Should Boca Raton add downtown offices and a parking garage? Here’s why the plan faces opposition

A proposal is advancing to bring more new buildings to downtown Boca Raton, one of South Florida’s fast-growing destinations, offering office space and rooftop dining. But even as proponents favor the economic opportunity, some upset residents have rallied against the proposal.

The city’s Planning and Zoning Board voted 6-1 in favor of Aletto Square, which would feature a 10-story office space with rooftop dining, another six-story office building and a six-story parking garage with roughly 550 spaces.

It would be situated along Palmetto Park Road and Northeast First Avenue, one block from Federal Highway.

The vote came during a public hearing Thursday evening after more than three hours of back and forth among developers, residents, business owners and the board. More than a dozen Boca Raton residents pleaded with the board to seek more modifications from the developers.

Planning changes

Downtown Boca Raton is in need of Class A office space to stimulate economic activity, says Carl Klepper Jr., the vice president of developer Compson Associates.

“There hasn’t been a real Class A office space in the downtown in 20 years,” he told the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

Remote work is on the rise — the number of Americans working from home tripled from 2019 to 2021 — but Klepper said not every job may be capable of operating virtually. Some jobs require face-to-face meetings.

Klepper also said Compson Associates is attempting to “bring in tenants from other areas,” including outside of Florida. “We’ve been approached by some higher-profile organizations that have migrated and are looking for other areas,” he said.

Raising concerns

The proposal has faced pushback from some residents, including about a year ago when the nearly 100-year-old Cramer House was demolished to make room for the Aletto parking garage.

And now, even after developers made revisions, some residents are still angry about Aletto, arguing its size may decrease walkability in downtown Boca, increase traffic congestion, which is a growing concern, and strip the area of the historical allure that attracts so many people to live and visit.

Alan Neibauer, 77, of Boca Raton, said he thinks Aletto would disrupt downtown Boca in irreversible ways. He created a petition in November 2021 that has since garnered more than 1,700 signatures, many of them from people who don’t live downtown.

“It’s not a local thing,” he said. “People have been coming down to this area, they go to the park in Sanborn Square, and they’re just upset that the nature of what used to be the charm of the city is gone.”

One of the opponents’ primary arguments against Aletto’s construction is the current infrastructure would not support a development of that size because the streets around Sanborn Square are already narrow.

But developers are planning to widen an alley to help alleviate traffic.

During the meeting, the board was presented with information about traffic patterns in the area. Currently, 397 car trips are generated each day. With Aletto, that number is projected to go up to more than 2,300 daily trips.

Neibauer said he and others don’t mind new construction in the area, but oppose the sheer size of the plan. They also argue the buildings would block views, including the park.

“They do yoga in the park, and what we hear people calling it is instead of the yoga in the park, it’s going to be yoga in the dark because of the shade from the buildings,” he said. “This thing is just going to stick out like a sore thumb.”

In response to the persistent grievances about the project, Klepper said he feels Compson has satisfied everyone’s concerns.

“You’re always going to have people who want to voice their opinion,” he said. “There is a few people I’ve talked to, you just won’t make them happy.”

Planning panel weighs in

Joe Panella, a Zoning and Planning Board member, was the only one who voted against moving forward with the Aletto proposal as is.

“I’ll never understand why you [developers] can’t just draw something that complies,” he said.

The other board members were not as concerned, with some, such as Larry Cellon, expressing excitement over the prospect of a surge in downtown business activity.

Though the potential spike in traffic was the most prominent issue to the board members, it was relatively put to rest after Cellon pointed out how the proposed parking garage would be open to the public after business hours, which would increase parking availability for the area, especially during events.

“We’re bringing a Class A office building into our downtown, and I think that’s really going to help our downtown economy,” he said. “It’s going to help the retail, it’s going to help the restaurants, it’s going to bring diversity.”

Another public hearing for Aletto is set for Monday afternoon with the Boca Raton Community Redevelopment Agency.