Boca Raton’s Midtown to see growth, this time with nearly 300 new residences
The Midtown area of Boca Raton has kept booming — with the latest planned addition a new community of nearly 300 residences that will include affordable housing.
The six-story residential community is set to rise at 1800 N. Military Trail, a parcel that's tucked away near the Shops at Boca Center, a plaza that features many restaurants and stores, and a Marriott hotel. It's also about a mile east of the Town Center at Boca Raton mall.
In recent years, Boca Raton's Midtown has seen an influx of new buildings, such as Restaurant Row , which offers many new dining spots, and there's also a five-story multi-use project with medical space, offices and restaurants along North Military Trail.
"This is truly a perfect location," said Ele Zachariades, an urban planner and planning lawyer with Dunay, Miskel and Backman, who is behind the project, during a public city meeting on Oct. 8.
Of the new community's proximity to restaurants and stores, she said: "We have over 100,000 square feet of restaurant and retail, and not within a quarter-mile, but literally abutting us, and hundreds of square feet of office and hotels and the like."
The new community also will be near major roadways, situated south of Glades Road, just west of Interstate 95 and the tracks used by Tri-Rail.
'Live Local Act'
The project also will include a parking garage, a clubhouse and lounge, a co-working space, a gym and two outdoor pickleball courts.
Of the 295 units, 30 will be considered "affordable" and 15 will be considered "workforce housing," which will make use of Florida's Live Local Act , a state law aimed toward incentivizing affordable housing.
The law, signed last year by Gov. Ron DeSantis, provides tax incentives to developers if they allocate a portion of residential units to workforce or affordable housing for at least 30 years.
According to the Boca Raton's development services, an example of the rent for a one-person home that would be considered affordable could be $2,250 per month if the person is making $90,000 a year. Depending on what an owner for a development under the Live Local Act decides, homes could be rented for a lower rate; for example, a one-person household making $60,000 would pay $1,500 a month for an affordable or workforce unit.
Zachariades said at the meeting she is "ridiculously proud" that the project "will be providing 45 affordable and workforce housing units to our beautiful city."
David Abers, with the North American Development Group, a group associated with the project, said during the meeting that this specific area in Boca Raton hasn't seen any "residential construction" in many years.
"It's becoming increasingly difficult due to land constraints to create a live-work-play environment, which is the gold standard of urban planning," Abers said. "We are fortunate enough to already have a significant productive work and play at this location. ... We are also eager to deliver a high-end condo-level product to the rental space within Boca."
Bonnie Miskel, an attorney specializing in land use and zoning, said the city has been working to create more housing "inventory" for the working class.
The Boca Raton Midtown area is especially appealing as a spot for housing because it's a "huge employment center in our city," she said.
"There are a lot of people having to drive in and out of that area," Miskel said.
Adding residences reduces some of the trips people have to take to and from that area, whether it is to go to work, go to the mall or dine at one of the restaurants.
"Creating a compact environment is a successful way to do that," she said.
