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Planning board recommends removing 129.6 acres from Boca Technology Center DRI, sends amendment to council
Summary
The Boca Raton Planning & Zoning Board voted 6‑0 Jan. 6 to recommend a DRI amendment that would shrink the Boca Technology Center DRI from about 217.5 acres to 87.9 acres by removing roughly 129.6 acres including the former IBM/Boca Raton Innovation Campus and a nearby utility site; staff said remaining entitlements and traffic trip credits stay with the remainder of the DRI.
On Jan. 6, 2026, the Boca Raton Planning & Zoning Board voted unanimously to recommend that the City Council approve an amendment to the Boca Technology Center development of regional impact (DRI) to remove about 129.6 acres from the DRI and reduce the DRI’s total area from approximately 217.5 acres to 87.9 acres.
Senior Planner Peter Begovich told the board the amendment would remove the roughly 124‑acre former IBM campus (the Boca Raton Innovation Campus) at 5000 T Rex Avenue and a roughly 5.4‑acre utility/generator site near Northwest Spanish River Boulevard. “The amendment requests removal of approximately 129 acres from the DRI and requires a recommendation from the board prior to consideration by the city council,” Begovich said during the staff presentation. He said staff’s analysis finds no new regional impacts, no increase in external peak‑hour trips and no net reduction in required open space within the revised DRI boundaries.
The applicant’s representative, David Milledge, said the applicant is not seeking additional entitlements. “We’re not seeking any entitlements…This is just an additional layer of review that is no longer needed,” Milledge said, adding that vested traffic trip credits and remaining entitlements would remain available to the parcels left in the DRI.
Several property owners and their counsel urged the board to slow the process and allow more time for outreach and information sharing. Steve Tilbrook, speaking for property owner GEO Group, said owners had received notice late, have outstanding questions about who would pick up DRI obligations if the primary developer leaves, and requested a continuance. “We’re here asking for a continuance,” Tilbrook said. Staff and the applicant told the board they are willing to meet with owners to answer questions before the item goes to the City Council.
After closing the public hearing, the board moved and seconded a recommendation to approve the amendment and recorded a 6‑0 roll call in favor. The board’s recommendation will be forwarded to the City Council for final action; the council schedule was noted in the meeting record.
What happens next: the board’s favorable recommendation is advisory; the City Council will take the final vote on the DRI amendment and any related ordinances or resolutions.
