01-05-2025
A revised plan to move Publix, build 341 residences moves forward for Boca Raton plaza
A developer is moving forward with a revised plan to redevelop a Boca Raton shopping plaza, now filed under the state's Live Local Act and proposing even more residences than before.
Palmetto Park Square is directly east of Interstate 95, off West Palmetto Park Road and situated among several neighborhoods and schools.
The center offers a wide range of tenants, including Publix, YouFit Gyms, a dentist, a Keke's Breakfast Cafe, a pet shop and a soccer store. There's also a long-defunct Kmart building there. Some residents at times have decried what they consider a lack of pedestrian access, but the redevelopment plan will address that by offering many on-site walkways.
Now, plaza owner Selig Enterprises has gone forward with submitting plans to city officials to completely overhaul the plaza with a new Publix, new shops and 341 residences by December 2029.
Of those 341 residences, 136 — or 40% — would be considered affordable under the Live Local Act, the state's new affordable housing law that offers tax incentives for developers who allocate a portion of residential projects to affordable housing for 'a diversity of incomes within the area,' according to city documents.
The 341 homes would be within a five-story multifamily building and three-story townhouses.
Last year, when Selig submitted preliminary site plans, the project proposed 319 residences. Selig vice president of development Hunter Lainhart said the feedback from the city and residents has helped guide changes to the proposal, such as creating green space with 'public gathering' opportunities.
'(We're) really trying to create that gathering spot that, you know, perhaps there's programmed events that as a development that we put on in the future that we allow other organizations in the community to put on,' Lainhart said. 'It'd be that spot where you'd have a Santa or you'd have the people selling Girl Scout cookies in the spring or whatever it might be that's just not there now.'
The new Publix would take the place of the former Kmart building, and some of the shops would stay while new ones would be brought on.
It's too early to say what the new retail will be though, Lainhart said.
'We've got a great tenant roster currently at the site,' he said.
Lindsey Willis, a Publix spokesperson, wrote in an email that there currently are no details to share on the changes with the Palmetto Park Square Publix.
The other Palmetto Park Plaza businesses that the Sun Sentinel contacted about the redevelopment plan either did not respond or did not want to comment.
The switch to the Live Local Act also was a byproduct of the preliminary project feedback along with stakeholder conversations that helped Selig get 'comfortable with that 40% threshold,' Lainhart said.
'There is a serious problem here with folks that work in this area being able to afford to live in the area, coupled with the fact that you do have very high incomes in this area,' he said.
According to the city, no other projects have been approved under the Live Local Act. However, at least five projects have been approved under the city's local ordinance that requires 10% affordable units and an optional 5% workforce housing units.
The Live Local Act is known as the Mixed-Use Multifamily Development under the city's code, which specifies that project approval be administrative, allowing developers to bypass much of government bureaucracy. However, an aspect of Selig's project relating to parking first could require resolution by the city before it can be 'acted upon administratively,' according to the city.
The last time the plan was brought up during a public meeting, residents voiced worries about how the addition of homes to the plaza could lower property values and increase traffic in an already-congested area.
Fresh concerns were recently raised online as residents learned about the updated plan.
'That corner/area will be a nightmare, and how much wider can they make Palmetto Park Rd. east of NW 12th?!' one Nextdoor user wrote.
According to a traffic impact analysis conducted by JMD Engineering per Palm Beach County traffic data and requirements, the project is expected to generate 3,841 fewer 'net external daily trips.'
'Our traffic study shows that you're actually reducing vehicle trips,' Nelson Mullins land use attorney Michael Marshall said. Marshall is representing Selig for the project.
As for people's concerns about diminished property values, Marshall said he believes the opposite scenario could take place.
'I just haven't seen evidence that it will go down, and I think that most people that look at it objectively would believe that the property values are going to go up,' he said.
