Developers David Martin and the Frisbie Group are one step closer to getting their controversial One Boca mixed-use project off the ground.
On Thursday, the Boca Raton Planning and Zoning Board backed a 99-year lease that will enable Martin’s Terra and Palm Beach-based Frisbie Group to build One Boca, a massive project with 947 residential units, a hotel, and other commercial uses on and near 7.8 acres of city-owned land by the Brightline train station.
The 7 to 0 planning board vote means that the Boca Raton City Council will now have a positive recommendation when the proposed development agreement comes before the elected body on Jan. 6 for first reading. Should the deal be fully approved by council members, the lease agreement will be put before the city’s voters for final ratification on March 10.
Under current plans, Frisbie Group, led by Rob Frisbie Jr. and Cody Crowell, and Terra will build 765 apartments, 180 hotel rooms, 120,000 square feet of office, a 30,000-square-foot grocery store, and 2,100 parking spaces on city land north of Palmetto Park Road, east of Northwest Second Avenue, south of Northwest Fourth Street, and west of Northwest First Avenue, according to a city memo. The apartments, which would be built where the Boca Raton Police Station now stands at 101 Northwest Boca Raton Boulevard, would include 77 workforce apartments.
Frisbie and Terra also want to build a 210,854-square-foot mixed-use project with 182 condo units on private land they’re under contract to buy. The 12,315-square-foot plot of land at 141 Northwest Fourth Street, is owned by Boca Color Graphics, led by Michael A. Massarella.
The entire One Boca project would consist of just over 538,000 square feet of new development, which is far smaller than what Terra and Frisbie initially proposed in February after beating out three other contenders, including Related Ross, for the right to redevelop 30 acres of property that included Boca Raton’s deteriorating city hall as well as the city’s 17-acre Memorial Park. Back then Terra and Frisbie proposed a 2.5-million-square-foot development with 1,129 residential units, 150 hotel rooms, 250,000 square feet of office, 156,690-square-feet of retail and 3,434 parking spaces.
While the size of the project was later reduced, it still generated significant opposition from residents who formed Save Boca and collected enough signatures for a referendum that would require a special vote prior to any sale or leasing of public land larger than a half-acre. Although a judge has blocked a referendum on public land deals in general (a decision that Save Boca is appealing) city council members still agreed to give voters final say on the One Boca project.
In addition, Frisbie and Terra scaled their proposal back further by limiting development to the east side of Northwest Second Avenue. The 17.5 acres on the west side, including Memorial Park will remain for public use and would include a new city hall, community center, recreational facilities, a police substation, and a public parking garage that would be built by Terra and Frisbie, according to a draft of the 99-year lease. Those facilities would be built in exchange for a developer’s fee that would be negotiated later, although Terra and Frisbie did commit to contributing $7.9 million in off-site public improvements.
In exchange for building on the east side of Northwest Second Avenue, the developers would pay the city 7 percent of the gross revenues of the residential component, 4 percent of the gross revenues for the retail, office and hotel components each year. Another 10 percent of the revenues will be paid above what the lease calls a “gross revenue hurdle” related to the developers’ costs.
The lease also has “strong default and termination rights for the city,” Deputy City Manager Andrew Lukasik told the board.
The developers have claimed that the revenues would generate more than $2 billion in rent, taxes, and more for the city, per their One Boca website. But two critics of the project, who said they were certified accountants, told board members that the city could count on less than $50 million over 99 years.
Board members, however, were instructed not to even consider the financial aspects. Instead, they were to focus only on whether a 99-year lease that paves the way for a transit-oriented development would fulfill the city’s comprehensive plan for the downtown area.
“You will not be evaluating the leases themselves in terms of economics, nor the criteria used to select its [developer] partner, nor evaluating the [developers’] ability to implement the project,” Lukasik said.
Board member Gergory Mitchell admitted he has concerns about the money aspect of the deal and “implored” city council members to “get the best bang for our buck.”
Board member Timothy Dornblaser said it was only logical to encourage development by the Brightline train station while board chairman Arnold Sevell opined that the redevelopment of downtown was “long overdue” in a city that has attracted increased interest from developers.
“We have good momentum and I think we should keep it moving,” Sevell said.
But Save Boca founder Jon Pearlman said the One Boca project has generated so much opposition that it’s destined to be voted down by residents.
“We are in power. We are in control,” Pearlman said at the podium. “This is just a show, and it is meaningless and we have the ultimate say and vote.”
