By Mary Hladky
City Council members want Boca Raton to compete more effectively with other cities in luring blue-ribbon companies to relocate.
Although they have no concrete proposals as of now, all said an emphasis should be placed on encouraging the construction of more Class A office space — the highest quality available — and offering amenities that companies look for today when they consider moving.
They agreed to hold a workshop meeting soon where they will solicit ideas on the best ways to accomplish this.
“Let’s get to the front of the pack,” said council member Monica Mayotte, who launched the discussion at the Nov. 22 meeting of the Community Redevelopment Agency, which she chairs.
“I do think we are missing the mark on some of the things we can do to attract business to our area,” said council member Yvette Drucker.
Council members want to hear from Kelly Smallridge, president and CEO of the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County, who has told many of them individually that the city needs new Class A office space to attract companies.
The city already has lots of Class A space, but many of those buildings were constructed years ago and they don’t offer amenities that are common in recently built offices.
CP Group’s Boca Raton Innovation Campus, the former IBM headquarters, is addressing this problem. The complex is undergoing a $100 million renovation to improve existing Class A space, upgrade its non-Class A space and add a host of amenities. The company, formerly called Crocker Partners, is also seeking city approval to add residential units, hotel, grocery store, civic center and retail.
Council members also hope to hear from company officials on what Boca Raton can do to make the city a more enticing location to do business.
Other than citing a need for modern Class A space, council members offered only general ideas, such as increasing the size of the city’s two-member Office of Economic Development and more streamlining of the process of getting city approvals for companies that want to open in the city.
The recent departure of Pedro Moras, who headed the city’s Innovation Office, is a setback for economic development efforts.
“With more staff, they could do more,” said Mayor Scott Singer.
The city has been working since 2018 to streamline its processes. The council has approved a raft of changes that reduce the bureaucracy and shorten the time it takes to get project approvals.
Mayotte suggested dusting off a proposal the city drafted about 15 years ago to lure the Scripps Research Institute to Boca Raton and using it as a blueprint for attracting companies. The ideas in the proposal were never implemented after Scripps landed in Jupiter.
But Singer said those ideas may no longer be the best ones for today.
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