tennis courts in the downtown.
— Building a new community center and city hall with newer technology.
— Potentially adding a post office in light of the possible removal of the post office directly south of Mizner Park.
Terra and Frisbie developers unveiled the design at the meeting.
“We’re inspired and excited to continue to refine our proposal with the community,” Terra CEO David Martin said during the meeting. “Before and after we were selected, we spent time with the community, walking the fields, playgrounds, in the downtown and observing the recreational areas to get a sense of what was happening. They were underutilized and outdated.”
“The goal of this project is to revitalize and revamp the amenities for the future of this community, not to keep the status quo. … Our team has been working in earnest to update the plan and respond to the feedback we’ve received. This continues to be an iterative and evolving process,” he said.
Members of the Boca Raton City Council hear an update from developers on the city’s government campus redevelopment plan during a meeting in Boca Raton on Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
For years, city officials have discussed the prospect of redeveloping the 30 acres at the intersection between West Palmetto Park Road and Dixie Highway. Government and recreational facilities — the tennis center, skate park and softball field — currently exist at the site, but the tentative plan would be to move some of the recreational facilities and build new government buildings along with homes, restaurants and shops.
In February, the Boca Raton City Council entered an agreement with the Terra and Frisbie real estate firms to jointly redevelop the area. At the time, that would have included more than 1,100 garden and mid-rise apartments, 250,000 square feet of office space, a hotel and nearly 85,000 square feet of retail.
But as more city residents spoke out against the project, saying it would increase traffic in the area, be too dense for the surrounding neighborhoods and harm quality of life, Terra and Frisbie developers rolled out modifications for the project in May. These changes included reducing the residential units from 1,129 to 912, adding a crosswalk and protected bike path and increasing active recreational areas.
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The changes did not stop a group of residents from forming Save Boca, a movement attempting to create ordinance and charter amendments, in essence requiring a vote that could affect the government campus project. The process of certifying signatures gathered from Save Boca petitions for the ordinance amendment currently is underway.
To gather more input, Terra and Frisbie also plan to hold public workshops.
The first will be held at the city’s downtown next to the Brightline station on from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Sept. 29. The second will be held at the city’s Spanish River Library from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Oct. 6.
“There’s been a significant amount of community interest and passion expressed by residents,” Martin said. “We welcome this involvement. We are listening to the very voices. It continues to inspire us to make this idea better.”
Boca Raton resident Holly Schuttler, a member of the Save Boca group, listens during a City Council meeting as developers give updates on the city’s government campus redevelopment plan in Boca Raton on Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
