Boca Raton advances RFQ for downtown civic-area master plan amid dispute over police headquarters

Mayor Andy Thompson opened the workshop and allowed staff to present a request-for-qualifications process to guide a downtown civic-area master plan covering 17 acres near Memorial Park and associated government campus sites.

Staff member Sohaney said today's meeting was the RFQ "kickoff" and turned the presentation to Deputy City Manager Andy Lukasik. Deputy City Manager Andy Lukasik told the council the city would aim to post the RFQ by May 15, give firms about three weeks to respond, shortlist candidates for late‑June or early‑July interviews, and target council action on a contract for the consultant on July 28 so the master-planning process can conclude by January. "We're going to listen first and design after," Lukasik said, describing a six‑phase public engagement program that includes a launch, an active listening month, a week‑long public design charette, iterative refinement and monthly council touchpoints.

Staff recommended excluding the police facility from this RFQ because an internal consultant (ADG) already produced a space‑needs analysis and conceptual plans; staff said the city could pursue the police facility work in parallel using internal architects and a community advisory panel if the council so directed.

Councilmember Perlman sharply disagreed with the staff path. Perlman called the ADG concept a "Taj Mahal" and cited a $190,000,000 figure the firm had produced for a police headquarters. He argued the city should seek efficiency by issuing a single RFP that would invite competitive proposals for three government buildings — city hall, the community center and the police headquarters — rather than staging separate procurements. "We need to include the police station in the RFP because we can't wait anymore," Perlman said, adding that combined procurement could produce better pricing and negotiating leverage.

Other councilmembers said they supported robust resident-driven engagement before changing the scope. Councilmember Drucker and others emphasized the need for more data on cost, building scale and whether residents want a full headquarters downtown or a different configuration, and urged keeping the RFQ's public-engagement focus intact. Staff and City Attorney Kaylor explained that Florida procurement law (CCNA) requires qualifications‑based selection for architectural services and that pricing is negotiated after firms are ranked; staff also described alternative delivery models, including construction-manager-at-risk and design‑bid‑build, that affect how price and scope are obtained.

The council did not take a binding vote at the workshop. Staff said they would return with more information, and Mayor Thompson suggested scheduling a dedicated workshop on the police facility location and options so the council and staff could be "fully armed" with data before deciding whether to alter the RFQ.

Next steps: staff will finalize the RFQ materials and the public engagement framework, with council review of consultant shortlists and interviews anticipated in late June or July. The council requested additional cost and location information about police headquarters options and signaled a separate workshop to resolve that question.