The Boca Raton City Council decided today to put the Terra/Frisbie downtown redevelopment plan before voters on March 10.
By a vote of 4-1, the council approved a master partnership agreement with Terra/Frisbie and a lease for 7.8 acres near City Hall. Mayor Scott Singer called it a “prudent” proposal because of the expected “huge” economic and financial benefits. According to new estimates, the city will make more money than it spends for new public facilities in the area over the 99 years of the lease.
Addressing criticism that the project would be too big for the location, Councilman Marc Wigder said the city had achieved “balance” because the scale is “down 70%” from what Terra/Frisbie first planned. The council, Wigder said, could have backed a project that brought more money. Terra/Frisbie’s offers a “reasonable rate of return.”
Councilwoman Yvette Drucker said, “I have loved this project from the very beginning.” She called Terra/Frisbie “an incredible partner” for changing the plan twice in response to community comments.
Vice Mayor Fran Nachlas noted that the private portion of the project covered by the lease would be a tiny portion of Boca Raton’s 344-acre downtown. Nachlas reminded the audience that the city will lose $18 million a year when the Community Redevelopment Agency goes away in 2042. Revenue from the project, she said, will help to replace it.
Singer said of the 30 acres around City Hall, “There’s not much there, there.” Residents “deserve something better than we have.” He acknowledged the criticism, saying that there will be “incremental” traffic increases, but said, “I believe the benefits outweigh the concerns.”
Councilman Andy Thomson remained the outlier. He said the “structure” of the deal places too much risk on “the government” because Boca Raton would pay up front for city hall, the community center and police substation. The new, more city-friendly financial projections are “exceedingly optimistic” and invite “skepticism.” The project is “not responsible.”
Today’s vote officially starts the campaign toward March 10. Though the city itself cannot advocate for the project, individual council members can—and will—take sides. Nachlas and Thomson are two of the three candidates for mayor.
Save Boca, which organized last summer to oppose the project, also will be a big player. Founder Jonathan Pearlman and two Save Boca supporters are running for council seats. Terra/Frisbie will be involved through its One Boca website.
Also on the ballot will be a request for up to $175 million in bonds to build a new police station. It will be Boca Raton’s most crowded and consequential election in decades.
