Northwest growth could complement downtown without replacing it
The Boca Raton Innovation Campus is a landmark complex of brutalist architecture originally designed in the late 1960s. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star
Related: Birthplace of PC won’t bury its rich history, new developer says
By Mary Hladky
Though Related Ross has not yet announced plans for its recently acquired Boca Raton Innovation Campus, they surely will include further development of the 124-acre property.
That would add to the large-scale projects already completed or under construction in the rapidly growing northwest section of the city.
But what does that development portend for the city’s downtown? Is its importance as a residential and retail hub fading as a result? Is the city’s economic center of gravity shifting?
Developers, architects and others who spoke with The Coastal Star have differing answers to those questions.
However, if new development is a measure of strength, downtown Boca Raton does have some constraints.
So much development has taken place there in the past decade that it is almost built out. Large parcels have been snapped up. Little room remains for additional building.
In addition, city Ordinance 4035 that governs downtown development limits it to 8 million square feet. Almost all of that has been built.
City officials, though, are expected to revisit that ordinance to determine if changes should be made. No date has been set for that yet.
North by Northwest
While downtown projects haven’t come to a halt — the City Council approved a 12-story Mr. C Residences condo at 14 SE Fourth St. on Oct. 26 — projects in the northwest section of the city have come at a rapid pace.
The most recent is Bertani, an eight-story, 60-unit apartment building and parking garage on Broken Sound Parkway approved by the City Council on Oct. 27.
Other approved projects are rising from the ground now. They include the Eclipse on 28 acres at the Office Depot headquarters campus at 6600 N. Military Trail that includes 494 apartments, retail and renovated office space. Another is the Link at Boca, located near the Tri-Rail station, which will have 340 apartments, retail and a parking garage.
City officials now describe the area around BRiC and the Park at Broken Sound as the city’s geographical center.
When asked by The Coastal Star about Related Ross’ reasons for acquiring BRiC, Jordan Bargas, executive vice president at the company, gave its location as one reason.
“When you pull up a map of the city and you look at … where the heart of the city is, it’s really not downtown anymore,” he said.
What’s downtown’s future?
Even so, city officials don’t see the downtown as less important. They have spent more than two years deciding how to redo and revitalize the 30-acre downtown government campus, which also includes Memorial Park.
Yet Glenn Gromann, a real estate consultant, lawyer and former city planning and zoning board member, said the downtown campus is the only large parcel available for development.
“The story with downtown is there really is not much to redevelop in the downtown,” he said.
“The real economic drivers,” he said, “are in the northwest sector (including BRiC and the Park at Broken Sound) and Midtown.”
He sees the city as having submarkets — the downtown, Midtown near the Town Center mall, and the northwest sector.
The downtown, he said, is a dining, entertainment, boutique shopping and residential center, while business is concentrated in the northwest.
Architect Derek Vander Ploeg, who has had roles in city development since Mizner Park was created 35 years ago, has a very different view.
He agrees that the area around BRiC and Florida Atlantic University has become very important and notes the advantages BRiC has being near Interstate 95, Florida’s Turnpike, the Tri-Rail station and FAU.
But he doesn’t count the downtown out because of the potential for redevelopment. The downtown, he said, “is not even halfway done.”
On his redevelopment list is Royal Palm Place. “It is inevitable,” he said. “It could be the next super-impactful development.”
Similarly, he said that Mizner Park, which is up for sale and has been neglected for years, could be transformed by its new owner.
Beyond that, he sees potential for more high-end residential to accommodate business executives who locate their companies in Boca Raton. They will want to live by the ocean or downtown, he said.
‘Great city’ has many pieces
Others said it is wrong to think of the downtown’s being eclipsed by BRiC or the northwest sector.
Rather, they point to cities like New York that have many distinct sections that, linked together, create a vibrant city.
“Great cities are not made by one downtown,” said architect Jorge Garcia of GarciaStromberg.
One city he points to is Miami, which has Brickell, Bayfront, Coconut Grove and more. “You can have more than one nucleus of organized development,” he said.
“I don’t think downtown is moving anywhere,” he said. “I think there are just subdivisions of urban development.”
Ignacio Diaz, co-owner and managing partner of developer Group P6, sees the situation similarly.
“I think there will be different … centers of development,” he said. “It doesn’t all have to be in the downtown. The city can grow in different directions. A more mature city has different poles, different price points, different lifestyles.
“I believe the city will continue to adapt to what its residents are asking for in different areas,” he said. “I think it includes both the downtown and the area around BRiC and the Park at Broken Sound. I don’t think it is an either/or between those locations. Each location is unique. I think there is room for both.”
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