Open space is key to choice of designer for City Hall area
By Mary Hladky
In selecting a joint venture of Terra and Frisbie Group to redevelop the city’s downtown government campus, Boca Raton City Council members on Feb. 11 threw their support to developers who proposed the lowest density project with the greatest amount of green space.
And in rejecting Related Ross, they made clear their dissatisfaction with a project emphasizing 975,000 square feet of office space in three buildings.
While four companies submitted proposals to reimagine 30 city-owned acres around City Hall and the adjacent Brightline train station, council members’ quick rejection of two made this a contest between two highly regarded teams with divergent views of what best suited the city.
Four council members favored Terra/Frisbie. Only Council member Andy Thomson supported Related Ross, but said it was a “very close call” between “two exceptional companies.”
The council then voted unanimously to give Terra/Frisbie the top ranking and Related Ross second place.
The Related Ross proposal “would require a great deal of adjustment,” said Council member Marc Wigder. “There are other locations in the city that are better suited to office. This is not the right place for this office intensity.”
Wigder encouraged Related Ross to consider building office space elsewhere in the city, and Mayor Scott Singer echoed that.
“We look forward to working with both of you,” Singer said to the two development teams.
Council member Fran Nachlas said Terra/Frisbie’s proposal was “most closely aligned with what the city needs.”
“Terra/Frisbie won because it is the best choice for the community,” said Deputy Mayor Yvette Drucker, adding that the Related Ross proposal was too large for the downtown.
“Our team is committed to transforming this space into a vibrant, eco-friendly district that blends civic, residential and commercial uses,” Terra CEO David Martin said in a statement after the vote.
“We look forward to collaborating closely with city officials and the community to bring our shared vision to life, creating a sustainable and connected neighborhood that will serve as a model for future urban development.”
The city held an open house on Feb. 19 at The Studio at Mizner Park to give residents another opportunity to see what Terra/Frisbie proposed and to speak directly with company officials.
A steady stream of residents studied a model of what the site could look like and conceptual drawings.
“We have received a lot of excitement, a lot of enthusiasm,” said Rob Frisbie, Frisbie Group managing partner. “But also there are a lot of people who are concerned about growth and traffic and congestion and a potentially diminished public realm.
“I think from our perspective, there is no project unless it works for everyone. There is no project unless it puts the community first.”
Terra/Frisbie, he said, would work to incorporate residents’ critiques as it refines its proposals.
At the city’s behest, all four teams proposed public-private partnerships, or P3s, in which the developer assumes the cost of constructing public buildings and the city leases the land for redevelopment.
What it means
The project stands to be an economic boon to the city. A revised analysis by city consultant CBRE states that a 99-year lease of the city land will yield the city a total of $3.6 billion.
That number includes a $2.2 billion increase in tax revenue the property will generate over 99 years once redeveloped.
The council’s decision is a key step in launching the project, but it will be some time before the public knows exactly what will be built.
Coconut Grove-based Terra and Frisbie of Palm Beach, joining forces under the name Boca Raton City Center, submitted a conceptual plan based on general direction from city officials that they wanted to replace the old and crumbling City Hall and Community Center, and add to the site mixed-income housing, office, hotel, retail and recreational facilities.
They now will make changes based on feedback from city leaders and residents.
“Today, it is picking a partner, not picking a plan,” Thomson said before the vote.
None of the proposals was perfect, he said, and all needed changes. “What the ultimate development will look like is not determined.”
The city expects to finalize an interim agreement with Terra/Frisbie by March 18. After that, a comprehensive agreement will be negotiated to cover matters such as financing, final designs and construction schedule.
The project will take nine years to complete, according to Terra/Frisbie’s initial proposal.
Topping three others
Of the four developer proposals, which also came from Namdar Group of Great Neck, New York, and RocaPoint Partners of Atlanta, the most detailed came from Terra/Frisbie.
The city has specified that the new City Hall should be 85,000 square feet and the Community Center 35,000 square feet.
Beyond that, the joint venture proposed 1,129 residential units, 84,790 square feet of retail, 71,800 square feet of food and beverage space, 265,758 square feet of garage and surface parking, a 150-room hotel, a 250,000-square-foot office building, a 10,000-square-foot police substation and 6 acres of green space that could include sports facilities.
Terra/Frisbie has committed to contributing $10 million to the city, which could be used to build a pedestrian bridge so that people will be able to walk over Dixie and Federal highways to get to or from Mizner Park.
The venture also has a contract to buy an area encompassing property owned by Boca Color Graphics south of the Brightline station, at 139 NW Third St., which would be turned in part into a park that people could walk through to get from the station to the downtown campus.
Terra, acting without Frisbie, has another project in Boca Raton. It is part of a team that is developing plans to transform the Boca Raton Innovation Campus, the 124-acre former IBM headquarters, into a mixed-use community including residential, commercial, retail and office space.
The runner-up
In contrast to the Terra/Frisbie plan, Related Ross of West Palm Beach, headed by Miami Dolphins owner and Palm Beach resident Stephen Ross, proposed a project aimed at attracting corporations to locate in Boca Raton that would provide high-quality jobs. Its officials said there is a huge demand for office space in the city.
In addition to a new City Hall, Community Center and police substation, the company would have built the three office buildings, 650 residential units, 235,000 square feet of retail, dining and entertainment, a 400-room hotel, parking and 5.8 acres of green space.
When some council members questioned the large amount of office space, company officials offered to substitute residential for one of the office buildings.
“We have a very different and bold vision for this community,” Stephen Ross told the council the day before its vote. “The world is changing and we believe Boca Raton can be the center of that change.”
“We really feel we are the hometown guys,” he said later, because his company does work only in Palm Beach County. Related Ross clearly demonstrated it was in the contest to win. Ross played a highly visible role, stepping to the microphone at two meetings to extol his company’s expertise and the quality of its proposal.
At a Jan. 27 presentation of its plans to the council, about 20 Related Ross executives dramatically strode into the chambers and claimed the first two rows of seats.
Related Ross proposed 2.4 million square feet of development, compared to Terra/Frisbie’s nearly 1.6 million square feet, according to the CBRE analysis.
Fitting the pieces together
As now envisioned, a new City Hall and the Community Center will remain within the downtown campus. The Downtown Library will stay where it is. The police station will be moved to city-owned land east of the Spanish River Library, freeing up land for redevelopment, but a police substation will be on the campus. The large Banyan trees will be preserved.
Some residents who have spoken at council meetings are especially concerned that ball fields and other recreation areas will be moved off the site.
Terra/Frisbie has proposed including an indoor and outdoor racket sports center that would have four tennis courts, two pickleball courts and two padel courts, as well as an indoor gymnasium with a basketball court.
But existing facilities will be impacted.
City Manager George Brown has said that the city is working with the Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District to find new locations for some of them. That includes the skatepark, which might go to North Park, and softball fields, which possibly could go to Sugar Sand Park. Tennis courts may remain downtown or could be moved.
“Everything will be replaced or enhanced,” he said.
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