The images presented to the city by Terra/Frisbie for the proposed overhaul of the Boca Raton City Hall campus and surrounding area included a community center built into a hill with large sculptures.
By Mary Hladky
Moving into high gear to redevelop 30 city-owned acres around Boca Raton City Hall, City Council members on Nov. 18 gave developers 60 days to submit proposals that would transform the area into a civic center that also includes residential and commercial projects.
Once the council approved a public bidding process, consultant Clarissa Willis, vice president of CBRE, said she would “blast out” the project advertisement the next day to about 25,000 developers worldwide. The council quickly did so.
Ever since the Brightline train station opened in 2022, city leaders have eagerly anticipated that developers would want to redevelop the area around it. But they were slow to establish a framework allowing it to happen.
That changed over the summer as word circulated that at least one developer was about to submit an unsolicited proposal for a public-private partnership to remake the area. It became reality in late October, when two well-known developers submitted proposals that council members found compelling.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: A new multistory City Hall; multiple garden and park spaces; athletic facilities ranging from pickleball to basketball; and residential units ranging from two to 10 stories. Rendering provided
Yet both city staff and CBRE did not want to be limited to those two, and wanted a public bidding process in hopes that more developers would come forward.
They suggested a 90-day timeline, but council members wanted to move more quickly and reasoned that developers already are well aware that the city wants redevelopment and so are likely poised to deliver proposals quickly.
Their deadline to do so is Jan. 9, and the council plans to consider them on Jan. 13 and select one within a few months.
Council members limited the proposal advertisement to a general statement about what the city wants to see, minus specifics, with the intention of allowing developers to be creative and put forth ideas that city leaders may not have considered.
But spurred by Deputy City Manager Andy Lukasik to flesh out their ideas, council members agreed that the Downtown Library, a relatively new building, can stay where it is.
They also voiced support for a city staff proposal to rebuild the outdated police station on city-owned land east of the Spanish River Library, which would free up land for redevelopment. But several said they want a police substation in the downtown.
They also want a new City Hall and Community Center, both old and crumbling, to remain somewhere on site. Council member Fran Nachlas asked that the large banyan trees be preserved.
The two unsolicited proposals were submitted by Coconut Grove-based Terra and Frisbie Group of Palm Beach, and by Related Ross, led by Miami Dolphins owner and Palm Beach resident Stephen Ross, who is stepping down from his New York-based Related Companies to focus on his new company.
The Terra/Frisbie proposal is detailed and includes initial concept renderings by the Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates architectural firm. Related Ross’ entry provides far fewer specifics, instead touting the many projects built by Related Companies.
Both are proposing a public-private partnership, or P3, with the city. While the terms were not spelled out, generally developers assume the cost of building public facilities such as a city hall and community center and, in return, the city leases or sells the remainder of the land for redevelopment.
Terra/Frisbie proposes building a new City Hall, Community Center and a racket sports center that it would pay for. It also calls for 1.16 million square feet of commercial and residential development, including a hotel, along with public parks and plazas.
The project would be built in three phases, with a total of 1,163 residential units, a 130-room hotel, an office building and 3,073 parking spaces in a garage and on surface lots and streets, as well as retail shops and dining. The new City Hall and Community Center would be part of the first phase.
The height of residential buildings would range from two to 10 stories, while the hotel and office building would be seven stories and two garages would be four stories.
The company plans to move quickly, with the entire project completed by July 2028.
Related Ross has a similar but more bare-bones proposal. The company is offering a new “civic center” and recreational facilities, Class A offices, a hotel with event and banquet space, a parking garage, residential and retail and “significant public realm improvements.”
Unlike Terra/Frisbie, it did not include renderings that show where the buildings and green areas would be located. It said its “capital contributions” to the project “will alleviate the city’s capital burden to undertake a public development of municipal improvements of this scale.”
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