The Boca Raton Planning & Zoning Board has voted to support a proposal by developers James and Marta Batmasian for a mixed-use hotel project near Mizner Park. The board recommended, in a 5-1 vote on Thursday, the approval of parking space waivers and zoning changes that would allow construction of Mizner Plaza at 132 and 170 Northeast Second Street. The planned development includes two 12-story towers with 242 hotel rooms, nearly 19,000 square feet of retail space, and 16,000 square feet for restaurants.
If built, the project will replace an existing U.S. Post Office branch and a retail plaza. Additionally, the board voted to recommend transferring the city’s 0.3-acre parking lot at 190 Northeast Second Street to the Batmasians for use as underground parking.
Dorothy MacDiarmid was the only board member to vote against both measures. Final decisions will be made by Boca Raton’s mayor and city council at a later date.
According to land use attorney Ele Zachariades, “The parking waiver will allow the Batmasians to build just 372 spaces at the 1.9-acre site instead of the 569 spaces currently required.” She added that plans include two levels of underground parking beneath what is now a city-owned lot with 17 spaces.
Zachariades also stated that “the waiver will allow the developer to incorporate a stepped-style crafted by Boca Raton-architecture firm HdA that would place the retail, restaurant spaces and amenities on the first, second, fourth and 12th floors of the hotel.” Hotel room sizes are expected to range from 380 to 1,100 square feet.
The Batmasians have offered to replace all current public parking spots and convert above-ground areas into a mini public park. However, most board members agreed with city staff who recommended selling the land for its appraised value—$2.4 million—with $900,000 paid in cash and remaining value covered through public improvements or maintenance credits.
Zachariades warned that without these approvals “the developers would pursue a design that would end up blocking most condo dwellers’ views and consist almost entirely of hotel rooms.”
Residents from Tower 155 condominium voiced concerns about increased traffic congestion resulting from over “2,400 daily new trips in the area once the hotel is built,” as noted by planning consultant Jeff Costello. Much of this traffic is expected through an alleyway between Tower 155 and Mizner Plaza’s future site.
Richard De Witt, representing Tower 155’s association as legal counsel, argued for delay due to procedural issues regarding both project review and sale of city property: “Once the developers saw [the appraisal] they balked at the price and demanded a new appraisal,” he said during Thursday’s meeting while noting an earlier valuation had put land worth at $3.3 million rather than $2.4 million.
Zachariades responded by saying that “the first appraisal included public properties that were not part of her clients’ undergrounding plans.”
Despite opposition from some residents, several board members expressed support for redevelopment efforts downtown: “I do think it is a beautiful building. Mizner needs something. Mizner has a lot of problems,” said Timothy Dornblaser during deliberations.
This marks James and Marta Batmasian’s second attempt since summer of 2023 to launch such a project near Mizner Park; their earlier plan proposed two slightly smaller buildings totaling more rooms plus expanded retail space.
James Batmasian is known as one half of Investments Limited—a major local real estate developer founded in the early eighties—and previously served prison time after pleading guilty in connection with payroll tax evasion before receiving a pardon from President Donald Trump in December 2020.
