Council hears CBRE update and four developer pitches as downtown ranking nears

Boca Raton — CBRE presented updated financial comparisons of four teams bidding to redevelop the city’s government campus and downtown on Monday, and the four proposers each gave final pitches as the council prepared to rank the respondents at a scheduled meeting the next day.

CBRE consultant Leigh Ann Kors told the City Council the firm had asked proposers to model civic components on a consistent basis — an 85,000-square-foot city hall and a 35,000-square-foot community center — so the city could compare bids on the same assumptions. A CBRE analyst said the team adjusted its tax-increment modeling (raising the tax-growth assumption to 3% and the discount rate to 4.5%) and reported several proposal-specific changes, including ground-rent increases, transfer-fee commitments and revised unit counts.

The updates matter because the council will use the normalized financial analysis alongside qualitative evaluations when it ranks the teams tomorrow and opens negotiations with the top-ranked proposer. CBRE said the city will host an open house Feb. 19 (6–8 p.m.) for the highest-ranked respondent and aims to finish a negotiated, nonbinding interim agreement by March 18.

CBRE’s financial summary highlighted these substantive numeric changes: BRCC increased an assumed rent constant to 5%, raising annual ground rent from $4,000,000 to $5,100,000 and adding a $10,000,000 allowance for off-site improvements; Namdar substantially reduced on-site unit counts under the city’s new civic footprint assumptions (CBRE showed a reduction to roughly 3,600 units pro rata) and lowered an earlier credit to the city from $415,000,000 to $328,000,000; Related Ross revised its unit valuation assumptions (reported per-unit values moved from $30,000 to $35,000 in CBRE’s yield-on-cost model) and changed escalation timing for ground rent for financing purposes.

The four proposers presented different approaches. Phil Mays of Bridal Point Partners outlined Roca Point’s owner-representative model, emphasizing management of public buildings and enhanced on-site recreational space. Related Ross’s Jordan Vargas and CEO Steven Ross pitched a mixed-use plan focused on local office to attract employers, and said the team is willing to work within the city’s existing downtown height limit while preserving civic priorities. Efra Namdar described a privately funded, efficiency-focused residential approach that now anticipates a 10-floor cap and about 3,600 units, with an affordable component. Rob Frisbie and David Martin presented Boca Raton City Center (Frisbie/Terra), stressing lower density, pedestrian connections and a plan to deed a private parcel (Boca Color Graphics) to the city and lease it back with a rent credit; they also proposed $10,000,000 for off‑site improvements including a pedestrian bridge across North Dixie Highway. Frisbie/Terra said their plan would retain or relocate recreational facilities and program public space.

Residents packed the meeting room for the public comment period. Supporters of Related Ross argued the firm’s track record (including work in West Palm Beach) would deliver jobs, offices and destination retail. "I strongly believe that Related Ross is the right group for our city's future," said Brian Sedrish, a resident who testified in favor of Related. Other speakers urged the council to protect downtown recreational uses — softball fields, tennis courts (a proposer said a plan includes eight courts, four indoor and four outdoor), the skate park and green space — and pressed for explicit timelines so youth sports seasons are not disrupted. "We ask that before the city bulldozes the current fields, they have a working softball field in place," said Brooke Moriarty, advocating for equity and continuity for girls' sports.

Councilmembers pressed staff and CBRE for more detail on timing, tax-ratio differences between the city and the community redevelopment agency and how the CRA's 2042 expiration affected long-term projections. CBRE confirmed CRA expiration was incorporated into models. No ranking or contract action occurred at the workshop; the council is scheduled to rank the firms at the upcoming council meeting and to continue public outreach and negotiations after that.

Next steps: council ranking on Feb. 11, a proposer's open house on Feb. 19 for the top-ranked respondent and a staff-targeted negotiated interim agreement by March 18. The council reiterated that additional public input and planning work on civic square footage, community center design and facility relocations will continue during negotiations.