Boca Raton CRA pauses enforcement as Center for the Arts seeks to realign fundraising plan

The Boca Raton Community Redevelopment Agency on Nov. 4 agreed to take no immediate enforcement action after the group behind the proposed Center for the Arts and Innovation declined to sign a conditional extension of its development agreement and said it will seek to amend the timetable and fundraising thresholds.

CRA director Mister Brown said the board had adopted resolutions in October that conditionally approved landlord plans and included an "extension of time to meet [a] second fundraising threshold." The conditional extension would have extended the deadline by 78 days to Jan. 7, required disclosure of cash-on-hand within five days of the extension letter, and required updated construction budget and business-plan information by Dec. 31, Brown said. Because the center did not execute the conditional-extension letter by the October 25 deadline, Brown said the extension and the conditional approval "are null and void."

Brian Hickey, an attorney representing the center, told the board the organization received the letter but could not sign an agreement it believes it cannot meet. "We cannot satisfy the very conditions that are in that letter," Hickey said. He asked the CRA and city staff to "reserve your rights" while the center works with consultants and donors to prepare a proposed realignment amendment, saying the center intends to submit proposed revised thresholds and dates by Nov. 25 and asked to be placed on a January agenda for consideration.

Several board members said they were inclined to give the center additional time but repeated that the City must preserve contractual remedies if the center fails to meet revised commitments. "I don't believe while we have the right to take certain actions today, I don't feel the need to do so today," a committee member said, urging a pause until January to see what the center proposes. Vice Chair Thompson said he supported a suspended state to allow additional time but warned the city is not obliged to accept whatever is proposed.

Another committee member urged greater transparency if an amendment is submitted, saying the City should expect audited and quarterly financial reports and clearer disclosure of the centers board and budget. The board and staff agreed that the suspension would effectively end on Jan. 7 and that the CRA would take up the matter again at its January 13 workshop meeting.

Procedural matters handled earlier in the meeting included a motion to move the director's report up on the agenda and the adoption of minutes from the Oct. 7 and Oct. 21 meetings. No resolutions or further actions were adopted related to the center at the Nov. 4 meeting.

The agency reserved the right to exercise remedies under the pre-construction and development agreement if the center fails to meet any future agreed deadlines, and staff said the centers proposed realignment would be subject to negotiation and council approval before becoming effective.