By Mary Hladky
Another adult assisted living facility and a luxury apartment building could be coming to the downtown.
Engel Burman Boca LLC, an affiliate of New York-based developer Engel Burman, has proposed an ALF at 400 S. Dixie Highway where the Arbors office condominium building now sits.
Engel Burman has contracted to buy the condo owners’ units and will raze them to build two nine-story buildings on the 1.7-acre site. The north building would house an assisted living/memory care facility with 174 beds, while the south building would contain 70 apartments for seniors with one-, two- and three-bedroom units.
The Bristal at Boca Raton would include underground parking and a two-story garage providing a total of 187 spaces.
The project design by RLC Architects of Boca Raton will be a “re-interpretation of the Mizner tradition,” with a stucco exterior and clay tile roof, according to preliminary information given to the city.
The ALF would have a wellness center staffed around the clock to reduce the need for EMS units to respond to calls. The facility would contract with a private ambulance company to transport residents with non-emergency health problems to Boca Raton Regional Hospital.
Engel Burman said dining, recreational and entertainment amenities would be available and transportation provided to take residents to stores, cultural events and restaurants.
Other amenities include billiard and card rooms, fitness and activity rooms, a library, lounges and sitting rooms, a spa and movie theater.
ALFs proposed in the downtown have spurred controversy before.
The developer of the Concierge at 22 SE Sixth St. filed suit against the city after the City Council rejected it on grounds it would overburden the city’s fire rescue services and lacked adequate parking.
Then-Fire Chief Tom Wood said at the time that ALFs have 15 times as many calls for service per bed than does a typical multifamily development.
The developer also cited as discriminatory some comments by council members Monica Mayotte and Andrea O’Rourke about an ALF’s elderly residents. The council quickly reversed course, settled the lawsuit and approved the project in 2018.
But construction never started. Palm Beach County property records show the site was sold for $10.2 million in April 2021. The South Florida Business Journal reported the next month that the buyers were Maryland-based Omega Healthcare Investors and Connecticut-based Maplewood Senior Living.
A proposed ALF at 2 SW 12th Ave., closer to Interstate 95, has generated strong and coordinated opposition from residents who say it does not belong in a residential neighborhood and will generate too much traffic.
The Park Square project has not yet been considered by city boards.
Residences of Boca
The luxury apartment building would be at 41 SE Fourth St., immediately to the east of Bristal.
The Residences of Boca would be a redevelopment of four assembled parcels. The 12-story project would have 190 apartments and 342 parking spaces, according to preliminary information provided to the city.
Amenities would include an outdoor deck with a lap pool and social gathering space. A smaller deck would be on the roof.
The owner is identified as West Palm Beach-based Wexford Real Estate Investors.
The submittals contain little additional information, and project attorney Bonnie Miskel said she was not authorized to provide
more.
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