[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6476265,"mediaKeyId","5730677-af801c4a9c6c9d45b564d5348402dcde","parentId",5730677,"title","Developer revises downtown campus plan, reduces density and pledges more green space; council and residents call for more outreach","audioSeconds",1675,"startMs",3217000,"endMs",4892000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5730677-af801c4a9c6c9d45b564d5348402dcde&start=3217&end=4892","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5730677-af801c4a9c6c9d45b564d5348402dcde/thumbnail_3217000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6476265/Boca-Raton/Palm-Beach-County/Florida/Developer-revises-downtown-campus-plan-reduces-density-and-pledges-more-green-space-council-and-residents-call-for-more-outreach","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6476265-cb3f912bf46ff5a5ea227533b828d082/orig.mp4?Expires=1770667889&Signature=N8ZbCI-PCT09D1B5fHnYVy95cwmc0QfpYqS7F8-4mI4qhblesOUSMTyPvsJ4sjmMArmEjw5ekI7l0KX4AfpGILhPL9UaKXWKAkAts91ZDhoFnvKeZmym5HT~WHVysmMRVh~TJOlvV5sfixGb-1uUz9zQbTDWP3z2rq7ulltl6c-eFlhWGsKe7VqODVk7yd1eDPIiEx2NypqdcNuhw1j9hc0phuZAZNAS0ztWlQufPSmIPBf07gJhVjhZg1fLR4h5P1b98wnO-ZkqdTNWgEJA34BZCx7XNohR-pKzPYprnDssERHxh4xiTJ0ZFOPb9iPYw2wtT0CCnIW-EG3Wf~f4rw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Boca Raton","date","2025-09-08T14:09:00Z","article","A developer team presenting an updated proposal to redevelop Boca Raton’s downtown government campus told the City Council Sept. 8 that the plan has been scaled back and reworked to add more park space, preserve banyan trees and reduce residential and commercial intensity while still delivering funding to pay for new civic facilities.

David Martin of the Boca City Center team and partner Robert (Rob) Frisbie told the council they reduced the project’s footprint and density after community feedback. The latest plan, the presenters said, lowers the project’s residential total to about 740 units from earlier counts (initial plans showed roughly 1,100 units, and an intermediate iteration was about 900). The team also said it removed a proposed hotel and one previously proposed office building, reduced retail from about 140,000 square feet to roughly 80,000 square feet, and relocated the children’s playground beneath an existing stand of banyan trees to preserve the canopy.

Martin framed the changes as responses to public input: “We’re here today to show you that we’ve been listening,” he said. The developers described several public‑realm elements including a new Memorial Park plaza with a dedicated monument, an expanded multipurpose green (presented as roughly 300 by 200 feet), a community center with an indoor gymnasium and flexible space, a mobility hub east of City Hall, and a minimum of eight tennis courts with the option to add courts later. The proposal retains two office buildings adjacent to Brightline to concentrate jobs near transit, the presenters said.

Developers presented economic estimates that they said still produce “significant funding” for the city over the proposed 99‑year ground lease. They said a prior, larger plan projected about $3 billion in gross revenues over the lease term (about $344 million net present value) and that this scaled plan projects roughly $2 billion in gross revenues (about $228 million net present value). Developers said pricing terms were held constant on a per‑unit basis as density was reduced.

Council members said the revisions reflect some community priorities but urged a slower, more transparent process. Multiple councilmembers explicitly said the Oct. 28 milestone previously discussed for final action is not realistic and asked the developer and staff to hold additional public workshops; the developers said they plan community workshops on Sept. 29 and Oct. 6 and will coordinate further outreach. Councilmember Thompson said any final transaction should be conditioned on voter approval.

Public speakers raised several concerns during the workshop. Gardeners from the Susan Welchill Community Garden said they learned through others that the garden might be relocated as part of the government campus redevelopment and asked the city to ensure the garden community is directly involved in any decision. Several residents urged the council to preserve the 17‑acre Memorial Park and its historic ball field and objected to any perceived privatization of the site; others supported revised elements including the preservation of the banyan trees and the proposed memorial. Traffic, parking spillover into adjacent neighborhoods and the phasing of recreation relocations also drew repeated comment.

Staff said they will re‑evaluate technical analyses (traffic, infrastructure needs and phasing) in light of the new plan. City staff also confirmed they have had prior discussions about acquiring an undeveloped parcel at Palmetto Park Road and N.E. Fifth Avenue but were unsuccessful in negotiating a price acceptable to that owner in the past.

No formal approvals were taken at the workshop. Councilmembers agreed to extend the outreach and review period; the mayor and several councilmembers said the item will require more public engagement and additional staff analysis before any final decision is scheduled.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Boca Raton - City Council Workshop","oneSentenceSummary","A developer team presenting an updated proposal to redevelop Boca Raton’s downtown government campus told the City Council Sept. 8 that the plan has been scaled back and reworked to add more park space, preserve banyan trees and reduce residential and commercial intensity while still delivering funding to pay for new civic facilities.","taxTitle","Boca Raton, Palm Beach County, Florida","taxId",3932,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6476270,"Boca Raton staff outline activation plan for Wildflower Park; underpass to get murals, lighting and fence",434,24000,458000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5730677-af801c4a9c6c9d45b564d5348402dcde&start=24&end=458","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5730677-af801c4a9c6c9d45b564d5348402dcde/thumbnail_24000.jpg","/articles/6476270/Boca-Raton/Palm-Beach-County/Florida/Boca-Raton-staff-outline-activation-plan-for-Wildflower-Park-underpass-to-get-murals-lighting-and-fence","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6476270-bf08b880045ed427a4128f92a167e82f/orig.mp4?Expires=1770667888&Signature=mDtZcFM4Q-~9eDurjcPV7vTUmVd7Sg1ZJTqIeVX0eDAvRYmiEjIcKnTiwi0zK6SFFjL8ofXg0V8700NpEfPGwj8ZtfG0JaLjVGZZs23e-TjBJHNApVztFAzReVNo11~OXA93V4ZuvJkiTdn6PxKXsBmStShq4sTrh0g6iKr9A78nVZEl8irZ9cBRpFX5LUNpdgFZAXNNJf7L3QcGX4oodBOkhWDbGnIzL69I~BnKu1vpW6W17oRGe8NPpQdC9V6GlLFzw54OljMzfCDjjKHffN5R0KoxLERAKUcQbONUG~S1nxEVxWTm2UNXRW5Yes15tpC7O7Asdl6jUUvWvgE2hA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","City staff presented a plan Sept. 8 to “activate” Wildflower Park with a mix of daily programming, vendor and staff‑led events, pavilion reservations and volunteer projects while Public Works described planned upgrades under the adjacent bridge intended to connect the park to Silver Palm.

Greg Stephens, a staff member who led the recreation presentation, told the Boca Raton City Council the department has formed an in‑house programming committee to assess offerings across recreation services and make Wildflower a place for “fitness, art, and community experiences.” Stephens said staff will pilot vendor‑led activities (including food trucks timed to coincide with fitness classes), staff‑led monthly recreation field days and pop‑up events that supplement existing downtown activity.

Stephens outlined types of programming the city will test: passive installations tied to public art already on site, vendor‑led offerings like low‑key food service during morning fitness classes, staff‑led monthly recreation showcases and volunteer‑run features such as a butterfly or community garden. “The first order on our, on our agenda was, and is, activating the wildflower park,” Stephens said.

Council members pressed staff on logistics. Stephens and Public Works staff raised parking as a constraint: Wildflower has 50 total spaces (four designated accessible) and adjacent Silver Palm has about 12, leaving roughly 58 overall. Stephens said limited spaces are sometimes taken for hours by people using the beach or leaving vehicles for nearby commercial activity, and suggested metered parking as one tool to turn spaces over more frequently.

Councilmember Drucker, who said she has advocated for activation for more than a year, emphasized the need for basic amenities to support visits, such as consistent beverage/food options and shade. “People are not gonna visit a park if there's nothing for them to eat or drink,” Drucker said, adding that the park was preserved by referendum and was intended to be interactive. Other council members suggested strategies including encouraging walkability and ride‑share, shuttles from nearby lots, and vendor placement under the existing pavilion to preserve fixed seating for park users.

Public Works Engineering Director Zach Bier briefed the council on the underpass work, which staff and county officials negotiated with Palm Beach County. Bier said the scope includes repainting bridge surfaces to the county’s approved finishes, installing a decorative fence to secure county maintenance areas, adding color‑changing uplighting and placing four murals on column faces that face the walkway. Bier said county maintenance needs informed the fence design and that testing of the LED uplighting is complete. Staff anticipates completing the underpass elements by October subject to weather and county approvals.

Council members and staff said rollout will be iterative: staff will recruit vendors, start with programs they expect to “hit the ground running,” measure participation, then expand pavilion reservations, volunteers and other features by 2026 if successful. Stephens said marketing — branding the park, a web page and signage — will be central to driving attendance. He added that the activation timeline includes initial programming this fall with broader calendar fill‑in by spring and a goal of regular daily offerings at some point in 2026.

No formal votes or policy changes were taken during the workshop. Staff committed to return with further details on enforcement of the current three‑hour limit and on alternative parking options such as adding Wildflower to the city’s beach permit program or a resident‑park parking designation.

Councilmembers thanked staff for the update and emphasized balancing activation with neighborhood concerns about noise and spillover. The City Manager and staff encouraged continued council engagement as plans move from pilot actions toward any operational or regulatory changes.","City staff described a phased plan to add daily programming, vendors, pavilion reservations, shade and parking management at Wildflower Park and said Palm Beach County-approved underpass improvements — paint, decorative fencing, uplighting and four murals — should be finished by October.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Developer revises downtown campus plan, reduces density and pledges more green space; council and residents call for more outreach

Boca Raton staff outline activation plan for Wildflower Park; underpass to get murals, lighting and fence