Developers David Martin of Terra and the Frisbie Group are moving forward with their proposed One Boca mixed-use project after receiving unanimous support from the Boca Raton Planning and Zoning Board. The board voted 7-0 in favor of a 99-year lease that would allow the developers to build on and near 7.8 acres of city-owned land by the Brightline train station.
The proposal now advances to the Boca Raton City Council, which will consider it on January 6 for a first reading. If approved, city voters will have final say in a referendum scheduled for March 10.
Under current plans, led by Rob Frisbie Jr. and Cody Crowell of Frisbie Group, along with Terra, the development would include 765 apartments—77 designated as workforce housing—180 hotel rooms, 120,000 square feet of office space, a grocery store spanning 30,000 square feet, and parking for 2,100 vehicles. These facilities would be located north of Palmetto Park Road and east of Northwest Second Avenue. The residential component is planned for the current site of the Boca Raton Police Station at 101 Northwest Boca Raton Boulevard.
Additionally, Frisbie and Terra plan to develop a separate mixed-use building with 182 condo units on private land they are under contract to purchase at 141 Northwest Fourth Street.
The overall size of One Boca has been reduced from its original proposal in February when Terra and Frisbie initially sought approval for a much larger project covering up to 2.5 million square feet across multiple parcels—including redevelopment of city hall and Memorial Park. The current plan totals just over 538,000 square feet.
Opposition from residents led to further scaling back of the project’s scope. Community group Save Boca collected enough signatures to trigger a referendum requirement for large public land deals; although a judge blocked this general measure (a decision now under appeal), city officials still opted to put One Boca before voters specifically.
Development is now limited east of Northwest Second Avenue; west side areas including Memorial Park will remain public spaces featuring new civic facilities such as city hall, community center, recreational amenities, police substation, and parking garage—all built by Terra and Frisbie in exchange for an undetermined developer’s fee. The developers have also committed $7.9 million toward off-site public improvements.
Financially, the agreement calls for annual payments from developers: seven percent of gross revenues from residential operations and four percent each from retail, office, and hotel uses; an additional ten percent applies above certain revenue thresholds tied to developer costs.
Deputy City Manager Andrew Lukasik told board members that “the lease also has ‘strong default and termination rights for the city.’”
Supporters on the planning board emphasized alignment with downtown revitalization goals rather than financial details. “You will not be evaluating the leases themselves in terms of economics,” Lukasik said during deliberations.
Board member Gergory Mitchell voiced concern about potential returns but urged council members “to get the best bang for our buck.” Chairman Arnold Sevell remarked that downtown redevelopment was overdue: “We have good momentum and I think we should keep it moving.”
However, Jon Pearlman—founder of Save Boca—said opposition remains strong: “We are in power. We are in control,” he said during public comments. “This is just a show, and it is meaningless and we have the ultimate say and vote.”
