In less than a week, Boca Raton City Council members will vote on whether to secure a redevelopment plan for a portion of the city’s downtown.
For years, city officials have discussed ways to revitalize the 30 acres near the Brightline station at the intersection between West Palmetto Park Road and Dixie Highway. But in the last several months, the city’s progress with a potential plan for the area has been met with significant backlash, prompting a citizen-led movement, multiple modifications to the plan, lengthy city meetings, lawsuits and a referendum question.
On Tuesday, City Council members are set to cast a vote on the current plan as proposed. Here’s what’s led to where the city is at now and what Tuesday’s outcome could mean.
The votes
The City Council will decide whether to approve a 99-year lease with the developers Terra and Frisbie. Terra and Frisbie’s plan, dubbed One Boca, pitches new development on 7.8 acres of land south of the Brightline station. This includes:
— 765 rental units and 182 condominiums with 77 units dedicated to workforce housing
— 120,000 square feet of office space
— Nearly 80,000 square feet of commercial and retail space
— A grocery store
— A hotel
Interwoven within this development, One Boca also plans to bring public plazas and pedestrian mobility improvements.
The 17.5 acres west of Northwest Second Avenue would remain city-owned and designed for public use with new city facilities and a reimagined Memorial Park.
Terra and Frisbie will be responsible for all design, financing, construction and maintenance.
A rendering illustrates the proposed One Boca in Boca Raton’s downtown near the Brightline station. (One Boca)
If the city approves the plan, work would commence on development entitlements and land use change. However, One Boca still will have another vote to get through before work on it could continue.
The Boca Raton March 10 general election, where residents will vote for a new mayor and council members, will feature a referendum question asking voters whether to approve the One Boca plan. The question states:
“Shall the city approve agreements with Boca Raton City Center, LLC leasing 7.8 acres of city property east of Northwest Second Avenue near Brightline Station, for 99 years, creating a walkable neighborhood with residential, retail, office and hotel uses, generating rent and revenues to city for general uses and enhancements to city property, including:
— Preserving Memorial Park area, honoring veterans,
— Expanding public recreational and green spaces,
— New community center, City Hall and police substation?”
If the referendum passes with a majority ‘yes’ vote, then the city will proceed according to plan. If the referendum fails with a majority ‘no’ vote, then the plan ceases to exist.
Rob Frisbie, a Frisbie group principal, said last year that if the project fails to clear the referendum hurdle, it would be a “huge blow” to the money and time invested.
“If it doesn’t get approved, there’s nothing to do. That would be a huge loss for the community,” Frisbie said.
The financials
A recent independent financial analysis estimated the project could generate $8.5 million in net fiscal impact to the city after 10 years.
The Sun Sentinel reached out to the the city and the developers on Thursday for financial details as to the cost of the lease payments to the city. Neither were able to provide exact numbers by Friday afternoon.
A representative from the developers said in an email that the City “will receive the greater of a guaranteed base rent or a percentage of project revenues … This ensures the City is protected on the downside while participating on the upside.” she said. “In addition, the City receives 10% of revenues above a defined success threshold, ensuring taxpayers share in long-term value creation.”
The developer also said the proposal will “support the upfront issuance of more than $127 million in bonds, paid for by project revenues, to provide community improvements, including a new city hall, community center, police substation, and critical infrastructure.”
The buildup
When the city selected Terra and Frisbie’s plan last February, the plan proposed more than 1,100 apartments, a hotel, 250,000 square feet of office space and 85,000 square feet of retail sprawled across all 30 acres between West Palmetto Park Road and Northwest First Avenue.
But as more residents caught wind of the city’s plan, opposition began to mount.
The One Boca project acted as a symbol for what would become a movement of residents called Save Boca, rallying for increased voter control over city-owned land.
Save Boca members spent months gathering thousands of signatures in an attempt to create amendments in the city’s code that would require elections any project involving the selling or leasing of more than half an acre of city-owned land.
After Save Boca succeeded in getting signatures for the amendments certified by the city and supervisor of elections, the proposed amendments were set to appear on a Jan. 13 special election ballot.
But the election was canceled after a judge ruled the amendments were unconstitutional, leaving Save Boca with little immediate recourse.
Still, members of the movement have remained passionate about their cause.
According to a statement from the group’s website on Nov. 26: “The will of the great citizens of our city will prevail. There were obstacles for us to get here, and there will be obstacles in the future; however, we will accomplish our shared mission to restore protection to all of our parks, beachfront properties, and public land across our city.”
The City Council will consider One Boca during a public city meeting on Tuesday.
