Developer outlines scaled-down "1 BOCA" campus plan; council to review ballot language and leases ahead of March referendum

At a Nov. 17 workshop, Boca Raton officials and the developer behind the “1 BOCA” proposal presented a revised government campus plan that pares back private development, increases public open space and sets a timetable for council review and a March 10 referendum.

Deputy City Manager Andy Lukasik and developer Rob Frisbie said the private development program has been reduced from roughly 1.6 million square feet to just over 1.1 million square feet — roughly a 25% reduction — and that nearly all private development would be located east of Northwest 2nd Avenue to free west-side property for expanded park and civic uses. Frisbie said the plan would roughly double Memorial Park’s active and passive space from about 7.6 acres to more than 15 acres and reallocate civic buildings and recreation facilities on the west side.

City staff and CBRE, the city’s financial advisor on the deal, outlined the proposed deal structure: a 99-year ground lease that pays minimum base rent plus a percentage of developer revenue as the project stabilizes, a developer upside participation (CBRE described a 10% participation above an 8–10% yield-on-cost threshold), and a 1% transfer fee payable to the city when a stabilized, city-leased building is sold. CBRE’s illustrative numbers included a nominal projected ground-rent stream of about $1.9 billion over 99 years and various tax and fee streams; when discounted at 4.5%, CBRE’s slides showed present-value figures used for planning and comparison. CBRE also said the developer is expected to contribute about $7.8 million toward mobility improvements.

Staff emphasized that civic facilities and programming remain design-phase items that would be refined through further public outreach if the project proceeds. Proposed west-side public components described at the workshop included a 30,000–35,000-square-foot City Hall with customer-facing services and multipurpose meeting space; a community center with flexible meeting rooms and ground-floor food/beverage; a smaller downtown police and fire-rescue substation for public-facing functions and response vehicles; a tennis center (planned for 10 courts), basketball courts, and a modernized skate park; and a large flexible community green and a children’s playground.

The council was told of next procedural steps and deadlines tied to holding a public referendum: Dec. 2 will include a staff report and proposed ballot language (the city must submit ballot language to the supervisor of elections by Dec. 5 to qualify for the March referendum), Dec. 18 Planning & Zoning will review lease documents, Jan. 6 and Jan. 20 the City Council will consider the master partnership agreement, ground leases and construction-management agreement, and March 10 is the target date for a public ratification vote.

Public commenters voiced sharp concerns about the deal’s finances, transparency and potential private partnerships. John Perlman said the project “is centered around the Brightline” rail connection and criticized reliance on what he characterized as a financially troubled rail operator; that claim was his characterization and was presented as his view. Mike Leibelson, speaking for the community group Save Boca, said the transaction should be put to voters (he supports the petition effort) and criticized CBRE’s compensation and the deal’s projected use of downtown CIP resources. Pam Paschke asked staff to explain the 1% transfer fee and asked for assurances that park-side parking remain free. Several speakers asked to see the appraisal and the detailed cash-flow and sensitivity analyses behind CBRE’s roll-up numbers.

CBRE and staff said that PFM, the city’s independent financial advisor, is reviewing the underlying financial model and that detailed year-by-year cash-flow schedules and alternative scenarios (different discount and escalation rates) exist and have been provided for internal review. CBRE said the presented discounted figures used a 4.5% discount rate for long-term comparison but that it has prepared shorter-term analyses and alternate scenarios.

Council members asked technical questions about how the 1% transfer fee would apply (CBRE said it applies to sales of buildings on city-leased land, not private condo parcels on separate private land), how CRA tax-increment revenue is counted (council discussion noted the CRA expires in 2043 and that tax increment flows will change at that time), and whether ground-lease language will include a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes clause to guard against state-level changes to property-tax rules (staff confirmed a PILOT clause is included and negotiable).

No formal action or vote occurred; staff said follow-up materials and answers to detailed budget and appraisal questions would be provided to council and the public, and PFM’s review would be presented before decisions to place measures on the ballot. The City Council is expected to revisit the items at upcoming meetings and to consider ballot language at the Dec. 2 meeting.