“We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us.”
So said Rob Frisbie, part of the management team at The Frisbie Group. We spoke Wednesday morning, roughly 12 hours after the Boca Raton City Council chose Frisbie, based in Palm Beach, and Terra Group, based in Miami, to redevelop the 30 acres around City Hall.
Next comes a town hall Wednesday from 6 to 8 p.m. at The Studio at Mizner Park. Frisbie said the architectural team and principals from Frisbie and Terra will take questions and hear comments.
“There’s a lot of listening ahead,” Frisbie said. His colleague, Cody Crowell, noted that the company already has spent 10 months “getting input from as many people as we can” to make the project “a true collaboration.”
The outcome did not surprise me. Terra/Frisbie sent the first unsolicited proposal and backed it up soon after with a term sheet. Though Councilmember Andy Thomson—the only one to rank Related Ross ahead of Terra/Frisbie—argued that the council was picking a company, not a specific plan, his colleagues made clear that Terra/Frisbie’s vision for the site aligned more closely with theirs.
As Councilmember Fran Nachlas put it, the project “must fit this part of our community.” Terra/Frisbie’s proposal “best fits.”
To review, the proposal calls for 1,129 apartments, a 150-room hotel, 250,000 square feet of office space and 157,000 square feet of stores and restaurants. Related Ross proposed roughly 50% more retail/restaurant and, most notably, almost four times as much office space and a 400-room hotel.
Though many speakers echoed company principal Ken Himmel’s pitch that the project would bring jobs and “keep talent home,” most council members considered that too much development—at least for the site in question. Mayor Scott Singer said he hoped Related Ross would seek to build those offices elsewhere in Boca Raton.
Terra/Frisbie representatives repeatedly argued that their project was “right-sized” for the city and area. It is roughly 1.3 million square feet smaller than what Related Ross submitted. Though Related Ross representatives said they were willing to be flexible, that first impression lasted.
Council members also liked Terra/Frisbie’s plans for roughly six acres of new public space. Example:
The company has under contract a property that faces onto Northwest Fourth Street and Northwest Third Street just south of the Brightline station and library. Acquiring it, Frisbie said, “allows us to create a pedestrian park that connects” the station and library “to the new City Hall campus.”
Other private sites dot the east side of the target area. If others “can add similar value to the overall plan,” Frisbie said, “then we would consider adding them to the project.”
Frisbie said the company has heard concerns from residents about “traffic, congestion, mobility and connectivity, height and massing. They don’t want the project to bring big-city problems.” Crowell acknowledged, “Change is difficult. We hope to educate the community” at the open house and beyond.
Meetings are set for today and Friday with city officials. The city hopes to approve an interim agreement with Terra/Frisbie on March 18. What will be in it?
Too early to say, Frisbie told me. “There’s a lot to do.”
What will be redeveloped under Terra/Frisbie’s plan
The main public facilities in the target area are City Hall, the community center and the police station, which will move to Spanish River Boulevard. But many residents have asked about the future of the recreational facilities: the tennis center, two softball fields and the skate park.
Recent comments especially have focused on the fields. Softball parents have asked for a facility like the baseball complex at Sugar Sand Park, with scoreboards and a concession stand. There appears to be progress.
Briann Harms is executive director of the Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District, which owns Sugar Sand. Harms told me Wednesday that there are roughly 11 acres in the northwest part of the park that could hold three or four fields and the requested amenities.
Presumably, the city would pay for construction and the district would pay to maintain the complex. Harms and City Manager George Brown say the goal is to have the complex ready before demolition of the downtown fields.
As for the skate park, Harms said it could go at North Park. That’s the former Ocean Breeze golf course in the Boca Teeca community that the district owns. At this point, there are fewer details about this project.
As for racket sports, Terra/Frisbie’s plan includes four tennis courts, two pickleball courts and two padel courts. As with all aspects of the plan, this one is subject to negotiations.
Boca approves two northwest development projects
Two notable development projects got approval Tuesday from the Boca Raton City Council. So did a change that will allow new development on one of the city’s largest properties.
Council members unanimously approved construction of a 287-unit residential building at 1150 Northwest Broken Sound Parkway. It will go next to the existing office building.
In addition, the owner of the Office Depot headquarters at 6600 N. Military Trail got approval to demolish the south side of the office building and erect a 500-unit apartment building and 43,000 square foot of complementary retail space.
Finally, the council approved a change that will allow a makeover of the Boca Raton Innovation Campus (BRiC), which in an earlier life was IBM’s local headquarters. A lawyer representing nearby property owners charged that the move amounted to spot zoning—making an exception for one property compared to its neighbors. BRiC’s attorney noted that the owner sought a plan change, not a rezoning.
Results of Boca resident survey
Boca Raton got back mostly predictable results from the city’s recent resident survey. Roughly 1,200 people responded between Nov. 18 and Jan. 2.
Eighty-eight percent of those respondents said the quality of life is excellent or good. Nearly the same number said that about the quality of city services and public safety. The city’s environment and parks and recreation services also scored high.
Also not surprisingly, only 46% rated the city’s transportation system excellent or good. City officials have tried to address this by starting shuttle service to and from downtown and trying to improve pedestrian and cyclist safety.
One category underscored a problem that goes beyond Boca Raton. Just 23% gave favorable ratings to the cost of living and only 16% did so for housing availability. Property insurance costs have risen rapidly, and the Legislature’s “reforms” have not worked. The pandemic migration further drove up housing costs and worsened the affordability crisis.
Finally, only 19% of respondents said “governance” in Boca Raton is excellent. Forty-two percent rated it “good.”
More on FAU’s new president
One more thought on Monday’s hiring of Adam Hasner to be Florida Atlantic University’s president.
Though the search committee picked three finalists, I had heard months ago that Gov. Ron DeSantis preferred Hasner, a former Republican state representative. Hasner had no relevant experience, but he has worked since 2016 for Boca Raton-based GEO Group, a major DeSantis donor.
The two other finalists—Florida State University Business School Dean Michael Hartline and University of Maine Provost John Volin—never had a chance. In what seems to be an attempt to make the choice look credible, though, FAU’s trustees made Hartline and Volin travel here, spend a day on FAU’s campuses, and return Monday for interviews. Both men had to bone up on FAU.
Next time, if the fix is in, just pick one finalist. At least there would be no pretense.
