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Boca Raton council approves Atrium CIMD package, including 8‑story, 222‑unit project with 10% affordable units
Summary
After staff presentations and a combined quasi‑judicial hearing, the Boca Raton City Council approved a suite of land‑use actions enabling the Atrium Residential CIMD: a 222‑unit, eight‑story multifamily building, rezoning of a 0.9‑acre golf‑course parcel, and related plat and site‑plan amendments, with a 2,000‑sq‑ft dog‑park condition. Votes recorded as passing in roll calls described in the meeting record.
The Boca Raton City Council voted to approve a package of interrelated land‑use measures on Tuesday that clears the way for the Atrium Residential CIMD, an eight‑story, 222‑unit multifamily building with an integrated parking structure and small retail spaces.
City staff described the project as a conversion and intensification of an office site adjacent to a portion of the Broken Sound Old Golf Course. Jim Bell, long‑range project manager in Development Services, told the council the main application includes a future‑land‑use amendment and rezoning of a 0.9‑acre portion of the 1700 Clintmore Road parcel, a site‑plan amendment for an 8‑story, 289,677‑square‑foot residential building with four levels of integrated parking, and a plat to create three tracks for the property.
"The Atrium residential project meets the eligibility requirements and development standards for CIMDs," Bell said. He said staff found the proposal compatible with adjacent office and warehouse uses and that the amended site‑plan resolution requires a restrictive covenant to hold 10% (23 units) as affordable housing and 5% (12 units) as workforce housing for 30 years following certificate of occupancy.
Applicant counsel Michael Marshall, who identified himself with Nelson Mullins, said the 0.9‑acre piece being removed from the golf course will remain passive open space under private ownership and that existing access easements allow golf users to retrieve balls. "That 0.9 acres has never been used," Marshall said, adding that the partial release of rights keeps the area as an open, passive parcel.
Members of the public raised questions about whether the project relied on recent changes to CIMD rules to reduce the nonresidential requirement and about potential environmental and traffic impacts. John Perlman, a resident who testified during the hearing, asked whether the project was taking advantage of a recently passed ordinance that changed CIMD requirements and what retail or restaurant square footage would previously have been required. Bell and staff answered that the project provides 2,015 square feet of restaurant/retail space, slightly above the 2,000‑square‑foot minimum, and that ordinance 57‑53 did not affect this application.
On the record, staff noted it had received a revised county traffic letter after the council packet was posted and described the traffic impact as minimal. Bell also said a Phase I environmental assessment had been conducted and staff found no protected species on the 0.9‑acre parcel.
Before the roll calls, the council amended the motion to include a revised condition requiring a minimum 2,000‑square‑foot dog park on the site. Council then took separate votes on each item in the bundle. The meeting record shows the following outcomes (motions adopted during the Dec. 16 meeting): resolution 1772025 (Broken Sound Old Golf Course site‑plan amendment), ordinance 57‑59 (future‑land‑use map amendment for the 0.9‑acre parcel), ordinance 57‑60 (rezoning of that parcel), resolution 1722025 (plat approval, Atrium at Boca Raton), and resolution 1732025 (site‑plan amendment authorizing the multifamily building). The clerk's roll calls recorded the motions as passing with the tallies recorded in the meeting minutes.
What happens next: the approvals are final as recorded in council minutes and will be subject to any applicable appeals periods under the city's quasi‑judicial procedures. The site plan resolution includes the 30‑year restrictive covenant for the affordable and workforce units and the newly added dog‑park condition.
Votes at a glance
- Resolution 1772025 (Broken Sound Old Golf Course site‑plan amendment): approved by roll call (motion passed as recorded in the minutes). - Ordinance 57‑59 (FLUM amendment for 0.9‑acre portion at 1700 Clintmore Rd.): approved by roll call. - Ordinance 57‑60 (rezoning from REC to LERP for the 0.9‑acre parcel): approved by roll call. - Resolution 1722025 (Atrium at Boca Raton plat approval): approved by roll call. - Resolution 1732025 (site‑plan amendment; 8‑story, 222‑unit building; 10% affordable, 5% workforce): approved by roll call.
Why it matters: The bundle alters both zoning and the future‑land‑use map for a portion of a former golf‑course parcel and permits a large new multifamily building near existing office uses. Staff framed the approvals as consistent with the comprehensive plan, citing policies on affordable/workforce housing and pedestrian/transit mobility; opponents and commenters pressed the council on retail/restaurant requirements, traffic studies and environmental mitigation.
Documents and authorities: The approvals reference the city's code (Article 6, Ch. 23), the CIMD eligibility standards, and the resolutions/ordinances listed above. Conditions recorded in the site‑plan resolution require an enforceable restrictive covenant for affordability and a 2,000‑square‑foot dog‑park at the project site.
Reporting note: Quotations and attributions in this article come from the council meeting record and the presenters on the Dec. 16, 2025 Boca Raton City Council meeting.
