The Boca Raton City Council on Tuesday approved a controversial redevelopment plan for the city’s downtown with a 4-1 vote.
During a public city meeting, the council heard from dozens of residents that brought forth remarks both in full support and avid opposition to the downtown government campus redevelopment plan, One Boca.
Ultimately, a majority of the City Council members opted to approve the plan, citing the city’s severe need for new government facilities and shared public spaces, increasing jobs and revenue, and turning Boca Raton into a transit-oriented hub.
If One Boca also is approved by voters during the March 10 election, a 99-year lease would be secured between the city and developers Terra and Frisbie.
The plan could bring 765 multifamily residences with no less than 77 workforce units, 182 condominiums, a hotel, office and retail space on land below the Brightline station, east of Northwest Second Avenue.
The land west of Northwest Second Avenue would have new government facilities including a city hall, community center, police substation and an enhanced Memorial Park. Public green spaces, such as shared biking and walking paths, also would be developed.
Terra and Frisbie’s original 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. The opposition that followed prompted modifications leading to the revised version of what the plan is now.
Tuesday’s packed meeting brought forth a mixture of support and opposition to One Boca.
“As a renter and a current student, I see firsthand the demand for housing here,” Jerry Castillo said at Tuesday’s meeting. “Projects like One Boca help address that demand while creating a centralized location for all. FAU students and young professionals want to stay in Boca after graduation. We want to work here, live here and invest our time and money here. Supporting development helps make that possible and keeps Boca accessible to the next generation.”
Several members of the Save Boca movement, which has been opposed to the government campus plan since the group’s inception, also spoke out at the meeting against One Boca.
Joseph Majhess said he believes there “has been so addressing of the valid concerns that have been raised by the residents.”
“This is more of a favor to the developer,” he said. “We’re giving up this land for 99 years. … We aren’t really getting anything in return.”
Members of Save Boca listen to the Boca Raton City Council meeting, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. The council was set to vote on the government campus redevelopment plan. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
When the time came for the council members to vote, the consensus was, almost, unanimous.
“I have loved this project from the very beginning,” Council Member Yvette Drucker said on Tuesday. “I believe that we need more jobs. We need more workforce housing. We need affordable housing. We need more restaurants, and we need a place of being.”
Mayor Scott Singer said One Boca will be “greater than the sum of its parts.”
“This is an opportunity for placemaking. This is an opportunity for revenue generation that provides a fail-safe against property taxes. It provides multiple streams of revenue. It provides multiple opportunities for the residents,” Singer said.
One Boca is estimated to generate $8.5 million in net fiscal impact to the city after 10 years and more than $4 billion in revenue over the entire life of the development.
The city will fund the public portion facilities of the project, such as improvements to streets, utility systems, sidewalks, lighting and more. The public share estimate for these item is nearly $57 million.
Council Member Andy Thomson was the sole vote against One Boca’s approval.
“I, as a fiduciary of this city, take my duty to steward our resources responsibly, seriously, and I feel that this is just simply too much risk on the city to do it this way,” Thomson said.
For now, work will commence on development entitlements and land use for One Boca. But if the March 10 referendum does not pass with a majority ‘yes’ vote, then the plan will cease to move forward.
In a statement from One Boca, Frisbie Group Managing Partner Rob Frisbie said: “We appreciate the council’s support of One Boca and the support we have received from across the community.
“The One Boca team looks forward to continuing to meet with groups of residents, educating and informing them of the benefits of the proposal and the lasting positive impact it will have on the entire city.”
