Boca Raton residents pack the Aug. 26 City Council meeting where Save Boca presented to the council 5,200 signatures on a petition geared toward stopping a proposed mixed-use development. It includes a new City Hall, Community Center, retail space and about 900 rental units. The placard refers to Mayor Scott Singer’s first mayoral campaign. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star
Voters could decide fate of downtown campus project
Related: City and Save Boca spar over downtown campus plans
By Mary Hladky
Clutching a tall stack of papers, Save Boca organizer Jon Pearlman strode to the podium to declare that defeat of city efforts to redevelop its 30-acre downtown campus is all but assured.
“Tonight I have a special delivery for the council — 5,200 signatures from all across the city of Boca Raton for our initiative ordinance to protect our public land.
“The voice of the people is stronger than ever and they are saying loud and clear, ‘stop this project.’ The people don’t want it.”
Save Boca has secured more than enough of the required 3,676 signatures on petitions for a city ordinance amendment and, as of Sept. 2, is very near the 6,112 required for a City Charter change.
Both would not allow the City Council to lease or sell any city-owned land greater than one-half acre without allowing residents to vote on the matter. The city plans to lease the campus property for 99 years to a joint venture of Terra and Frisbie Group.
Save Boca prefers the charter change because the council could repeal the revised ordinance without voter approval.
If voters get to decide, Save Boca members say they are certain the redevelopment project will be doomed.
They cheered wildly as Pearlman attempted to hand the paper pile to City Clerk Mary Siddons during the Aug. 26 City Council meeting.
Tensions rose when Siddons did not immediately accept the petitions, with some crowd members yelling “Why!” After she conferred briefly with City Attorney Joshua Koehler, cheers erupted again when Siddons took them.
Outcry continues
No vote on the redevelopment project was scheduled that night. But the city allows resident comment on it at every meeting, giving Save Boca members chances to repeatedly press their case against plans that would add residential, retail, office and hotel to the city-owned land that includes City Hall and cause the relocation of a number of recreation facilities.
Of the more than three dozen residents who spoke, only one supported the redevelopment.
Joe Majhess termed the council’s actions as “political suicide.” Several other speakers said the same.
“It is our land and you couldn’t care less,” he said. “Public land deserves a public vote.”
“Public trust is at an all-time low,” said Martha Parker. “The way this project has been approached has been all wrong. … Please stand with us and fight to protect our public park land.”
“It should be decided by a referendum and not by five people who live west of I-95,” said Lisa Mulhall, referring to the council members. “You have lost our trust. … Are you listening? I don’t think so.”
After residents spoke, Council member Andy Thomson explained once again why he opposes the project and wants to terminate the city’s deal with Terra/Frisbie to develop it.
Even though Terra/Frisbie has reduced the project’s density and increased green space, Thomson said it remains too dense and is being pushed forward too rapidly.
The council members have not yet seen a financial analysis and he still doesn’t have answers to many questions, Thomson said.
The project should be terminated, he said. But if it isn’t, “I do think because this is public land … there should absolutely be a public vote on this,” he said.
Champlain Towers lawsuit
He also broached a matter first raised days before by Save Boca, which said that Terra Group and affiliates were among those named as defendants in a massive class action lawsuit resulting from the 2021 collapse of the Champlain Towers South condo in Surfside.
The case, which was widely reported at the time by media including the Miami Herald, settled in 2022. Relatives of the victims and survivors of the collapse were paid nearly $1 billion.
The settlement “factored in my decision-making” when the City Council selected Terra/Frisbie, Thomson said. Only Thomson favored Related Ross.
Among the defendants in the case was the Eighty Seven Park condominium next door, which plaintiffs partially blamed for the Champlain Towers collapse. They claimed that during Eighty Seven Park’s construction in 2016, Champlain South was destabilized when metal sheet piles were driven into the ground about 12 feet from its perimeter wall.
An affiliate of Terra Group, 8701 Collins Development, was the developer of Eighty Seven Park. Terra Group and affiliate Terra World Investments also were defendants.
At the time, Terra attorney Michael Thomas denied liability and said the construction had nothing to do with the Champlain South collapse. His clients’ insurers made a business decision to settle to avoid the time and expense of litigation, he said.
Terra Group and Terra World had no ownership interest in the condo and did not make settlement payments, while 8701’s insurers paid $28 million, Terra Group said in a statement in response to a query by The Coastal Star.
Thomas, a shareholder with Greenberg Traurig, told the City Council that “Terra and 8701 Collins had no culpability in any way, shape or form.”
“The settlement will have no effect on the developer’s ability to deliver … for this city,” he said.
Deputy Mayor Fran Nachlas, who is vying with Thomson in the 2026 mayoral race, said she was aware of the litigation.
If Thomson had concerns, he should have raised them in February when the council ranked the four developers that were seeking to be hired by the city, she said.
Nachlas also questioned why Thomson joined a unanimous council vote to give Terra/Frisbie top ranking despite his support for Related Ross and noted that Related Ross’ proposal was much larger and denser than Terra/Frisbie’s.
Suit seeks to stop project
In another sign of discontent with the redevelopment project, resident Lorraine Blank has filed a pro se lawsuit against the city for what she said was its failure to comply with a state law that mandates the completion of an independent cost-effectiveness analysis of the public-private partnership between the city and Terra/Frisbie.
She is seeking an injunction against the redevelopment project. If the judge declines to grant one, she asks for an order to produce the analysis.
“We believe the claims are based on a misinterpretation of Florida law and lack merit,” said a city spokeswoman. “The city has complied, and will continue to comply, with all applicable requirements. …”
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