Boca Raton council approves 8‑story mixed‑use project at Tri‑Rail station with reduced parking and new housing set‑asides

The Boca Raton City Council on Tuesday approved a package of plan and code changes and a site plan to build an eight‑story mixed‑use Commercial‑Industrial‑Multifamily Development (CIMD) at the Boca Raton Tri‑Rail Station, allowing higher density and technical deviations for parking and driveway design.

The action adopted Ordinance 5715 (a comprehensive‑plan amendment), Ordinance 5716 (zoning code text changes) and Resolution 3‑2025 (site plan approval) on votes of 5‑0. The approved project calls for a new 8‑story building with 340 rental dwelling units, including 34 affordable housing units (10%) and 17 workforce housing units (5%), roughly 30,100 square feet of ground‑floor commercial space and a redesigned, integrated parking structure and pedestrian amenities at the station site near Yamato Road.

Why this matters: Council and staff said the site is a major transit stop and that concentrating housing and retail at the rail station supports multimodal travel and the city’s transit‑oriented development goals. Opponents and residents told the council they were concerned about parking, traffic congestion and notice to neighbors.

What council approved and why

Chief Planner Tamash Ramon summarized the applications as amendments to the comprehensive plan and zoning code to authorize a CIMD “as a bonus and incentive” for development integrated with the Boca Raton Tri‑Rail Station and a site plan amendment for the approximately 8.23‑acre station property. Ramon told the council the package would allow a maximum density of 42 dwelling units per acre and a 1.18 floor‑area ratio as a bonus for transit‑integrated projects and would exempt the 340 units at the station from an existing city CIMD unit cap.

Ramon said staff and the Planning & Zoning Board recommended approval, noting the property’s high ridership, proximity to employment centers and project features that aim to foster a pedestrian environment. “This evening I am presenting a number of applications related to the commercial, industrial, multifamily residential development, or CIMD,…