Boca Raton Selects Terra and Frisbie to Redo City Hall Into 2M-SF Complex

South Florida developers Terra and Frisbie Group beat out legendary developer and Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross to redevelop Boca Raton City Hall into a 2.5 million-square-foot mixed-use complex.

The Boca Raton City Council on Tuesday unanimously selected the joint venture between the Miami-based Terra and Palm Beach-based Frisbie to remake the 30-acre property at 201 West Palmetto Park Road in Downtown Boca Raton. The city will now begin negotiations with the developers to hammer out a deal. 

“Every building at the downtown government center is at the end of its useful life. It’s underutilized,” said council member Marc Wigder. “We cannot have our City Council meetings there.”

Development plans call for the construction of 1,129 apartments, a 150-room hotel, 250,000 square feet of office space, and 156,690 square feet of retail space. The developers agreed to pay $5.1 million per year for the ground lease, in addition to a $10 million upfront fee.

“Our team is committed to transforming this space into a vibrant, eco-friendly district that harmoniously blends civic, residential and commercial uses,” per a statement from Terra and Frisbie Group. 

Ross’s proposal came second out of four. Other bids came from Namdar Group and RocaPoint Partners. 

Related Ross, the West Palm Beach-based venture that Ross launched last year after stepping down as chairman of New York-based Related Companies, put forth a 3.8 million-square-foot plan, which included 650 residential units, a 400-room hotel, 235,050 square feet of retail space, and nearly 1 million square feet of office space across three buildings.  

Council members said they found Related Ross’ proposal to have too much office space for central Boca Raton.

Julia Echikson can be reached at jechikson@commercialobserver.com.