Hundreds of residents press Boca Raton council over proposed government campus P3; city schedules developer charrettes

Hundreds of residents and several council members pressed the Boca Raton City Council on Monday, Sept. 22, over a proposed public-private partnership (P3) to redevelop the city’s government campus, criticizing the city’s outreach, the timing of property appraisal and perceived influence by the developer.

The comments came during the public-comment period of the regular council meeting, where dozens of residents spoke against the project and the council announced developer-led charrettes to gather further input. Mayor Singer and city staff said those events are open to residents regardless of viewpoint.

The critics said the city’s outreach was inadequate and that the administration should have determined the land’s value earlier in negotiations. “The city staff mentioned at the last meeting waiting till the end of this process, to get an appraisal of the value of the land,” resident Martha Parker said. “If the city and the council knew since 2023 that this is what you guys were going to pursue, you really should have known what the value of the land was at the onset of negotiations and planning.”

John Perlman, another resident who spoke, criticized a citywide email and the city website links that he said promoted developer materials and downplayed community opposition. “I just received an email from the city of Boca Raton at 03:18PM…that is advertising the, the 2 charrettes of the developer. And it says, residents are encouraged to sign up in advance for 1 of the 2 sessions due to capacity limitations and the strong interest of the project. That is incredible,” Perlman said, adding his view that the city’s messages should acknowledge strong opposition.

Some speakers urged the council to reshape how the upcoming charrettes are conducted. “These charrettes that are coming up need to be framed in a way that the you're not gonna win over everybody. But you need to win over a lot of these people,” resident Jonathan Unjian said. “There needs to be a constructive discussion, not just a developer-led discussion…to come up with an idea and a plan that you can win over more and more of the people.”

City staff responded to factual questions raised during public comment. City staff member Brown explained why the city has not completed a formal appraisal: “In order to properly appraise the property that we would be conveying, we need to know exactly what property we could be conveying and the uses that would be proposed for that property. So until we actually have a fairly tied down plan, it's not reasonable to make an appraisal.”

When residents said the city’s email suggested support for the project, the mayor noted the message invited interest, not endorsement. “I will note that by the way, the, the email that came from the city said interest in the project. It didn't say support for the project. So, people are invited to come out, regardless of their views, and we expect that they will,” Mayor Singer said.

Council and staff reiterated the schedule for community engagement: the city will host developer-led charrettes to present plans and solicit input. Several residents urged the city to broaden outreach beyond those sessions and to ensure the meetings are structured to allow substantive two-way dialogue rather than developer presentations alone.

The council also amended the agenda earlier in the meeting to postpone related items on the docket (items listed for the November meeting) to Nov. 18, 2025, after a motion to postpone passed 5-0. The postponement applies to the agenda items identified by staff as related to the downtown project.

No formal land conveyance, contract award or final approval for the government campus occurred at the Sept. 22 meeting. City staff repeatedly said appraisals and final terms will follow once a defined plan and a precise list of parcels and uses are determined.

The issue is expected to return to council as the charrettes and staff analyses proceed; council members and staff said they will publish additional information and continue public discussion ahead of any formal land decisions.