Planning Commission backs 89-unit Boca Raton Commerce Center amendment with workforce housing requirement

The Palm Beach County Planning Commission on July 11 recommended approval of a small‑scale future land use amendment for Boca Raton Commerce Center 3, a 4.79‑acre site south of Glades Road, to allow a multifamily development of 89 rental units with 25% required on‑site workforce housing.

The recommendation matters because the proposal replaces an industrial underlying future land use with HR‑12 residential capacity on the south portion of a property that currently includes a 14,986‑square‑foot professional office building. Planning staff recommended approval with conditions, including a trip‑generation limit and the requirement that 25% (22 units) be built as workforce housing on site.

Applicant Josh Nichols of Schmidt Nichols told commissioners the project had been reduced from an earlier proposal of 110 units and 5–6 stories to the current 89 units and 4–5 stories after meetings with the adjacent Meissner Point homeowners association and staff. Nichols said the project would keep the existing office building and develop…