Planning board approves conversion of Holiday Inn to 125 residential units with affordable set-aside

The Boca Raton Planning & Zoning Board voted unanimously to recommend approval of a site-plan amendment that would convert an existing Holiday Inn & Suites at 701 Northwest 53rd Street into a 125-unit residential building with retail and restaurant space.

Senior planner Jake McGurman told the board the proposal converts 183 hotel rooms into 125 residential units, of which 10% are classified as affordable and 5% as workforce units. The plan includes conversion of an amenity building into a roughly 5,545-square-foot restaurant with outdoor seating and creation of three retail bays totaling about 4,500 square feet. Staff recommended approval subject to conditions to improve pedestrian connectivity, ADA parking, landscaping and other standard site‑plan conditions.

Applicant representative David Millidge described site improvements, a new shared-use path linking to the El Rio Canal Trail, a bus shelter and a restaurant that ownership will market to private operators. He also told the board the conversion would likely reduce vehicle trips by an estimated 400 per day.

Board members questioned whether the interior conversion provided adequate parking and whether outdoor dining hours should be capped to protect residential quiet hours; some members suggested a 10 p.m. closing for outdoor seating while others preferred market-driven solutions. With no public speakers, a motion to approve the site-plan amendment passed on a 7–0 roll call.

The board’s approval will be forwarded to City Council as part of the regular review process.