By Mary Hladky
Boca Raton is ushering in a new era as two new City Council members take their seats on the dais.Marc Wigder replaces Andrea O’Rourke, a fixture in city affairs who helmed the Golden Triangle Neighborhood Association and the Federation of Boca Raton Homeowner Associations before serving two council terms and advancing to deputy mayor.
Fran Nachlas, who like Wigder won election without opposition, was to be sworn into office along with him on March 31 but assumed her council seat in November after Andy Thomson vacated it to make an unsuccessful run for the Florida House of Representatives.
They take over just as the city’s top administrators are in flux. City Manager Leif Ahnell, who has served in that position since 1999, will retire next year. Deputy City Manager George Brown’s departure date has not been set, but he had been expected to retire until Deputy City Manager Mike Woika did so in July and was replaced by former North Palm Beach village manager Andy Lukasik.
All this is happening just as the city is awash in change.
The new Brightline train station opened in December, offering the possibility of an economic boom. Cultural leaders are moving rapidly to build a $115.4 million performing arts complex in Mizner Park. And plans are afoot for major makeovers of the former IBM campus, now known as the Boca Raton Innovation Campus, and the Park at Broken Sound.
O’Rourke, whose political career was bolstered by strident City Hall critic Al Zucaro, would like to be remembered for her support of arts and culture. With a background in art and design, she is a strong supporter of the Center for Arts and Innovation proposed at Mizner and for art in public places. She also pushed the city to hire someone to head what she calls the Department of Art and Culture. That position, not yet filled, drew 29 applicants.
“I think I definitely have brought awareness to the community about the importance of art and culture,” she said. “We are just starting to keep up with our neighbors and other cities around the country. I think we are lacking and I don’t mind saying it.”
Another focus for O’Rourke was on a downtown with a sense of place, or identity, that is walkable, bikeable and less dependent on cars.
To that end, she convinced other council members to bring in a consultant to re-envision a portion of East Palmetto Park Road, slowing traffic and adding shade trees, landscaping and wider sidewalks for outdoor dining and strolling. The council hired the consultant Alta Planning + Design at her final meeting on March 28.
O’Rourke, with land use attorney Ele Zachariades, formed a group that held a visioning session for the road. Her wish is that Alta will work with the team she assembled as it creates a master plan.
“I will continue to stay involved as a resident for the things that are important to me,” O’Rourke said.
She fought allowing a restaurant along the Intracoastal Waterway in the downtown and prevailed instead on building the Wildflower and Silver Palm Parks, riding herd over the details.
She sparked some controversy, and litigation, during her tenure, but she does not second-guess her actions or express any regrets now.
Most notable, she took actions that derailed the redevelopment of Midtown near the Town Center Mall. Developer CP Group’s plans would have transformed an area in need of an overhaul into a live, work, play destination that included residential units.
The developer sued repeatedly, but the city prevailed in court in 2021.
CP Group has since proposed a similarly ambitious project at the Boca Raton Innovation Campus, which it owns. The plans have not yet cleared the city’s approval process, but so far have avoided any headwinds.
As O’Rourke sees it, the demise of the Midtown project worked out for the best. CP Group, she said, has done much better planning for BRIC, incorporated art and culture into it and preserved its iconic architecture.
“I think that was a positive outcome of the lesson of Midtown,” she said. “You can’t build buildings for the sake of buildings. You can’t build without having a plan.”
In another instance, O’Rourke and council member Monica Mayotte landed the city in hot water in 2018 when they spoke against building a luxury assisted living facility in the downtown and a council majority voted against it.
Some of their comments drew a rebuke from the American Seniors Housing Association, which called them “unlawful discriminatory bias against seniors.” The developer sued, and the landowner threatened to do the same.
The council quickly reversed course, approving the project. The developer settled its suit and the landowner backed off.
Now, O’Rourke does not pull back her comments, saying the ALF would have been a “black hole” in the downtown. She denies discriminatory intent, and notes she ultimately voted for the project after the developer made revisions. The Concierge ALF was never built.
O’Rourke is a downtown resident, first in the Golden Triangle and now near The Boca Raton resort. Four council members live in the western part of the city, while Mayotte lives just south of downtown.
Downtown residents “probably are losing a voice” on the council, O’Rourke said. But since the downtown is so important to the city, and so many matters relating to it will be considered by the council, she does not believe downtown residents will get short shrift.
“The downtown has to be a major topic of conversation going forward,” she said.
Wigder jumped into his new role with alacrity before he was sworn into office, sitting with the audience at council meetings, reading city documents including the massive ordinance that governs downtown development, and attending community events such as the recent city-sponsored Touch a Truck that allowed kids to check out the city’s fire engines and other vehicles.
“As a City Council person, I found it to be awesome,” he said of the event. “I was fortunate to be able to talk to the city workers and ask what they did, ask how things work in the city, understanding all the people who are involved in city operations.”
As is customary for new council members, he has received briefings from the city manager and city attorney on policies and procedures to prepare for the role.
Wigder, an attorney, is the father of three children with his wife, Fran. He has a limited law practice and is the founder of Greenhouse Offices, a real estate investment company that manages properties for small and growing businesses.
His public service includes serving as vice chair of the city’s Community Advisory Panel, as a member of the Pedestrian and Bikeway Board and as vice president of the board of trustees for B’nai Torah synagogue.
During his campaign, he stressed smartly managing the city’s growth and sustainable development, so people can live near where they work, walk to their jobs and restaurants and lessen their dependence on cars.
In his conversations with downtown residents, “they love walkability. I have talked to many people who have reduced the number of vehicles they have.
“That was a big surprise to me,” Wigder said. “People who move downtown are embracing the walkable, vibrant downtown.”
Other priorities include succession planning to maintain high-quality senior city officials after current officials retire, enhancing communication with city residents, addressing attainable housing, maintaining the high level of city services and public safety and keeping the tax rate low.
“I am coming in with an open mind and I really am trying to help,” he said.
O’Rourke is pleased to hand the reins to him. “I have high hopes for him,” she said.
Comments