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Boca Raton council gets interim-agreement update on downtown government campus as residents press for tennis and skate-park replacements
Summary
City staff said an interim agreement with Terra Frisbee will set roles, responsibilities and timelines for the downtown master partnership; council members pressed staff on cost estimates and which services must remain downtown, while residents delivered petitions and urged guaranteed replacement of tennis courts and a skate park.
Boca Raton city staff told the City Council on March 17 that an interim agreement with a private partner, Terra Frisbee, will define roles, responsibilities and milestone timelines as the city moves toward a master partnership agreement for a downtown government campus.
The update, delivered by a staff project lead and city manager representatives, said staff and consultant CBRE have met weekly to develop action plans, identify temporary office space and set up workgroups to refine the campus concept and public outreach. "Tomorrow is an important day because you're considering an interim agreement, with Terra Frisbee," the staff lead said, describing the interim deal as a tool to set responsibilities and project milestones before a final master partnership agreement.
Why it matters: Council members emphasized that key public-facing functions '1ike council chambers and meeting spaces '1should remain in the downtown campus even as staff evaluates whether some municipal services would be moved temporarily or permanently. Council members also asked staff to complete the cost-benefit analysis and feasibility work with CBRE before any long-term decisions are made.
During the discussion, council members pointed to preliminary construction estimates cited in recent proposals: "preliminary estimates from many of the proposers are at $600 or $700 or $800 a square foot," one council member said, and staff acknowledged the figures are part of ongoing due diligence. Staff also said earlier concept figures are evolving; an initial concept that once referenced about 162,000 square feet has been discussed in subsequent summaries as closer to 85,000 square feet, but staff described those numbers as work in progress and subject to further analysis.
Residents urged guarantees for recreation space in public comments. Judy Morrow presented a petition she said contains more than 250 signatures asking the city to retain the Boca Raton Tennis Center at its current site; she suggested a professional tennis stadium as an alternative to large-scale redevelopment. "Petition to save Boca Raton Tennis Center," Morrow said, asking the council to respond to nine emailed questions and to accept copies of the petition for the clerk's record.
Another speaker, Todd Adele, urged the council to ensure replacement skate facilities if the Tim Huxoldt skate park is removed. City staff responded that the plan includes replacement of softball, tennis and skate facilities and that staff is coordinating with the Beach & Park District; staff said replacement facilities may be partly downtown or elsewhere (for example, North Park) and acknowledged there may be times when a replacement facility is not immediately available during construction.
What happens next: Staff told the council it will present the interim agreement language and timelines at the next meeting and continue public engagement and feasibility work with CBRE before any final commitments. The council scheduled continued review during the upcoming interim-agreement hearing.
