Residents press council to protect Memorial Park as downtown campus plan moves forward

The Boca Raton City Council heard a detailed presentation on Sept. 22 from the city’s proposed development partner about a revised downtown campus plan that reduces building heights on the west side of the site, expands public green space and keeps a children’s museum and extensive recreation features in the design. The developer representative, Mr. Frisbie, told the council the plan was “listening” to resident feedback and that open houses are scheduled for Sept. 29 and Oct. 6.

The presentation mattered because the plan would change how much of Memorial Park and adjacent public land is used for civic facilities versus private development. The revised design, the developer said, cuts residential units from earlier proposals to about 740, reduces office and retail square footage and removes a hotel, while preserving five banyan trees, adding a veterans memorial and increasing on‑site usable recreation area compared with current counts.

Residents who spoke during the workshop’s public comment period pushed back sharply. John Perlman said Save Boca submitted more than 5,000 signatures Aug. 26 seeking a citywide ordinance and accused the council of continuing to discuss the developer plan rather than…