crocker partners - News - The Coastal Star2024-03-29T10:55:38Zhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/crocker+partnersBoca Raton: Appellate court agrees city not liable for Midtown inactionhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-appellate-court-agrees-city-not-liable-for-midtown-ina2021-03-03T17:12:20.000Z2021-03-03T17:12:20.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><strong>By Mary Hladky</strong></p>
<p>The legal battle is over for Crocker Partners’ ambitious plan to redevelop Midtown into a $1 billion live-work-play area where people would have lived in up to 1,274 residential units and walked or taken shuttles to their jobs, shopping and restaurants.<br />The state’s 4th District Court of Appeal on Feb. 3 upheld a lower court ruling that Crocker Partners is not entitled to $137.6 million in damages it claimed it was owed because the city illegally prevented the redevelopment.<br />City zoning allows commercial, office and retail development in the 300-acre area located east of the Town Center mall, but not residential. <br />Crocker Partners and other landowners contended that they reasonably expected to be able to build residential units because of changes to the city’s comprehensive plan in 2010 that allowed the City Council to permit residential projects in Midtown.<br />But the City Council never made a decision to do so despite a lengthy persuasion effort led by Crocker Partners.<br />Crocker Partners sued in 2018 under the Bert Harris Act, which is intended to protect the rights of property owners when a government restricts or limits their private property rights.<br />Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Howard Coates Jr. threw out the suit in 2019, holding that the Bert Harris Act provides compensation to property owners who lose existing or vested zoning rights but not to property owners who do not receive new development rights.<br />The 4th DCA agreed, saying that the Bert Harris Act protects against governmental action, but not inaction that maintained existing zoning.<br />Shortly after Coates’ ruling, Crocker Partners dropped a previous lawsuit that sought to compel the city to allow residential development and a third suit that claimed the city made misleading statements in public documents and violated the state’s Sunshine Law to prevent residential development.<br />The company opted only to continue its effort to seek damages. That decision clearly signaled that Crocker Partners was abandoning its revitalization push.<br />But by then, the Midtown project was already dead. Other landowners who had joined with Crocker Partners drifted away, pursuing other plans for their properties.<br />Angelo Bianco, Crocker Partners’ managing partner, said at the time that it would be a waste of time and money to pursue legal action when it was clear that Midtown was not going to happen.<br />“The city killed Midtown several years ago. It was unfortunate we were not compensated for our losses, but we have moved on to other projects,” a Crocker Partners spokesperson said about the 4th DCA ruling.<br />Chief among those projects is the Boca Raton Innovation Campus at the former IBM campus, where the first personal computer was made.<br />Crocker Partners acquired the 1.7-million-square-foot office building, the largest in the state, in 2018 with a vision of transforming it into a science and technology hub.<br />City spokeswoman Chrissy Gibson described the ruling as “very favorable” for the city.<br />“The court also reaffirmed, clarified and improved the state of the law for local governments throughout Florida by embracing the city’s position that property owners cannot state a claim under the Harris Act based on their development expectations, “ she said. Ú</p></div>Boca Raton: Crocker Partners drops 2 of 3 Midtown lawsuitshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-crocker-partners-drops-2-of-3-midtown-lawsuits2019-10-30T14:10:29.000Z2019-10-30T14:10:29.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><strong>By Mary Hladky</strong></p>
<p>Crocker Partners has curtailed its contentious legal battle with the city, dropping two lawsuits that sought to compel city officials to allow it to redevelop Midtown.<br />But Crocker Partners continues to pursue litigation that seeks $137.6 million in damages the developer and landowner claims it has sustained because Boca Raton illegally prevented the redevelopment.<br />By dismissing the two lawsuits, Crocker Partners has signaled that it is giving up its long-held ambition to transform the 300-acre Midtown, located east of the Town Center mall, into a $1 billion live-work-play area with as many as 2,500 residential units near offices, restaurants and shopping.<br />“After trying to work with City Council for four years, revitalizing Midtown is off the table — a tremendous missed opportunity for the city and the community,” Angelo Bianco, Crocker Partners’ managing partner, said in a statement issued three days after his company informed the court on Oct. 18 that it was dismissing the lawsuits.<br />“We are pleased that the Crocker entities have voluntarily dismissed two of their three pending Midtown lawsuits,” city spokeswoman Chrissy Gibson said in an email.<br />In an interview, Bianco said that after recovering the damages, he will be ready to move on and sell his company’s 67 acres in Midtown.<br />“We will focus all our attention on the (lawsuit) I feel most confident about,” he said. “When we win, we will get paid for the damages we suffered. At least my investors will get the money the city has taken from them.”<br />Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Howard Coates Jr.’s July 19 dismissal of Crocker Partners’ damages case played no role in his decision, Bianco said. Crocker Partners has since appealed the ruling to the 4th District Court of Appeal.<br />Rather, he said he recently reassessed the situation and determined that even if he won the lawsuits, Midtown redevelopment as he envisioned it would not happen.<br />Crocker Partners had sold its holdings in Midtown but reacquired them five years ago with an eye toward redeveloping an area in need of revitalization.<br />Bianco then teamed up with other landowners in the area, assembling 300 acres for the Midtown project.<br />But protracted negotiations with the city led nowhere, and the council has yet to decide whether to allow residential development in Midtown.<br />Even after a pivotal 2018 City Council vote that did not resolve the issue, Bianco said he still thought it would be possible to create a smaller version of the original project.<br />But other landowners drifted away, pursuing other plans for their properties. Bianco said Glades Plaza is under contract for sale and landowner Cypress Realty of Florida has put its property up for sale.<br />An official with Glades Plaza owner Trademark Property Co. declined comment, and Cypress Realty principal Nader Salour did not respond to an email.<br />“I realized the consortium of property owners is gone,” Bianco said. “It is all breaking apart. Why was I trying to get the relief I asked for (from the courts) when there is not going to be any Midtown development? It would be a waste of time and money.”<br />Crocker Partners is a longtime developer whose projects include iconic Mizner Park. Its holdings in Midtown include Boca Center, The Plaza and One Town Center — properties that Bianco said eventually would be sold.<br />The death knell for Midtown sounded on Jan. 23, 2018, when City Council members indefinitely postponed a vote on proposed land development regulations that would have allowed residential development in Midtown if certain conditions were met.<br />Instead, the council voted to have city staff develop a “small area plan” for Midtown, a decision that kicked final decisions at least a year down the road and badly frustrated Crocker Partners and other landowners.<br />The council eventually passed what city officials say are land development regulations on Jan. 8. They address improvements to streets, lighting, parking and landscaping, as well as building heights, setbacks and facades, but not residential development.<br />Crocker Partners’ now-dismissed first lawsuit asked a judge to compel the city to write land development regulations, which the city had said is now moot because it has done so.<br />The second, a Bert Harris Act case now on appeal, seeks the $137.6 million in damages on grounds the delay in enacting regulations created an impermissible building moratorium that took away Crocker Partners’ property rights.<br />In a July 19 ruling, Judge Coates sided with Boca Raton and against all of Crocker Partners’ legal arguments.<br />His order states that the Bert Harris Act provides compensation to property owners who lose existing or vested zoning rights, but not to property owners who do not receive new development rights. It also states that Crocker Partners retained the ability to build commercial, retail and office, as was allowed before and after the City Council passed new development regulations for Midtown.<br />The now-dismissed third lawsuit, filed March 27, claimed the city made misleading statements in public documents and violated the state’s Sunshine Law to prevent residential development in Midtown.<br />It also made the explosive allegation that city officials, including two or more unidentified City Council members, acted in secret to thwart Crocker Partners’ plans for Midtown. <br />In a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, city officials said Crocker Partners had made “scandalous” but unsupported allegations which “distract from the fact that Plaintiffs have not stated (and cannot state) a claim for a Sunshine Law violation.”</p></div>Boca Raton: Area plan for Midtown addresses beautification and safety, not developmenthttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-area-plan-for-midtown-addresses-beautification-and-saf2019-01-02T15:53:33.000Z2019-01-02T15:53:33.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Mary Hladky</strong></p>
<p>City staffers have issued their long-awaited “small area plan” for Midtown that makes no recommendation on the most important issue for the 300-acre area — whether residential development should be allowed.<br /> Development Services Director Brandon Schaad presented the staff’s proposed plan, 11 months in the making, to residents on Dec. 4. The Boca Raton City Council is expected to consider it later this month.<br /> Schaad did not mention residential development during his 45-minute presentation at the Spanish River Library. Asked about it by a resident, Schaad said, “We are not recommending any residential.”<br /> After the meeting, Schaad said staff did not make a recommendation because City Council members have not yet reached a consensus on whether they want residential development in Midtown.<br /> Midtown landowners, including Crocker Partners and Cypress Realty of Florida, joined forces about four years ago in an ambitious plan to redevelop the large tract located west of Interstate 95 and east of the Town Center mall, where no residential development is allowed.<br /> They envisioned a “live, work, play” transit-oriented development where people would live in as many as 2,500 residential units and walk or take shuttles to their jobs, shopping and restaurants.<br /> The landowners and city staff worked jointly on land development regulations that would allow such a project until, at the behest of the City Council, staff took the reins.<br /> The redevelopment plan died one year ago when council members postponed a vote on regulations that staff recommended. They voted instead to have staff develop a small area plan for Midtown, an idea proposed by council member Andrea O’Rourke.<br /> Crocker Partners and Cypress Realty, frustrated by the delays, have sued the city for not adopting land development regulations and stifling their ability to redevelop their properties.<br /> Cypress Realty principal Nader Salour said he had expected the small area plan would determine how many residential units could be built and allowable building heights, among other things. Instead, the plan concentrates on beautifying the area.<br /> “That is disappointing and just seems to be a delaying tactic,” he said.<br /> “Council is looking for guidance from staff. Staff is looking to council for guidance. And neither side is forthcoming with a recommendation, so we keep having this circular discussion,” he said. “I am baffled by what they are trying to achieve.”<br /> The Dec. 4 meeting “is a clear indication of the city’s intent to frustrate and delay property owners’ rights,” said Crocker Partners managing partner Angelo Bianco.<br /> The meeting was sparsely attended, but the few residents who spoke up thanked city staff for its efforts on the plan and voiced no objections.<br /> “Overall, I think you are doing a great job,” said Jack McWalter.<br /> The plan calls for gradual improvements over five years to streets, street lighting, landscaping and parking. It aims to reduce traffic congestion, improve street walkability and create places where the public can gather for special events. <br /> It devotes considerable attention to Military Trail, adding landscaped medians, trees, wider sidewalks and better crosswalks, while also improving safety.<br /> The improvements could be paid for by creating a special taxing district, with property owners in the area paying the increased taxes. The City Council will make the final decision on a taxing district.<br /> “Under the terms and conditions laid out, all the landowners would be taxed simply to beautify or improve certain streets with no added incentive, namely residential or anything else,” Salour said. “I can’t imagine anyone would be in support of it. We certainly would not.”<br /> While the plan would improve Midtown, it is not a blueprint for what the area can become. The city still must adopt land development regulations that will spell out to developers and landowners what they can build in Midtown. Staff is working on those.<br /> “The elephant in the room is still density,” resident Bill DeAngelis said at the meeting.<br /> Crocker Partners, which owns 67 acres, sued the city in October, seeking $137.6 million in damages on grounds that the delay in approving land development regulations created an impermissible building moratorium that took away its property rights.<br /> Crocker filed a separate legal action in May, seeking to have a judge compel the city to write land development regulations.<br /> Cypress Realty also sued in October, citing the lack of land development regulations and saying the city has been “stonewalling” its efforts to redevelop its 10.2 acres. It is asking the court to require the city to process its August development application.</p></div>Boca Raton: Crocker, Cypress Realty file lawsuits against cityhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-crocker-cypress-realty-file-lawsuits-against-city2018-10-31T14:33:41.000Z2018-10-31T14:33:41.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Mary Hladky</strong></p>
<p>Developer and landowner Crocker Partners filed its promised lawsuit against Boca Raton, seeking $137.6 million in damages on grounds the city failed to adopt regulations that would allow it to build its proposed Midtown project.<br /> Cypress Realty of Florida, a landowner that partnered with Crocker Partners on Midtown planning, also has sued, saying in its lawsuit that the city has been “stonewalling” its efforts to develop 10.2 acres. <br />Crocker Partners, which wants to redevelop 67 acres it owns east of the Town Center mall, informed the city in April it planned to file the Bert Harris Act lawsuit. Such a lawsuit gives both sides 150 days to resolve their differences outside of court.<br /> But Crocker Partners heard nothing from the city until September, when the city sent a letter denying Crocker Partners’ claims and declining to enter into settlement negotiations, according to the lawsuit filed Oct. 23 in Palm Beach County Circuit Court.<br /> “Due to the fact that the city has taken an obstructionist, non-cooperative approach, we are left with no choice but to move forward” with the lawsuit, Crocker Partners managing partner Angelo Bianco said in a release. “We are saddened that the city has forced our hand in this matter and is endangering the financial health of our community. …”<br /> The city, Crocker Partners and other property owners in the Midtown area worked together over several years to write land development regulations that would allow the property owners to move ahead with their ambitious plan to redevelop 300 acres into a transit-oriented development where people would live in as many as 2,500 new residential units and walk or take shuttles to their jobs, shopping and restaurants.<br /> Boca Raton City Council members torpedoed that plan Jan. 23 when they postponed a vote on the land development regulations that set a framework for how Midtown could be built. Instead, they voted to have staff develop a “small area plan” for Midtown.<br /> That “small area plan” has not yet been completed and no decisions have been made on whether residential units will be allowed in the Midtown area.<br /> Bianco contended the delay created an impermissible building moratorium that took away his property rights.<br /> In calculating the economic damage to Crocker Partners, the lawsuit said the three properties it owns in Midtown — Boca Center, The Plaza, and One Town Center — are worth $59.9 million.<br /> If the company could build about 1,200 apartments on that land, as would be allowed under the planned mobility district designation the city had given the area, the properties would be worth $197.5 million, the lawsuit states. The difference is the $137.6 million in damages Crocker Partners is seeking.<br /> Crocker filed a separate legal action in May, seeking to have a judge compel the city to write land development regulations for Midtown, and to rule that the City Council’s January delay in adopting them, and instead develop the “small area plan,” are illegal.<br /> The lack of land development regulations also is at the heart of Cypress Realty’s Oct. 12 lawsuit.<br />The landowner has sought city approval to develop its property since 2015, and most recently filed an amended development application in August following the city council’s delay in adopting the regulations. It wants to build 204 high-end rentals and 64,000 square feet of retail space.<br />But the city has not acted, and has said it can not do so because the land development regulations have not been approved. <br />On Sept. 24, City Attorney Diana Grub Frieser informed Cypress Realty that the city does not intend to process the development application, the lawsuit states.<br />Cypress Realty is asking the court to require that the city process it.<br />On Oct. 29, Circuit Court Judge Jeffrey Gillen ordered an expedited hearing be held during which the city must demonstrate why it should not be ordered to process the application.<br />“The city’s inaction is unconscionable. It seems the only way you can do business with Boca Raton these days is to file a lawsuit. That’s not the way it should be,” Cypress Realty principal Nader Salour said in a release.<br />“We now find ourselves in an untenable situation and a classic Catch-22. The city won’t schedule our site plan application for review without regulations in place. Yet, they refuse to put the regulations in place.”<br />City spokeswoman Chrissy Gibson said Oct. 30 that the city had not yet been served with the Crocker Partners lawsuit. The city attorney’s office will review that lawsuit when it sees it and the Cypress Realty lawsuit “and prepare an appropriate and timely response.”<br />The city faces another development-related legal problem. In August, landowner Robert Buehl announced he also plans to file a Bert Harris Act lawsuit against the city, seeking as much as $100 million in damages, over the city council’s July rejection of a proposal to build the $75 million Concierge, a luxury adult living facility, in the downtown.<br /> Group P6, the developer of Concierge, headed to court in August in an effort to quash the city’s denial of the project.<br /> The city annexed the Midtown area in 2003. On Oct. 23, the City Council voted unanimously to replace the area’s county zoning districts with city zoning districts. The ordinances also change some permitted uses in the area that would, in part, help the city control excessive noise from bars and restaurants.</p></div>Boca Raton: Suits to challenge several city development decisionshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-suits-to-challenge-several-city-development-decisions2018-10-03T15:25:50.000Z2018-10-03T15:25:50.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Mary Hladky</strong></p>
<p>Close on the heels of landowner Robert Buehl’s announcement that he planned to sue the city over rejection of his proposed luxury adult living facility, developer Crocker Partners said it would go forward with a similar lawsuit over the city’s decision not to adopt regulations that would allow its Midtown project.<br /> That decision increases the financial risk the city faces if the landowner and developer prevail in court. Buehl will be seeking as much as $100 million in damages, while Crocker will seek $137 million.<br /> The litigation does not end there. Developer Group P6, which worked with Buehl on the Concierge ALF in the downtown, headed to court in late August in an effort to quash the city’s denial of the project, but is not seeking damages.<br /> And Crocker filed a separate legal action in May, seeking to have a judge compel the city to write land development regulations for Midtown, and to rule that the Boca Raton City Council’s January decisions to delay adopting the regulations and vote instead to develop a “small area plan” for Midtown are illegal. The developer also says the delay created an illegal building moratorium.<br /> Crocker’s Sept. 13 announcement came after the developer told the city in April that it would sue because approval delays for its Midtown project left it unable to redevelop three properties it owns in Midtown — Boca Center, The Plaza and One Town Center. <br /> That notice of a Bert Harris Act lawsuit gave both sides 150 days to resolve their differences. <br /> But Crocker managing partner Angelo Bianco said the city didn’t talk by the deadline.<br /> “I was hoping to avoid this,” Bianco said in late September. “That is why our primary action is not seeking damages, but to compel the city to do what it said it was going to do — adopt land use regulations that would allow us to build.”<br /> Crocker won an early court round in late August, when Circuit Judge Howard K. Coates Jr. denied the city’s effort to dismiss the May legal action.<br /> “I am very pleased with that ruling,” Bianco said. “I am not interested in handing a bill to the taxpayers of Boca Raton, especially one created by poor leadership at City Hall.”<br /> Crocker Partners originally joined other landowners in the Midtown area to redevelop about 300 acres between Interstate 95 and the Town Center mall. They envisioned a “live, work, play” development where people would live in as many as 2,500 residential units and walk or take shuttles to jobs, shopping and restaurants.<br /> Because of the delay in getting city approval, the group broke up and some are moving ahead with individual redevelopment plans, rather than wait for the “small area plan,” which won’t be completed at least until year’s end.<br /> While Midtown was a complex project, the Concierge was straightforward. <br /> The developer and landowner wanted to build a $75 million ALF at 22 Southeast Sixth St. that would have 53 independent living, 37 assisted living and 20 memory care units.<br /> The project was not controversial, and the City Council’s July 23 rejection was unexpected since Group P6’s previous condo projects in the city were easily approved and the council unanimously supported a separate downtown luxury ALF last year.<br /> But this time, some council members expressed concerns the facility would overburden the city’s fire-rescue services.<br /> Council members Andrea O’Rourke and Monica Mayotte questioned if another ALF was a good fit downtown. Speaking of the city’s vision of a vibrant downtown, O’Rourke said she was not sure how much the Concierge’s residents would be engaged in the community.<br /> “I am not against ALFs in our city,” Mayotte said. “I’m just not sure that the downtown is the right location for them. Other places within our city limits are probably more applicable for these types of residents and I just wanted to make that clear.”<br /> Mayotte and O’Rourke suggested the city may need to create a way for ALF developers to pay for the increased cost of providing ambulance service.<br /> Her comments came after city staff and Fire Chief Tom Wood said ALFs have 15 times the calls per bed than a typical multifamily development.<br /> City Manager Leif Ahnell said a special assessment could be an option, but the city would have to research how that could be done and what costs could be recovered with it. But he said typically an assessment would recover only capital costs, such as for a fire-rescue unit.<br /> That amount, though, is minor compared with the personnel costs to operate the unit — about $70,000 per year per fire-rescue unit and $2 million a year for personnel operating costs.<br /> City Attorney Diana Grub Frieser said there also are legal impediments to levying an assessment only for increased demand for a service. Ahnell said it might be necessary to spread the cost to all types of properties in the city.<br /> In his notice that he planned to sue, Buehl highlighted council member comments he said were discriminatory.<br /> “The statements made by elected officials regarding our city’s elderly residents were absolutely discriminatory and shameful,” Buehl said.<br /> Group P6, in its petition to have the court overrule the city, echoed Buehl’s claim.<br /> But the developer also noted that it is the city’s obligation, not the property owner’s, to provide emergency medical services. If EMS services are overburdened, the city can raise taxes or cut other parts of the city budget to provide more funding to EMS. If not, the city should deny any further downtown development, the petition said.<br /> City staff said the project complies with ordinances governing downtown development, the petition said, as did the city’s urban design consultant, which praised it.<br />“This project has no basis for denial and we do believe these are all red herrings to deny it,” Group P6 co-owner Ignacio Diaz said in an email.</p></div>Boca Raton: Tri-Rail has preferred second site, but not fundshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-tri-rail-has-preferred-second-site-but-not-funds2018-07-04T15:49:13.000Z2018-07-04T15:49:13.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Mary Hladky</strong></p>
<p>Tri-Rail officials have chosen their preferred location for a second station in Boca Raton, but can’t yet guarantee it will be built.<br />The preferred site is the former King’s Deli property along the CSX railroad tracks at Military Trail and Northwest 19th Street, officials said at a sparsely attended June 20 public meeting at the Spanish River Library.<br /><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960808662,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960808662,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-right" width="207" alt="7960808662?profile=original" /></a>A runner-up site is just to the south, but it is not as attractive to Tri-Rail officials because it is not directly on Military Trail and so is not as easily accessible.<br />But at least two obstacles must be cleared before the station becomes a reality. <br />Tri-Rail needs to get funding to build the station and acquire land. Officials peg the station’s cost at $17 million.<br />The commuter rail had about $8 million from the Florida Department of Transportation and the Palm Beach Transportation Planning Agency to evaluate potential station sites and to design the station. On June 5, the Federal Transit Administration approved the location, clearing the way for Tri-Rail to seek local, state and federal money.<br />Its ability to build on either of its preferred locations is uncertain. Developer and landowner Crocker Partners owns both parcels.<br />Crocker Partners managing partner Angelo Bianco, now in a legal dispute with the city over his proposed Midtown development, said he would not sell either one.<br />“We have a plan for a development,” he said in late June. The preferred station location “is smack in the midst of that.”<br />Bianco did not divulge details of his new plan for land his company owns, except to say it is an “extensive redevelopment.”<br />Tri-Rail spokeswoman Bonnie Arnold said she could not comment on what effect that will have on agency plans. <br />“We have not even discussed it,” she said June 29.<br />Communication between Tri-Rail and Crocker has been scant.<br />Tri-Rail officials said they could not contact Crocker about the land until the FTA approved its preferred location for a station, and had not done so as of the June 20 public meeting. <br />Bianco said he called Tri-Rail officials after they announced their preferred station site. He said they confirmed the location, but did not ask if he would be willing to sell the land.<br />Litigation between Crocker Partners and the city further muddies the waters.<br />Crocker Partners led a coalition of landowners proposing a “live, work, play” redevelopment of about 300 acres in Midtown, between Interstate 95 and the Town Center mall.<br />Crocker Partners originally supported the second Boca Raton station as a complement to its transit-oriented development where residents of up to 2,500 proposed apartments would walk or take shuttles to their jobs at nearby office buildings or retail stores, and to restaurants and nightlife. Its representatives had hinted they might consider donating land for the station.<br />More recently, Crocker Partners said the station, while desirable, was not necessary to make Midtown a success.<br />But momentum for Midtown came to a halt in January, when the Boca Raton City Council delayed voting on two ordinances that spelled out how Midtown could be redeveloped and instead voted to create a “small area plan” for the area that would not be completed until the end of this year.<br />Crocker Partners sued the city in May, saying its actions created an impermissible building moratorium. By then, other Midtown landowners had started moving ahead with their own redevelopment plans.<br />If it’s ever built, the station would have two parking lots with 75 spaces, and a drop-off area for passengers getting rides to the station. Buses and shuttles could access the station and bicycle parking would be available. The current scheduled opening date is in 2023.<br />A 2016 Tri-Rail study found that about 1,000 riders were projected to use the new station on weekdays, enough to support construction. But Tri-Rail also expected that to rise if Midtown landowners built residential.<br />Several residents attending the public meeting voiced objections to the second station.<br />Bobbye Miller questioned why Boca Raton needed two stations. “Everyone in my neighborhood is not for this,” she said.<br />Anthony Catalina, director of planning and capital development for Tri-Rail’s governing agency, said the Yamato Road station is Tri-Rail’s busiest, and rider surveys showed demand for a station in the Midtown area because it would be a more convenient location for them.</p></div>Boca Raton: Lawsuit, zoning proposals add to city vs. Midtown battlehttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-lawsuit-zoning-proposals-add-to-city-vs-midtown-battle2018-07-04T15:28:21.000Z2018-07-04T15:28:21.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Mary Hladky</strong></p>
<p>The battle between the city and Midtown developer Crocker Partners has intensified, with Crocker suing the city in May in an effort to keep its project alive and the city in June asking a judge to toss the lawsuit.<br /> Another dispute arose in June, when Mayor Scott Singer proposed ordinances that would replace county zoning regulations — which remained in effect after the city annexed the Midtown area in 2003 — with city zoning regulations. The change would give the city more control over noisy bars and restaurants.<br /> Singer described the ordinances at a June 11 council workshop as a “glitch bill” that would address residents’ concerns about loud music.<br /> But at a City Council meeting the next day, attorney Henry Handler said the disagreements between Crocker Partners, his client, and the city will “only be exacerbated” by the ordinances. “This will likely lead to disparate piecemeal zoning regulations, which will drive the city and major Midtown landowners further apart and exacerbate existing disputes,” he said.<br /> Public hearings on the ordinances will be held July 24 and Aug. 21 before they could be adopted. The City Council is expected to discuss the litigation in a closed-door session July 24.<br /> The lawsuit, filed May 23, accuses the city of treating Crocker Partners differently from other property owners and not following its normal procedures for project approval.<br /> It seeks to have a judge compel the city to write land development regulations for Midtown. The lawsuit also asks a judge to rule that the council’s delay in adopting ordinances containing those regulations and its Jan. 23 vote to instead develop a “small area plan” for Midtown are illegal and invalid.<br /> The lawsuit aims at rules imposed on Midtown, which Crocker Partners says are unconstitutional and create an impermissible building moratorium.<br /> They include a mandate that a new Tri-Rail station be operational, all street infrastructure be done and improvements to Military Trail finalized before the proposed construction of as many as 2,500 housing units would be approved.<br /> No similar requirements were put in place before the city established regulations for the Northwest planned mobility development in 2015, the lawsuit states. Midtown also is a proposed planned mobility development.<br /> The lawsuit amounts to asking the city “to do its job” by approving the regulations for Midtown that would allow Crocker Partners to submit development plans to the city, said Crocker Partners managing partner Angelo Bianco. <br /> “They were supposed to do this in 2011. We are asking a judge to get them to do it.”<br /> Crocker Partners told the city in April that it planned to sue for $137 million because the approval delays left it unable to redevelop three properties it owns in Midtown: Boca Center, The Plaza and One Town Center.<br /> Bianco said if he wins on the most recent suit, he would abandon plans to seek damages. <br /> “The last thing I want to do is hurt the taxpayer,” he said.<br /> In its June 14 motion to dismiss, the city argues that it is not required by law to enact land development regulations for Midtown and a judge cannot decide the validity of those regulations in ordinances that have not been enacted.<br /> “Plaintiffs are seeking relief in the wrong venues, have brought stale claims, have wholly failed to allege the basis for their claims and are seeking decisions on matters the are not ripe for adjudication,” the city’s motion states.<br /> Crocker Partners originally joined with other landowners in the Midtown area in an ambitious plan to redevelop about 300 acres between Interstate 95 and the Town Center mall. They envisioned a “live, work, play” transit-oriented development where people would live in new residential units and walk or take shuttles to their jobs, shopping and restaurants.<br /> But delays in enacting ordinances that would allow the Midtown project to go forward caused the group to break up, and some are moving ahead with individual redevelopment plans. They include mall owner Simon Property Group, the now-closed Sears building owner Seritage Growth Properties and Glades Plaza owner Trademark Property Co.<br /> Even so, Bianco thinks he can create a smaller version of Midtown, with fewer residential units, on about 80 acres that Crocker Partners controls, provided the city sets parameters for what can be built in that area.<br /> The city has hired two consultants, Community Marine and Water Resource Planning and Larch Design Plus, to help it create a small area plan. The contracts total nearly $50,000. <br /> The city now expects to have a small area plan crafted by no later than December, which would then be formally adopted by the City Council, a city spokeswoman said.<br /> The consultants invited the public May 23 to offer their vision about how Midtown could be redeveloped. <br /> About 120 residents attended the session at the Spanish River Library. They split into groups and came up with general ideas on Midtown’s look. <br /> Each group’s ideas shared similarities, such as low density, low- or mid-rise buildings, pedestrian friendly, lots of green space and improvements to Military Trail.<br /> Residential units would number no more than 1,250, and many people wanted fewer.<br /> Jim Anaston-Karas, principal of Community Marine and Water Resource Planning, said another public session is planned for September.</p>
<p><em>NOTE: Due to a production error, an earlier version of this story did not appear in the June edition of</em> The Coastal Star.</p></div>Boca Raton: Crocker files notice of lawsuit against cityhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-crocker-files-notice-of-lawsuit-against-city2018-05-02T13:57:48.000Z2018-05-02T13:57:48.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Mary Hladky</strong></p>
<p>Frustrated that the city has not enacted land-use regulations that would allow its Midtown project to be built, Crocker Partners has told the city it plans to file a lawsuit seeking $137 million.<br /> The April 10 notice of claim for compensation said that Crocker Partners is seeking the money because it is unable to redevelop three properties it owns in Midtown — Boca Center, The Plaza and One Town Center.<br /> “The city has pushed us into a position where we have to sue,” said Crocker Partners managing partner Angelo Bianco. “If the city wants to take away our property rights, they can pay for them.”<br /> Crocker teamed up with other landowners in the area three years ago to propose a massive redevelopment of 300 acres located between Interstate 95 and the Town Center mall. They envisioned a “live, work, play” transit-oriented development where people would live in up to 2,500 new residential units and walk or take shuttles to their jobs, shopping and restaurants.<br /> That concept is dead, Bianco said. Other landowners are moving ahead with their individual plans. <br /> “We are no longer coordinating our redevelopment plans because they don’t exist anymore,” he said. “People are breaking off and doing their own thing now.”<br /> Attorneys representing Town Center mall owner Simon Property Group and Sears building owner Seritage Growth Properties asked the City Council on Feb. 26 to “bifurcate” their properties from the Midtown plans, citing concerns that the now-closed Sears would sit vacant until the city enacts zoning changes and land-use regulations.<br /> Council members supported their request.<br /> Attorney Bonnie Miskel, who represents Simon, also indicated she would be coming forward with requests for zoning changes for the mall that are more modest than those sought for Midtown. Simon had wanted to build some of the Midtown residential units.<br /> Seritage, which owns a parking lot near the Sears building, is now planning to transform the property into an open-air shopping and entertainment complex.<br /> Michael Marshall, who represents Glades Plaza owner Trademark Property Co., made a similar request at the April 23 City Council workshop meeting.<br /> Trademark “cannot afford to wait any longer” to start redevelopment of its property, Marshall said. Delays in approvals for new land-use regulations have put Trademark’s investors “in a risk position that is simply intolerable.”<br /> “We simply don’t have the flexibility and resources to await the small-area plan and the adoption of any regulations that may follow,” Marshall said.<br /> Trademark expects to spend $40 million on the first phase of Glades Plaza redevelopment, including $5 million on the improvement of the Northwest 19th Street corridor using existing zoning.<br /> The company intends to front retail along 19th Street and add wide sidewalks, safe crosswalks, decorative pavers and outdoor lighting, Marshall said.<br /> City officials told Marshall that Trademark can file redevelopment plans with the city under current zoning rules.<br /> According to an email sent to city officials, Cypress Realty, which owns the Strikes bowling center, asked city officials to meet to discuss “our options on how to proceed.” A representative of Cypress Realty did not respond to a call from The Coastal Star about its plans.<br /> If these and other landowners followed Crocker’s lead and pursued litigation against the city, total claims could exceed $400 million, Bianco said.<br /> But those heading in their own direction may have no interest in doing so, since they will have to work with the city to get approval for their new plans.<br /> The grenade that blew up Midtown was lobbed on Jan. 23, when City Council members postponed a vote on ordinances that set a framework for how Midtown could be built. Instead, they voted 4-1, with Mayor Susan Haynie dissenting, to have staff develop a small-area plan for Midtown, an idea proposed by council member Andrea O’Rourke.<br /> They left it to Development Services Director Brandon Schaad to determine what, exactly, such a plan was and how to create it.<br /> On Feb. 12, Schaad said the plan would not be completed until July at the earliest, and more probably later in the year.<br /> That was the final straw for Bianco, who had spent $300 million buying back Crocker-developed properties in the area that Crocker had sold and at least $1 million on Midtown planning.<br /> “It became obvious this was a ploy to create a [building] moratorium and take away our property owners’ rights,” he said. “At that point, we had no other choice and had to introduce litigation. That is a real shame.”<br /> Crocker signaled the possibility of litigation in November. <br /> The city, Crocker and other landowners had been working together to develop land-use regulations and zoning for Midtown. But the city seized control of the process last summer, and the ordinances were revised substantially. <br /> They required that a new Tri-Rail station be built and operational and all street infrastructure, bike pathways, sidewalks and landscaping be completed before any residential units would be approved. The current maximum building height limit of 145 feet was reduced to 105 feet.<br /> Attorneys for Crocker told the Planning and Zoning Board that the requirements are unconstitutional and violate Florida law. The South Florida Regional Transportation Authority is considering a new Tri-Rail station, but Crocker has no control over whether it will be built. The Tri-Rail and infrastructure mandates created an impermissible and indefinite building moratorium, they said.<br /> Crocker filed its notice under the state’s Bert J. Harris Jr. Private Property Rights Protection Act, which gives the city and developer 150 days to reach a settlement. If that doesn’t happen, Crocker could file a claim for compensation in circuit court.<br /> As of late April, the city had not commented on Crocker’s legal action, saying only that it is under review.</p></div>Boca Raton: Crocker joint venture buys former IBM campushttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-crocker-joint-venture-buys-former-ibm-campus2018-05-02T13:54:27.000Z2018-05-02T13:54:27.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Mary Hladky</strong></p>
<p>Crocker Partners has acquired the iconic former IBM campus in Boca Raton for $170 million.<br /> The 125-acre property, now known as the Boca Raton Innovation Campus, sits just west of Interstate 95 between Yamato Road and Spanish River Boulevard.<br /> Boca Raton-based Crocker purchased BRIC in a joint venture with New York-based Rialto Capital and Siguler Guff. The property includes the 1.8 million-square-foot IBM building that was the birthplace of the personal computer.<br /> In the near term, the new owners plan to add tenants to the property, which is now 73 percent leased, and upgrade the buildings and enhance amenities, said Crocker managing partner Angelo Bianco.<br /> “We want to stabilize this asset and make it the jewel in South Florida for large tenants,” he said. “We look at BRIC as best in class for all of South Florida.”<br /> Bianco envisions eventually redeveloping the site, although he said he has no immediate plans to do so. The possibilities include adding apartments, townhomes, hotel and retail, he said. But there are no plans to tear down the Y-shaped IBM building designed by international architects Marcel Breuer and Robert Gatje, Bianco said.<br /> Current tenants include Bluegreen Vacations Corp., Johnson Controls Security Solutions, TransUnion, Modernizing Medicine and MDVIP.<br /> With the acquisition, Crocker’s Boca Raton portfolio has grown to 2.9 million square feet, or 25 percent of the city’s office inventory. Its holdings include The Plaza, One Town Center, One Boca Place and the mixed-use Boca Center. Crocker developed Mizner Park in downtown Boca Raton.<br /> Crocker is the state’s largest Class A office landlord, with more than 6.3 million square feet, according to the company.<br /> IBM originally developed the site in the 1960s and sold it in 1996.<br /> The sellers in the April transaction are San Francisco-based Farallon Capital Management and New York-based Next Tier HD.</p></div>Boca Raton: Council won’t act on Midtown plan, cites unresolved concernshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-council-won-t-act-on-midtown-plan-cites-unresolved-con2018-01-31T17:00:39.000Z2018-01-31T17:00:39.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><span><b>By Sallie James</b></span></p>
<p>An ambitious “transit-oriented” development that would place as many as 2,500 rental units near Interstate 95 and the airport stalled last month after city officials and angry neighbors posed a slew of questions about roads, traffic and density.</p>
<p>After hours of discussion, Boca Raton City Council members Jan. 23 voted to postpone action indefinitely on proposed land development regulations for Midtown, citing unresolved concerns.</p>
<p>The plan won’t move forward until at least two rounds of public input, likely starting in February.</p>
<p>“The residents in this community care about our future, our legacy,” said council member Andrea O’Rourke. “The way I see it, it looks like a hodgepodge and I don’t want a hodgepodge.”</p>
<p>Resident Tim Day implored the council to reject the proposed land development regulations, saying Midtown as planned would destroy the character of the city by adding so many rentals.</p>
<p>“I believe this plan is the linchpin in converting the suburban bedroom community known as Boca Raton into urban sprawl and all of the attendant problems — the overcrowded schools, the massive traffic jams, the burden on services and the overall diminution of the quality of life,” Day said.</p>
<p>Midtown, proposed by Crocker Partners to be built between I-95 and the Town Center at Boca Raton, is envisioned as a “live, work, play” transit-oriented development where people will live and walk or take shuttles to their jobs in the area, shopping and restaurants.</p>
<p>Several council members wondered if infrastructure for the project should be completed first, or if the developer should be allowed to proceed on a section-by-section basis. Who would pay for the infrastructure and how rights of way would be obtained were also questions that went unanswered.</p>
<p>Council members repeatedly said they needed more specific plans for the sprawling project in order to move forward.</p>
<p>“I have been saying all along a plan has to come first to have a vision. You plan something first,” O’Rourke said. She insisted the developer should present a master plan for the project, saying it would serve as the basis for local zoning ordinances. “We are trying to put the cart before the horse. We need the plan first. The master plan is the guide for our land use, for our future zoning.”</p>
<p>O’Rourke said she received more than 60 emails from residents concerned about Midtown’s potential effect on the area. Many concerns focused on gridlock on nearby Military Trail, a lack of adequate right of way, access roads and turn lanes.</p>
<p>“This is a conversation we need to have rather than talk about the details,” O’Rourke said. “We don’t know how any of this is going to happen other than we want to put 2,500 residential units there. We don’t have a picture of anything else.” </p>
<p>Council member Scott Singer wondered what the developer would offer if the city scrapped a requirement that construction wait until a proposed Tri-Rail station be built in the area. He didn’t get a clear answer.</p>
<p>“If the train station is no longer a requirement, what are the offsetting changes?” Singer asked.</p>
<p>Clara Bennett, executive director of the Boca Raton Airport Authority, voiced concerns about adding so much residential density near the airport, which continues to get busier. The airport has 150 to 200 flights a day, with some planes flying as low as 250 feet on approach, Bennett said.</p>
<p>She requested consideration of a navigation easement because of Midtown’s proximity to the airport.</p>
<p>Mayor Susan Haynie said the request was premature because the city doesn’t know yet where the Midtown buildings will be situated or how tall they will be. Crocker Partners would like permission for a maximum height of 145 feet.</p>
<p>Haynie said the number of proposed rentals may need to be pared down, but disagreed with arguments that the project was not presented in adequate detail.</p>
<p>“I do believe what you’ve shown us here tonight is a good representation of a cohesive, visionary development that will encourage walkability … so I think we have the vision. The comprehensive plan has set the vision for planned mobile,” Haynie said.</p>
<p>Crocker managing partner Angelo Bianco also disputed claims that the city didn’t have enough detail to proceed.</p>
<p>“We are going to be working with staff and you to come up with master plans that work well and site plans that will work well, but it will be evolving over the next 10 years,” Bianco said. Features like setbacks, sidewalks, trees, bike lanes and multimodal reserve lanes would all be addressed, he said.</p>
<p>O’Rourke said the scope of the project requires extra scrutiny.</p>
<p>“The developers were looking to come in and get the zoning changed and get vested rights to build,” O’Rourke said after the meeting. “I felt we had to do planning. This is a major part of our city. It will impact the downtown, it will impact the beach. </p>
<p>“How do we address redeveloping this area? How are we going to look at traffic and pedestrian safety and the road improvements? We can’t just go and approve units without having an overall plan. All of these things were not looked at.” </p></div>Boca Raton: Midtown project mired in three-way differenceshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-midtown-project-mired-in-three-way-differences2018-01-03T17:57:58.000Z2018-01-03T17:57:58.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><span><b>By Mary Hladky</b></span></p>
<p>The proposed Midtown project is beset by complications as city staff and a city board are at odds about what rules the developer will have to follow.</p>
<p>The intracity disagreements surfaced at a Dec. 11 Boca Raton City Council workshop when city staff presented its analysis of conditions the Planning and Zoning Board recommended the City Council adopt before giving the developer the go-ahead to build.</p>
<p>The debate will continue during two public hearings on Midtown expected Jan. 8 and 23.</p>
<p>As it stands, city staff and developer Crocker Partners disagree on key parts of proposed ordinances that set the framework for how Midtown can be built, and city staff has rejected some of the planning board’s recommendations.</p>
<p>“We have a difficult road ahead,” council member Scott Singer said near the end of the meeting. “I am at a loss as to how we are going to harmonize” the positions of staff, Crocker Partners and other property owners in the 300-acre Midtown site.</p>
<p>Although Crocker Partners managing partner Angelo Bianco considers some conditions proposed by the city to be unconstitutional, he still hopes they can reach an agreement.</p>
<p>“I am very hopeful we will reach an acceptable solution,” he said after the meeting. Midtown “will be a real bonus for our city.”</p>
<p>Midtown, located between Interstate 95 and the Town Center at Boca Raton, is envisioned as a “live, work, play” transit-oriented development where people will live and walk or take shuttles to their jobs in the area, shopping and restaurants.</p>
<p>As many as 2,500 rental units would be built where no residential now exists. The South Florida Regional Transportation Authority is considering building a Tri-Rail station that would bring people to and from the area at one of two possible locations near Northwest 19th Street along the CSX railroad tracks.</p>
<p>Among the areas of disagreement:</p>
<p>• Crocker Partners and other landowners want to build 2,500 units. City staff wants no units built until the Tri-Rail station is working, saying Midtown can’t be a transit-oriented development if there is no transit. </p>
<p>The planning board recommends that 600 units can be built before the station is running.</p>
<p>Crocker Partners supports a Tri-Rail station, but says it is not necessary to the success of its project and that mandating a station before construction can begin is unconstitutional. The developer contends the restriction creates a building moratorium until 2022 when Tri-Rail officials have said the station, if approved, would be built.</p>
<p>• Crocker Partners wanted to build some units as small as 500 square feet for young people likely to use mass transit.</p>
<p>The planning board recommended the smallest units be 700 square feet. City staff agreed to revise the proposed ordinance to make that change.</p>
<p>• The planning board recommended a shuttle system controlled by the city be in place before any residential units are approved.</p>
<p>Staff agreed to add that provision, saying shuttles would support both the transit-oriented development and the Tri-Rail station. But they don’t agree that the city must operate the shuttles.</p>
<p>Crocker Partners has said it wants and will support a shuttle system.</p>
<p>• The planning board recommended that no residential development be approved until all street infrastructure is constructed to new standards in the proposed ordinances, all power lines are buried, bike pathways and sidewalks are built, and landscaping completed.</p>
<p>City staff suggested a middle ground: Once infrastructure improvements are completed in one area, development can proceed.</p>
<p>Crocker Partners says completing all infrastructure improvements prior to construction is not feasible and the requirement is unconstitutional because it would create a development moratorium. The developer also says it would leave the city on the hook for paying for all of the very costly improvements, rather than sharing the costs with the county and other government entities.</p>
<p>• City staff wants building height in the area limited to seven stories, or 105 feet.</p>
<p>Crocker Partners contends the 105-foot limit is arbitrary and wants a maximum height of 145 feet.</p>
<p>The planning board recommended 145 feet, but city staff does not want to make this change. </p></div>Boca Raton: New requirements snag progress on Midtown projecthttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-new-requirements-snag-progress-on-midtown-project2017-11-29T17:00:00.000Z2017-11-29T17:00:00.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Mary Hladky</strong></p>
<p> The proposed Midtown development faces significant new obstacles as a result of conditions imposed by both city staff and a city board that would delay the start of construction, reduce the size of the project and possibly torpedo it.<br /> Developer Crocker Partners drafted proposed ordinances that set a framework for how Midtown can be built. But that prompted complaints that the developer had assumed control of a city process, and the City Council ordered staff six months ago take back the reins.<br /> Midtown, to be built between Interstate 95 and the Town Center at Boca Raton, is envisioned as a “live, work, play” transit-oriented development where people will live and walk or take shuttles to their jobs in the area, shopping and restaurants.<br /> As many as 2,500 mostly rental units would be built on nearly 300 acres where no residential exists. A new Tri-Rail station at or near Northwest 19th Street along the CSX railroad tracks would bring people to and from the area.<br /> The proposed ordinances would allow restaurants, bars under certain conditions, hotels, convenience stores and schools. Drive-in restaurants, gas stations, veterinary clinics and outdoor seating or entertainment would require City Council approval.<br /> The city’s redo of the proposed ordinances still allows 2,500 units. But they could not be built until the Tri-Rail station is constructed and operating and Military Trail is redesigned to make it easier to cross and more pedestrian friendly. The tallest buildings in the area now are 145 feet, but the height limit would be reduced to no more than 105 feet.<br /> “We were shocked when we saw that,” Crocker Partners managing partner Angelo Bianco said of the Tri-Rail station requirement.<br /> The city’s Planning and Zoning Board went even further at its Nov. 9 meeting. The board unanimously approved the proposed ordinances, but added conditions that it recommends the City Council adopt.<br /> Board members called for reducing the number of residential units to 600. They want no construction until streets in the area are redesigned, landscaping and other infrastructure work completed, and a shuttle system is operating. Crocker Partners proposed some residential units as small as 500 square feet, but the board recommended a minimum of 700 square feet.<br /> Several board members said the city may need to create a special taxing district for the Midtown area that would pay for roads, landscaping and other improvements.<br /> After Brandon Schaad, director of the city’s department of development services, outlined to planning board members changes city staff made to the proposed ordinances, attorneys representing Crocker Partners said some of the key changes are unconstitutional and violate Florida law.<br /> The Tri-Rail station requirement is “arbitrary and unreasonable and creates an indefinite moratorium [on Midtown construction],” said Deana Falce, a litigator with the Shubin & Bass law firm.<br /> “Private property owners have no control over whether the Tri-Rail station is ever built,” she said.<br /> The requirement for completion of improvements to Military Trail, the main artery through Midtown, leaves the project at the mercy of the city and county, which would jointly plan the work, she said.<br /> The building height requirement is “arbitrary” and will discourage development, Falce said.<br /> An angry Planning and Zoning chair William Fairman chastised the attorneys for not submitting a packet outlining their objections before the meeting. Board member Larry Snowden called the unconstitutionality claim “insulting.”<br /> “We never want to commence legal action unless it is absolutely necessary,” Bianco said after he meeting. “But we need to protect our property rights.”<br /> He expressed hope that Crocker Partners and the city can work together to “find common ground.” But the city restrictions, Bianco said, will “create unreasonable barriers to development.” <br /> Downsizing the project to 600 units is unrealistic for a 300-acre site, he said. “It is such a small number of units, it would not allow us to achieve the minimum necessary to create the integrated, pedestrian-walkable neighborhood we want to develop,” he said.<br /> Midtown should not be dependent on construction of a Tri-Rail station, he said. While he supports mass transit and the station, it “is not necessary for us to achieve … what we want to achieve,” he said.<br /> The South Florida Regional Transportation Authority, which operates Tri-Rail, has been considering building a second station in Boca Raton since 2007 and recently launched a new study to evaluate the idea. If SFRTA decides to build one, construction would not begin until 2022.<br /> When Schaad briefed City Council members on the planning board’s decision at their Nov. 13 workshop meeting, Mayor Susan Haynie and council member Scott Singer weren’t certain how to proceed. Council members Robert Weinroth and Andrea O’Rourke said a master plan should be created for the Midtown area, which also would delay construction.<br /> The City Council will consider the ordinances and the planning board’s recommendations again after Schaad completes an analysis. <br /> Two public hearings will be held before final decisions are made.</p></div>Boca Raton: City tells frustrated developer of Midtown plan to keep plugginghttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-city-tells-frustrated-developer-of-midtown-plan-to-kee2017-06-28T14:42:09.000Z2017-06-28T14:42:09.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Mary Hladky</strong><br /><br /> Years after the Midtown “live, work, play” development was conceived, the project is at an impasse without any of the city approvals needed to move forward.<br /> Angelo Bianco, managing partner of developer Crocker Partners, tried to change that at a June 12 City Council workshop, as he pressed to have the city’s Planning and Zoning Board consider on July 20 proposed ordinances that set a framework for how the project can be built.<br /> “Being kept in a state of limbo is not fair,” Bianco said. He later added, “We just can’t not move forward. At some point, you are taking away our rights as landowners.”<br /> But council members urged Bianco to continue working with city staff to finalize ordinances both he and staff can support. If so, staff will recommend that the planning board and City Council approve the ordinances.<br /> Council member Robert Weinroth counseled Bianco not to resist more talks and negotiation with city staff.<br /> “I know you are frustrated,” he said. “Don’t make a mistake by forcing this.”<br /> The Midtown project, located between Interstate 95 and Town Center at Boca Raton, envisions a place where people will live and walk or take shuttles to their jobs in the area, shopping and restaurants.<br /> As many as 2,500 mostly rental units would be built on nearly 300 acres where no residential now exists. A Tri-Rail station would be built at Northwest 19th Street to bring people to and from the area.<br /> City officials like the concept, which is similar to transit-oriented developments springing up across the country designed to reduce traffic and energy use. But the devil is in the details.<br /> The city annexed the area in 2003 and the original county zoning has remained in place. Crocker Partners and its development partners want new zoning ordinances that would regulate a “planned mobility development” as well as a “transit-oriented development” that would allow higher densities and less space set aside for parking.<br /> City officials want to make sure the ordinances are crafted to safeguard city interests and avoid unintended consequences.<br /> City staff and the developers have been working on that and changes have been made. But from the perspective of the developers, the process has been painfully slow, costing them time and money.<br /> Meanwhile, questions have been raised about whether too much residential would be built, if adequate parking space has been included and if Midtown would further clog area roads.<br /> Another complication is that the proposed ordinances are just the start of the process. If they are approved, the developers will design the project and then submit plans to the city for approval.<br /> As a result, the planning board and council have no idea what Midtown will look like. Examples presented by the developers of what they have built elsewhere have created confusion, prompting the developers to explain repeatedly that these are conceptual ideas only, and not what is intended for Midtown.<br /> As the impasse continued, the council in May called for a “reset” on Midtown, with the city taking a stronger hand to speed up the process. But the city and the developer did not discuss specific points of disagreement at the June 12 meeting.<br /> Bianco said he thinks the proposed zoning ordinances are ready for presentation to the planning board. <br /> Deputy City Manager George Brown disagreed. He suggested additional changes that Bianco said he was hearing about for the first time.<br /> “This is treating us in an unfair manner that does not have precedent with other developers …,” Bianco said. “We just need to move it along.”<br /> One sticking point is the proposed Tri-Rail station, which Crocker Partners initially said was crucial to the project. The developer wanted the ordinances approved by March so funding for the station was not jeopardized. That deadline, set by Tri-Rail, has passed, but some funding agreed to earlier remains available.<br /> An April report by Brown says previous versions of one of the ordinances drafted by the developer states that the Tri-Rail station would be “planned, funded and committed to” by Tri-Rail. The city wants the station to be “planned, funded and under construction.”<br /> The report also says the proposed ordinance states the train station is not required until 1,300 rental units have been approved for development. At that point, up to 1,200 more units could be built if the train station is “committed to.” <br /> “As proposed, the applicant’s ordinance may result in 2,500 units without a train station,” the report states.<br /> City staff questions if Midtown qualifies as a transit-oriented development if no station is built, the report said.<br /> The developer commissioned a traffic survey for the area, which states there will be no additional traffic generated by renters if 1,300 units are built, as long as shuttles are operating. <br /> The traffic survey was updated on April 25 and May 11, but Brown said in a June 5 memo to the council that staff has not reviewed the updates. That memo also said staff has not reviewed proposed changes to the ordinance the developer submitted on April 27 and May 15.<br /> Parking also remains a sticking point. Crocker Partners had proposed less parking than required elsewhere based on the idea that renters and others coming to shop and dine would use Tri-Rail and the shuttles. <br /> Crocker Partners has since increased the amount of parking, but city staff still questions whether it will be enough to meet demand. One-bedroom units would have one space, two-bedroom units 1.5 spaces, and three-bedroom units would have two spaces.</p></div>Boca Raton: Push for Midtown project stalls, but outreach to public goes onhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-push-for-midtown-project-stalls-but-outreach-to-public2017-03-01T16:02:06.000Z2017-03-01T16:02:06.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Mary Hladky</strong><br /><br /> Crocker Partners was hoping for quick action in December when the developer asked a city board to approve ordinances that would set the stage for 2,500 rental units and a Tri-Rail station at Midtown just east of the Town Center at Boca Raton.<br />But its ambitions for a “live, work, play” transit-oriented development have since slowed.<br /> Crocker was to present the Planning & Zoning Board with more information on Jan. 19 but asked for a delay until Feb. 9, after neighboring homeowner associations voiced objections. The developer made no presentation at that meeting, and the board canceled its Feb. 23 meeting.<br /> As of the end of February, the city and developer could not say when Crocker would appear again before the board, and two public hearings have not been rescheduled. City Council approval also is needed.<br /> Crocker Partners managing partner Angelo Bianco and Michael Marshall, a shareholder with the GrayRobinson law firm who represents Crocker, said the city decides when matters are placed on meeting agendas.<br /> City spokeswoman Chrissy Gibson said the city is awaiting additional information from Crocker.<br /> Politics undoubtedly plays a role. Voters will decide who will fill the mayor’s and two City Council seats in the March 14 election, and development is a big issue in the campaigns. BocaWatch, a citizens group that opposes what it perceives as city overdevelopment and endorses candidates, has voiced objections to such a large number of rentals.<br /> Crocker, meanwhile, is reaching out to nearby residents to win their support and get their input. About 300 people attended a recent meeting the developer held at the Crocker Center. <br /> “There will be a lot of outreach,” Marshall said. “Our client is trying to come up with a development program that will fall under the zoning the city is processing. That is what we are reaching out to the neighbors for.”<br /> Crocker has not put forward a development plan. Rather, it is seeking city approval of ordinances that would allow a transit-oriented development and residential units in an area where they are not now allowed. If that happens, Crocker could move ahead with a plan.<br /> One reason Crocker wanted to move quickly was that Tri-Rail had set a March 17 deadline to commit to additional funding for the proposed new commuter rail station that is critical to the developer’s vision of Midtown. <br /> But with zoning changes sought by Crocker not yet approved, the developer may miss that deadline to show it can achieve a transit-oriented development.<br /> “We haven’t heard anything final from Tri-Rail,” Marshall said on Feb. 22. “Hopefully, there is going to be an opportunity to secure funding. Right now, it is a hope.”</p></div>Boca Raton: Transit options key to Crocker development proposalhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-transit-options-key-to-crocker-development-proposal2017-02-01T16:00:00.000Z2017-02-01T16:00:00.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><span class="font-size-3"><strong><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;">Neighbors’ resistance grows as Tri-Rail faces funding deadline</span></strong></span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><strong><span style="font-family:georgia, palatino;" class="font-size-5"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960695675,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="500" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960695675,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960695675?profile=original" /></a></span>By Mary Hladky</strong><br /> <br /> Four years after Crocker Partners began conceiving a massive development project east of the Town Center at Boca Raton mall, the developer is now moving ahead to transform the concept into reality.<br /> Crocker envisions Midtown as a “live, work, play” project that includes 2,500 rental units on nearly 300 acres where no residential now exists. Residents would walk out of their apartments and down the street to their jobs at one of the many office buildings or retail centers in the area. After work, they could head over to nearby restaurants or watering holes.<br /> Many, theoretically, might not even need cars. People could travel to and from the area on Tri-Rail, provided the commuter rail builds a new station at Northwest 19th Street. Shuttles would transport them to their places of employment or to shopping and dining.<br /> Such “transit-oriented development” is a fast-growing trend across the country as cities hope to revitalize urban and suburban centers while also reducing traffic gridlock and energy use. Midtown would be the first such development in Boca Raton.<br /> “Let’s make this into a vibrant neighborhood. Let’s bring in residential, the missing link,” Crocker Partners managing partner Angelo Bianco said at a Dec. 22 Planning and Zoning Board meeting. “… We need to do this.”<br /> Midtown would lie south of Glades Road between the CSX railroad tracks and Butts Road, with the Town Center mall immediately to the west. Crocker owns three office buildings and the Boca Center retail-office center within the area or on its periphery.<br /> No artist renderings show what Midtown would look like. In fact, no plans have yet been drawn and nothing has been submitted to the city.<br /> Rather, Crocker, a longtime developer whose projects include iconic Mizner Park, is starting from scratch. The project first needs a new city ordinance to allow “planned mobility development” in two existing zoning districts. The ordinance also would create a transit-oriented development sub-area that would allow higher densities and less space set aside for parking.<br /> The city cleared the way for this to happen when it added a planned mobility development designation to its comprehensive plan in 2010 and has since implemented that designation in an area in the city’s northwest section.<br /> Crocker presented its proposed ordinance, and two other related ordinances, at the December board meeting.<br /> Board members generally liked the concept, but were overwhelmed by the scope of the project and Crocker’s need to get their approval quickly. <br /> “It’s like trying to drink from a fire hose,” said board member Kerry Koen.<br /> Many of their questions centered on how much Midtown would increase traffic in the area and whether Crocker had included an adequate amount of parking for the rental units.<br /> They asked Crocker to return Jan. 19 with more information, but at that meeting, the developer asked for a delay until Feb. 9 so officials could try to overcome strong objections that cropped up from neighboring homeowner associations after they voiced enthusiastic support for the project on Dec. 22.<br /> “We are totally against it,” said one Paradise Palms homeowner at the Jan. 19 meeting. “The size and nature of this project at our back door is unacceptable to us.”<br /> Newly unhappy neighbors are just one of the hurdles facing Crocker.<br /> Chief among them is getting Tri-Rail to build a proposed new “kiss and ride” station — one with no parking lot — that Crocker says is essential to the success of Midtown. Without it, Midtown as now envisioned will not happen.<br /> Tri-Rail supports the idea, and urged the city in April to approve the transit-oriented development designation to ensure there is enough demand for the station.<br /> But pressure mounted to turn the talk into action when Tri-Rail said the proposed ordinances must be approved by March 17 in order for it to commit additional funding for the station. Tri-Rail and the Palm Beach Metropolitan Planning Organization have allocated $1.5 million for planning and design this year and an additional $17 million in 2018 for the next phase of the project, said MPO Executive Director Nick Uhren.<br /> Tri-Rail also needs Crocker to agree to convey land the developer owns for the station. As of late January, that had not happened.<br /> To meet the deadline, the city will have to move fast. <br /> The P&Z board would need to make a recommendation to the council, two hearings would need to be held, and the council would then make a final decision. But the delay in the P&Z board meeting date, and resulting delay in two public hearings, may make it impossible to meet Tri-Rail’s schedule.<br /> Michael Marshall, a shareholder with the GrayRobinson law firm that represents Crocker, said after the Jan. 19 meeting that he remains hopeful about getting city approvals in time.<br /> “Funding for the station has to be in place,” he said. “Without the station, this entire concept doesn’t work.”<br /> The proposed ordinances have yet to spell out who besides Crocker can build the residential units. Representatives of other major landowners in the area, including the Simon Property Group that owns most of the mall, told P&Z members in December they want to build some of the residential units.<br /> Details about shuttles also need to be nailed down. Crocker runs a shuttle to the Yamato Road Tri-Rail station, but it is now expected that other major landowners would also commit funding for a shuttle system.<br /> If the ordinances are approved, it would still be some time before Crocker submits plans to the city.<br /> About 8,300 people commute to the Midtown area to work each day, according to Crocker. The developer believes there will be plenty of demand from people who would love the option of living near where they work and plans to set rental prices affordable to many of the workers.<br /> The ordinances would permit multifamily dwellings, retail, offices, restaurants, hotels and recreation and cultural facilities. The amount of commercial development in the area would not increase, but existing commercial would be redeveloped.<br /> Residential density allowed in the proposed transit oriented development is a maximum of 20 units per acre, but Crocker says it will build half that amount. Building heights will not exceed 85 feet because of limits imposed by its proximity to the Boca Raton Airport.<br /> Parking would be limited to 1.5 spaces per rental unit, a number that assumes not all renters will have cars and will walk or use shuttles to get to work or go shopping.<br /> A traffic study commissioned by Crocker concluded that the 2,500 apartments would not increase traffic volume on nearby streets, provided the Tri-Rail station is built and shuttles are operating.<br /> P&Z board members liked the concept of a transit-oriented development. <br /> “I feel this area is ready for the concept of the zoning,” said Board Chair William Fairman.<br /> But board members were not convinced that the new residential would not overload streets, that residents will actually use the shuttles as much as predicted or that enough parking will be provided.<br /> P&Z Secretary Rick Coffin expressed the strongest doubts. <br /> “I just don’t see putting 2,500 units in that area. I don’t believe the retail employees can afford the rental or condo rates,” he said. “I absolutely cannot live with 1.5 parking spaces. We are not New York City. … People are going to have their cars."</p></div>