Alright, I know. In a forum for Miami it can be easy to forget about the region that the Miami metro area covers. I'm welcoming comments or concerns about the direction and future of the city of Boca Raton.

For some, here are a few fun facts:
- Boca Raton became a city in 1925.
- The city's incorporated population is about 85,000 covering an area of about 28 square miles. The total population (unincorporated included) is about 310,000 covering an area of about 88 square miles.
- It is the Spam capital of the United States.
- Home of the world famous Boca Raton Resort and Club, Florida Atlantic University, Town Center Mall at Boca Raton, and the successful mixed-use community of Mizner Park (among many other successful and world-class establishments).
- The city began a unique trend in the 1960's with strict guidelines on commercial exposure and landscape requirements seen by city roads/highways.

Some concerns of mine for the city are the improvements that must be made to mass transit. I've learned that Tri-Rail has selected their station on Yamato Road (in Boca Raton) to be a hub for their rail and commuting services. They are to construct an air-conditioned five-story complex that will include 50,000 square feet of office space and an additional 20,000 square feet of restaurants and eateries. For commuting services they have designated 10 to 15 slots for buses with adequate shading and bench space to accomadate a large number of commuters, all directly next to the rail platform. A project that I have not seen mentioned, however that I am optimistic will be conducted, is an elevated rail line of some sort connecting the station directly to the FAU campus located roughly one mile to the south. A direct link could be constructed at or above the newly constructed Tri-Rail platfrom and take passengers south, over I-95 and accross Spanish River Blvd. directly to the heart of the FAU campus. A direct link must be constructed to the campus to relieve the large number of commuters that go to the school everyday, the planned university hospital and relocation of the Boca Raton Community Hospital onto the FAU campus, and most importantly the planned 40,000-seat enclosed dome stadium on the north end of the campus. Other plans for the university include constructing a cancer research center, adding nearly 2400 dorm rooms, building a much needed student union, and welcoming retailers onto the university campus. Another benefit of an elevated rail system from the Boca Raton Train Station through the FAU campus is it can extend south to Glades Road: the most traveled on artery in Palm Beach County (aside from possibly Okeechobee Blvd). In the long range plans for Palm Beach County it is outlined that there will be some sort of RBT (Rapid Bus Transit) or perhaps light rail running along Glades Road from US-1 in the east to SR-7 (aka US-441) to the west. From 441 the RBT/Light Rail would continue southward into Broward County (a whole other thread on transit). A sort of "mini-hub" (for lack of a better word) could be created by the elevated rail and the RBT/light rail at the enterance of FAU @ Glades Road.

I hope I'm not the only skyscrapercity user that is concerned about this wonderful city I proudly call home. So please, I welcome any additional thoughts about improvements, kudos, projects, or plans for the city of Boca Raton. Thank you. ;)

I thought the spam capital of the US was Hawaii

How do they figure out who is the spam capital? Geeze the amount of the crap that I get drives me nuts and I dont live in the capital. Actually the REAL spam capital of the world is Austin Minnesota home of Hormel foods who produces the real SPAM :D

It had something to do with the amount spam email scams that are run out of Boca Raton.

Anyone else get emails from Nigeria?

Any info on additional development in downtown Boca?

--> Article from the Boca Raton Newspaper; they want to create a "spine" in downtown Boca connecting Mizner with Royal Palm Place. To sum it up, the spine (or pedestrian friendly connection) is essential to attracting a healthier looking and more urban downtown.

‘Spine’ walkway could be backbone of a vibrant downtown Boca Raton
Idea for a pedestrian connector linking north and south ends of the center city has been around since the 1960s

Published Monday, November 14, 2005 1:00 am
by By Dale M. King

Milo Smith may finally get his wish.

Back in 1968, the land planner came up with a proposal to pump life into young downtown Boca Raton by creating a “spine,” a pedestrian connector linking the north and south ends of the center city.

It was an intriguing idea – and parts of a spine have already been incorporated into the north and south ends.

Nearly 40 years later, the City Council – acting as the Community Redevelopment Agency – is looking to complete the walkway that will link Mizner Park to the revived Royal Palm Place, former Royal Palm Plaza.

“Leif [City Manager Leif Ahnell] and I have been meeting with interested parties,” said Development Services Director Jorge Camejo. The Downtown Visions Committee is also considering ways of making the spine happen.

Earlier this year, the CRA voted unanimously to authorize spine negotiations involving the Downtown Visions Committee, city Development Services and downtown property owners.

“We did a charrette [planning document] for the spine about 15 years ago,” said Mayor Steven Abrams.

Even before that, Smith proposed linking Boca’s downtown by means of a pedestrian walkway. That plan was scuttled after Boca Raton Mall was completed in 1972, according to Camejo.

But then the mall folded in the 1980s, making way for the construction of Mizner Park on the same piece of property by the end of the decade.

About that same time, developer George Barbar proposed a massive downtown project called Barbar Center, which would have provided the middle section of the spine.

The council approved Barbar Center, but voters forced the issue to a referendum – and it was rejected.

“This is where the spine slipped a disc,” quipped Mayor Abrams. Traffic engineers suggested bringing the spine up First Avenue. But it would have crossed Palmetto Park Road very close to Federal Highway. Too close, they said, for two traffic signals, since traffic would back up through the major crossroad.

Deputy Mayor Susan Whelchel, who pushed the issue to a CRA vote months ago after meeting with Camejo and a group of property owners, said she viewed the walkway as central to a pedestrian-friendly redesign of Boca’s downtown, including the redevelopment of Palmetto Park Road.

“It’s extremely exciting that we have a council ready to deal with it,” she said. “We don’t know exactly what it’s going to look like or exactly where it’s going to go, but we’ve authorized Jorge to come up with a plan.”

She said finishing the spine “is the right thing to do for the survival of our downtown.”

Councilman Bill Hager, who is also CRA chairman, said he feels residents and business owners have ramped up their support of a pedestrian-friendly link.

Councilman Peter Baronoff said progress on the spine would be a necessary step to “branding” the downtown – a project he brought up and endorsed enthusiastically during council planning meetings in May.

The spine won’t sprout overnight. Currently, there is no way to build a walkway without demolishing an existing parking lot or business.

But planning officials have a focus. Camejo said precursors to a spine already exist “south of Palmetto Park Road and north of Second Street to Mizner Park.” It’s the two blocks in between that need work.

“The ideal would be some extension of Second Street, either with a traffic circle, straight or with a jog.”
Adding a curvature to the “spine” isn’t out of the question, he said.

“The policy makers are anxious to have something come about,” the development director added. “We have to create an incentive.”

Camejo said he and Hager will meet “to map out an action plan.”

that sounds pretty nice... are we talkin kinda like a lincoln road kinda thing?

I'd imagine similar to a Lincoln Road; however, since it makes up the heart of Boca, it may be a little more urban than that segment of Miami Beach. (To be honest, I am not at all familiar with Miami Beach, so it may be similar to Lincoln Road). I hope it's more like a locust walk (if you're at all familiar with the University of Pennsylvania campus, the Locust Walk is no access to cars).

Oh, another thing: what do you guys think about the North Federal Highway Plan? Does anyone have any pics of North Federal Highway development throughout Boca Raton? And what's going on with the renovation of the Boca Resort and Club? I read somewhere about them building a newer, state-of-the-art hotel on the ocean. (Sweet)... Another new addition to the city made on 11/19: A carousel at Sugar Sand Park. After reading the spread about the possible "new theme park" at Metro Zoo, it got me wondering if they could convert Sugar Sand Park into a mini-theme park. Comments anyone?

OKAY PEOPLE, SINCE I AM THE ONLY ONE WHO POSTS IN THIS FORUM ANYMORE... I'm sure all of us from S. Florida know about the Marlins' anticipated move from Miami. As they mention the possiblity of moving as far away as Vegas, there is still a possibility of them staying down here in Florida. The question is "where?" (WTF is this doing on the Boca forum, right). I say, if they're looking for a place to construct a stadium, why don't they talk to FAU in Boca? The FAU campus is planning their 40,000-domed stadium. The access from 95, the convenience of the "finally" opened Tri-Rail Station, and the land availability on the university campus (and around the campus) is perfect for multiple stadium construction. What do you guys think?

they want a baseball only facility and i doubt west palm beach or fau is willing to pay and build them a stadium. and also it wouldn't be a wise decision since there attendance would probably decrease even more.

Enjoyed my drive through Boca the other day, on US 1. Saw a Ferrari F430, a Bentley GT and a Viper (which, in Boca is probably the car you take grocery shopping).

Coming back through on 95, the Yamamoto interchange has a frozen-in-the-80's look about it. No recent construction anywhere.

building a stadium in boca is way to fukin far from the small fan base they actually have and are desperately trying to keep and build on... moving the stadium that far would just kill the team, as all the fans outside of north broward would just say fuk it and attendence would move even lower... if thats possible

get out to those games people! its our fault we lost beckett and lowell

Hey Nimbyhater. What do you mean they wouldn't come to a stadium in Boca? What about the Anaheim Angels? Their stadium (let alone the city of Anaheim) aren't very noteworthy places; however, there is a very strong fan base and plenty of people from far away (as far north as Valencia) that do go to Anaheim for a baseball game. As long as the stadium has a decent location (parallel to a highway, as Angel Stadium is on the 405), has a defining characteristic that makes it unique from other stadiums (such as Anaheim's waterfall in the back field), and the cost to build is reasonably cheap (the domed stadium at FAU is estimated to cost between $105 to $148 million, 1/4 the cost of the Miami proposal), the Marlins could have a stadium in Boca and I bet that fans will come. And another plus about a stadium at or near the FAU campus is the zoning surrounding it; there are not that many people nearby that would say NIMBY, NIMBY. And the city of Boca Raton, Palm Beach County, and the State of Florida would probably accept Boca as a doable proposal. With the strict guidelines Boca Raton has set on landscaping, signage, and architectural appeal, a new stadium here could really be an A+ for city-leaders looking to make Boca Raton the "world-class city" it is destined to become.

And Dale, about your drive through Boca recently. I totally agree with you about US-1. I've made the drive myself from Ft. Lauderdale International Airport all the way up to Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach, and the section of Federal Highway in Boca Raton is by far the most attractive (aside possibly from downtown Ft. Lauderdale). As for I-95 and Yamato, a lot of new stuff is supposed to happen there in the next couple of years. The city is anticipating to construct a mixed use village around there to increase the effectiveness of the SFRTA (South Florida Regional Transportation Authority) Hub. I also recall reading several months ago that the T-Rex corporation has some plans on building upward as well.

DS -

Good news about those changes @ 95/Yamato !

Orange county has nearly 3 million people, I would hardly say Anaheim is isolated considering it has a population nearly as large as the city of Miami.

i was in boca raton twice (4 and 5 years ago) for training trips at fau. boca raton is a nice area. it looks great for a smaller city in the miami metro area. the beachfront area is nice as well.

anyone have any pictures?

Hey Nimbyhater. What do you mean they wouldn't come to a stadium in Boca? What about the Anaheim Angels? Their stadium (let alone the city of Anaheim) aren't very noteworthy places; however, there is a very strong fan base and plenty of people from far away (as far north as Valencia) that do go to Anaheim for a baseball game. As long as the stadium has a decent location (parallel to a highway, as Angel Stadium is on the 405), has a defining characteristic that makes it unique from other stadiums (such as Anaheim's waterfall in the back field), and the cost to build is reasonably cheap (the domed stadium at FAU is estimated to cost between $105 to $148 million, 1/4 the cost of the Miami proposal), the Marlins could have a stadium in Boca and I bet that fans will come. And another plus about a stadium at or near the FAU campus is the zoning surrounding it; there are not that many people nearby that would say NIMBY, NIMBY. And the city of Boca Raton, Palm Beach County, and the State of Florida would probably accept Boca as a doable proposal. With the strict guidelines Boca Raton has set on landscaping, signage, and architectural appeal, a new stadium here could really be an A+ for city-leaders looking to make Boca Raton the "world-class city" it is destined to become.

And Dale, about your drive through Boca recently. I totally agree with you about US-1. I've made the drive myself from Ft. Lauderdale International Airport all the way up to Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach, and the section of Federal Highway in Boca Raton is by far the most attractive (aside possibly from downtown Ft. Lauderdale). As for I-95 and Yamato, a lot of new stuff is supposed to happen there in the next couple of years. The city is anticipating to construct a mixed use village around there to increase the effectiveness of the SFRTA (South Florida Regional Transportation Authority) Hub. I also recall reading several months ago that the T-Rex corporation has some plans on building upward as well.

this would be logical reasoning for any sports team or city in the world... but u must remember this is miami... MIAMI! if people had a stadium next door and games were free people, mite go to one a year... mayb... cant build a stadium that far away...

http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/5144/img03415cr.jpg
http://img369.imageshack.us/img369/4259/img03282on.jpg
http://img369.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img03380xp.jpg

where was that second picture taken?

The second picture was taken @ the Gumbo Limbo Nature Center on A1A, 1 mile north of Palmetto Park Rd. The third picture was taken from the service parking lot @ the Boca Raton Beach Club. I've recently taken more pics of the expansion of Spanish River Blvd. as well as the newly constructed Tri-Rail Station @ Yamato Rd. Pics will come soon.

Okay, these first two pictures were taken 40 feet high from the tower at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center.

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e277/DShoost88/IMG_0906.jpg
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e277/DShoost88/IMG_0914.jpg

These next two pictures are actually quite interesting. They were taken from the Spanish River Blvd. overpass at I-95 in late December of the areas Northeast and North west of SRB. This same exact area is where the city, county, and state are discussing the possibility of relocating the Scripps Research Institute.

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e277/DShoost88/IMG_0920.jpg
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e277/DShoost88/IMG_0928.jpg


This one is the "growing" skyline of central-eastern Boca Raton, taken from perhaps the most central location in the city, Spanish River and I-95.

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e277/DShoost88/IMG_0933.jpg

These last two are of the Boca Raton Tri-Rail Station/Hub and the proposed complex to be constructed this year.

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e277/DShoost88/IMG_0945.jpg
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e277/DShoost88/IMG_0955.jpg

I hope these images broaden your views of this growing city and that you recognize it as more than a suburb of Miami or Fort Lauderdale (or West Palm Beach).

nice stuff dshoost,that first one is really nice i didn't know boca had such a nice skyline a bit to cookie cutter for my liking but it does remind me off the coral gables skyline...

great pics, nice growing area, even saw a couple cranes

Great pics, I've been meaning to get downtown and take some pictures but I just haven't.

Also, where's that new Tri-rail station going to be? I can't remember.

The new tri-rail station is at the southwest corner of Yamato Rd. and I-95. If you go to college in Boca Raton @ FAU, you go out the north enterance and make a left onto Spanish River. After you get over the bridge make a right and then you're next immediate right into the T-Rex Corporate Center. If you continue down that road, it will take you directly to the Train Station and the new shopping complex. If you go to Lynn, just go up Military and make a right onto Yamato. It'll be on your right at the Congress Av. light.

Also, what do you guys think about Scripps moving to Boca? Do you think it'll happen? Are you folks in Broward happy about that? And what do you think about that property by 95: isn't it perfect?!

It would be pretty cool if Scripps went to Boca. With all the new building UM is doing in Miami, you could have a biotech cluster from Miami all the way to Palm Beach if Scripps sets up shop in Boca.

hey... bocas closer to use then where they were planning to up it... maybe next theyll b talkin about a spot in ft. lauderdale... aventura... who knows... the farther south it comes the happier i get... but boca would b great...

Boca is a very nice city and Mizner Park and Town Centre are an exposition of it.

http://bocanews.com/index.php?src=news&prid=13831&category=Local%20News&PHPSESSID=6fa541643c9c0f4bc29a896d995a01e2

Nine-story 'loft' building going up in downtown Boca
Attorney for developer calls it 'an exceptional building on a challenged site'

Published Thursday, January 12, 2006
by Dale King

How do you get 68 residential 'loft' units on less than an acre of land in downtown Boca Raton?


You go high-rise.


Lofts of Boca LLC got the go-ahead from the city's Community Redevelopment Authority this week to construct a nine-story building between North Federal and North Dixie highways. It will have 68 lofts, 3,260 square feet of mixed-use development and an internal three-story garage.


"This is an exceptional building on a challenged site," said attorney Wendy Larsen of Siemon & Larson, lawyer for the developer. "If there's a site that needs redevelopment, this is it."


The lot, measuring .936 acre, is located on what is essentially a narrow strip of land between the two major downtown roads. It is currently the site of two businesses - one a lawn and garden store, the other a brick and paver shop. They will be demolished, according to the plans.


The Planning & Zoning Board approved the plan on a 3-2 vote. The Community Appearance Board has also recommended it.


Larsen told the CRA - which is made up of the mayor and City Council members - that the structure - to be called Mizner Lofts - will be both pedestrian friendly, and offer some "wonderful living spaces."


She said the structure will be "layered" to reduce the scale of the building mass. "The skyline is very dynamic," she said.


The building is being "tailored" to fit the site, she said.


"I'm happy to see the lofts, it's a major need," said Deputy Mayor Susan Whelchel. "The parcel is definitely challenged."


She did say the Community Appearance Board should review the plans, saying the building may need more landscaping. When CRA members OK'd it, they added additional CAB review as part of approval conditions.


At the hearing, Quincy Johnson, an architect and resident of Mizner Park, spoke in favor of the project, saying it is "unique, fresh and dynamic. I like the fresh style."


Developer Robert Wolfson said this is his company's first venture into Boca Raton. "We are working on a project in Chicago, six in Michigan," he told CRA members. "We are one of the largest subdivision developers in Michigan."
He said the lofts will start at $400,000.


In other business, the CRA also approved another mixed-use project on 2.2 acres of land at 855 S. Federal Highway, between SE 8th and SE 9th streets.


The Planning & Zoning Board and CAB have already given it their OK.


The proposal, from Altman Development, proposes a structure that will include 224 residential units, 11,000 square feet of retail, 6,000 square feet of office space and a 395-space parking garage.


All commercial space will be on the first floor, officials told the CRA. Of the total number of housing units, 50 will be one-bedroom and the other 168 will be two- and three-bedrooms. The starting price is $600,000.


Amenities for owners will include a pool, fitness center and patio area on the fourth floor above the parking garage.

Dale M. King can be reached at 561-549-0832 or at dking@bocanews.com.

Okay, so Boca didn't get Scripps. But at least we're still attracting some sort of Bio-Medical research facilities.

Just to make sure this forum doesn't die, what do you guys see for Boca's future? Does anyone think it may one day look like a Fort Lauderdale or West Palm? Or is it more likely to become a Coral Gables?

I had the pleasure of going to the County Commission meeting and introducing myself to Mayor of Boca Raton, Steve Abrams. He has great plans in mind for the city. I think within the next 10 to 20 years the city will fully annex all of its unincorporated land. Once that happens, the city may be taken seriously as an economic engine for South Florida. I certainly believe that Boca has the most potential along the SoFlo coastline for urban redevelopment.

Again, comments, please! I insist.

i can see it becoming more of a coral gables type area... never really becoming a huge city but becoming increasingly important, economically and culturally... and they have some of the nicest development ive been seeing in this whole boom...

dshoost, if you have renderings or information about boca projects could you make a thread in the development news section.

im sure we would like to see some boca projects.

Enjoyed the photos of Boca. Am thinking about going to FAU for grad school. It's a beautiful community.

can you post pictures of the downtown area as well? the downtown shops and whatnot looked pretty nice from what i remember when i was down there 4 or 5 years ago.

A couple corporate headquarters moving to Boca Raton... that's more than I can say about Miami. ;)

http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/061120/20061120005808.html?.v=1

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/business/content/business/epaper/2006/11/30/1130nlc.html

Also, what's Kabbalah doing in Boca? Of 9 cities in the U.S. that have Kabbalah centers (mostly major cities such as San Diego, LA, New York, Vegas), why is Kabbalah in Boca? Hmm... that's interesting.

In other news about Boca: "Boca tops Sun Belt college sport communities in housing prices"

http://bocanews.com/index.php?src=news&prid=18035&category=Local%20News

While Miami's a beautiful conundrum, it's neighbors to the north are faring pretty well... I just thought it was worth speaking out about.

So I was in Boca today, man its awsome, possibly one of the most underated cities in Florida. I didnt take my camera cause i didnt know i was going but i had my camera phone, but my phone wont let me text pix to my comp today:ohno: So if anyone else has pictures Id love to see em. At first glance Boca was just another intercoastal community, but as I entered Mizner Place it seemed more like I was at a Disney Resort than in a city, the buildings where beautiful the landskaping was awsome, and I even was prized enough to do some plumbing in a penthouse, it was great. I dont know how or why but the inlet seemed more like a paradise cove with clear emerald waters that looked more desirable than the wavey beach, and speaking of beach, it was well kept also. I have to say Dshoot was right, Boca is great.

I agree, it's a great suburban city. However, I'm getting tired of hearing how Boca or Hollywood or any other suburban city is the best in South Florida. Regardless of how nice Boca is, and I admit it's one of the nicest suburban communities in South Florida, it is still a car-dependant, spread out, non-urban place with no skyscrapers or urban core. Because of that, I have to say that Miami, Miami Beach, Ft. Lauderdale, and West Palm are the best cities in South Florida.....Boca is great if you're looking for that type of lifestyle, but it's too suburban for my liking.

Coruna Coruna,
You missunderstood me, I would NEVER say that Boca is nicer than Miami.
It is simply a laid back cozy city that really impressed me,
The rankings I give to SoFla cities would be #1Miami and Miami Beach #2 Fort Lauderdale #3 West Palm Beach. But I would only take WPB over boca for its strong downtown core, which is still kinda lacking. Boca is a very livable, cozy, CLEAN, safe, pleasant, calm, city so its no wonder so many ppl go there to die. Palm Beach County is very lucky to claim her. Really Boca is more like a resort than a city.

Sorry.....I did misunderstand you. The reason I did so was because you said "like Dshoot said". Dshoot said in the thread about "What's the best city in South Florida" that Boca was the best city in South Florida. So when you made a reference to his statement, it made me think that you agreed with him on that issue.

:gossip: O I see

^^^ :-D HAHA! YES! FINALLY! I'm glad one of you are levelling with me now. By the way Floridian-will, I just wanted to correct you--it's Mizner *Park*, not Mizner Place; and when it was made, it was the first "Lifestyle Center" in the country. Now other cities are slowly catching on that lifestyle centers are the way to go. I have a plethora of photos of Boca, and I even made an earlier thread for the city with photos on it (search back a bit, you'll find it).

In terms of how I'd rate best city's (skyline-wise), I'd go (1) Miami/Miami Beach, (2) West Palm Beach, (3) Fort Lauderdale, (4) Coral Gables, (5) Boca Raton.

WPB is over FT. L solely because of the view when you come off of I-95 and onto Okeechobee. It may not have the heights of FT. L, but the waterscape it creates is breathtaking and much more inviting than Broward Blvd. into downtown FTL. I threw Coral Gables' skyline ahead of Boca's because I've always felt that their skyline is what Boca's is aspiring to become. It's mixed-use, European inspired, and generally mid-rise (around 12 stories max).

Coruna--you're totally right about the whole Boca's-a-car-suburbanite-community idea, but a lot is being done to change that. I'll try to post some more (recent) photos of the city soon.

I just wanted to revive this thread, since "Boca" is back on the market. ;-)

^^ Make sure you check out the previous photos ^^. More to come...

You cant fully apreciate how nice Boca is until youve been. It would even make a nice place for a vacation which is why boca should invest in some nice Hotel High rises. But DShoot im not sure if youve noticed but the boca inlet where the big pink building is on is really clear and emerald colored, call me crazy but I would even swim in it, and that is the ONLY inlet that I would swim in, do you know why it is so clean?

I heard boca has a height limit to their highrises, i also heard the pink hotel is the only building that exceeds these limits. Are both of these pieces of information true?

If Boca ever wants to urbanize itself, it will need to remove the height limit on its buildings.

Who ever said Boca wanted to urbanize itself, it wants to be a resort like retirement city.

I never said it wanted to urbanize itself. But until I retire, I don't want to live there the way it is right now.

Even when I retire Miami will be all I want, Vacations to west coast florida, if the oppourtunity comes, live in the keys, vacation to boca, but all in all, Miami takes the cake.

Boca got onto its feet as a resort destination, and has done a successful job over the past 80 years preserving that identity, but believe me it does not aspire to remain a "quiet resort-like" community. While it's stringent on its building height codes (for now), it is working on becoming "taller". I mean, if you take a look at the CBD/downtown, there are multiple buildings in the works to transform the skyline. Yes, they're only 9 or 10 stories, but they will also embody the architectural appeal and positive criticism that came with the construction of the Wachovia office building at the corner of Camino Real & US-1... and that's only 7 stories!

Last I added it up, there are about 10 buildings approved or u/c in "downtown" Boca (all about 10 stories, give or take). And with a similar urban-renewal going on in North Federal Highway in Boca, project announcements for Glades road @ Town Center, and additional office construction near the T-Rex corporations and Arvida Parks of Commerce (the largest office parks in the state*), Boca is certainly focused on SMART URBANIZATION. Think of it less like Miami and more like Naples, Italy, but with better transportation and more green space.

Boca wont even be on the top of the best skylines in SoFlo!
Boca doesnt even have an actual skyline its basically a couple of buildings around the same area just like other suburbs like miramar, pembroke and doral.
Boca cant have a better skyline than say aventura, sunny isles, kendall, coral Gables, hollywood, even hialeah has more dense number of midrises.

I know I can't be the most accurate on this, because I live in Miami, and don't go to Boca very often...I'm not very familiar with its newer buildings. But here's my ranking of the best cities in South Florida:

1. Miami
2. Miami Beach
3. Ft. Lauderdale
4. Coral Gables
5. West Palm Beach
t6. Sunny Isles
t6. Aventura
t8. Hollywood
t8. Kendall

After that, in terms of skylines, Hialeah, North Miami Beach, Key Biscayne, North Palm Beach, Coral Springs, and almost every other coastal city in South Florida not mentioned above would be ahead of Boca in terms of skylines. I have never spent much time there, but when I've driven through it or by it, it looks like there is no skyline at all. And BTW, 10-story buildings are not high-rises....they're low-rises, and therefore Boca actually has no high-rises with the exception of that one "pink building".

I know I can't be the most accurate on this, because I live in Miami, and don't go to Boca very often...I'm not very familiar with its newer buildings. But here's my ranking of the best cities in South Florida:

1. Miami
2. Miami Beach
3. Ft. Lauderdale
4. Coral Gables
5. West Palm Beach
t6. Sunny Isles
t6. Aventura
t8. Hollywood
t8. Kendall

After that, in terms of skylines, Hialeah, North Miami Beach, Key Biscayne, North Palm Beach, Coral Springs, and almost every other coastal city in South Florida not mentioned above would be ahead of Boca in terms of skylines. I have never spent much time there, but when I've driven through it or by it, it looks like there is no skyline at all. And BTW, 10-story buildings are not high-rises....they're low-rises, and therefore Boca actually has no high-rises with the exception of that one "pink building".

WHOA! BIG MISTAKE! If you've only 'driven through Boca', then you have not SEEN Boca. I didn't even mention the 20-whatever story buildings along A1A... but even so, driving on the Turnpike or I-95 is not a good indication of Boca's skyline. Not at all. How on earth could you put N. Palm Beach or CORAL SPRINGS? ahead of Boca? They're jokes. ESPECIALLY Coral Springs. it's got two 12-story buildings and no coastline. If high rises are defined as buildings greater than 15 stories, then Boca has about 20 of them.

And furthermore, your list is f*ck*d up-- why would you put Coral Gables ahead of West Palm Beach? Have you traveled north recently? WPB is amazing, it has a very definitive downtown and several high rises... certainly much higher than anything in Coral Gables.

I recommend you take a drive up Federal Highway from Miami to West Palm and you tell me which cities stand out the most. That's the most effective indication of nice skylines.

WHOA! BIG MISTAKE! If you've only 'driven through Boca', then you have not SEEN Boca. I didn't even mention the 20-whatever story buildings along A1A... but even so, driving on the Turnpike or I-95 is not a good indication of Boca's skyline. Not at all. How on earth could you put N. Palm Beach or CORAL SPRINGS? ahead of Boca? They're jokes. ESPECIALLY Coral Springs. it's got two 12-story buildings and no coastline. If high rises are defined as buildings greater than 15 stories, then Boca has about 20 of them.

And furthermore, your list is f*ck*d up-- why would you put Coral Gables ahead of West Palm Beach? Have you traveled north recently? WPB is amazing, it has a very definitive downtown and several high rises... certainly much higher than anything in Coral Gables.

I recommend you take a drive up Federal Highway from Miami to West Palm and you tell me which cities stand out the most. That's the most effective indication of nice skylines.


As a proud resident of the City Beautiful, I take offense to your remark about Coral Gables. Although Miami is undoubtedly the best city in South Florida, (and my favorite by a long shot), Coral Gables is overall the nicest city in SoFla when it comes to the community itself. There is absolutely no poverty in the Gables and it has some of the highest mean home values of any city in the tri-county area. It has a great skyline that is very dense.....have you been down here lately? Drive around Biltmore Way/Coral Way/Downtown Coral Gables area and you will see that it's one of the most pedestrian-friendly places in South Florida with the Coral Gables streetcar, metrorail, and the great urban atmosphere. It has several high-rises between 15-25 floors in the downtown area and it has some of the best Mediterranean architecture in South Florida, if not the best. It even has some waterfront areas in the southeastern part of the Gables. I just drove through West Palm Beach last month on the way to Jacksonville. I-95 was closed down due to a huge accident near Okeechobee Road, so I got a nice good tour of Palm Beach's downtown area. West Palm has some nice development going on, but the atmosphere is nothing compared to Coral Gables. Sure, it has some nice construction going on, but the buildings are no taller than the ones in downtown Coral Gables. I would not want to live in Palm Beach county because it's too far removed from the center of the action in South Florida, the one and only attraction: MIAMI. West Palm is undoubtedly the best area in Palm Beach County, and the most urban, but it has some nasty areas too. I saw more abandoned houses, suspicious-looking people, and ghetto-like areas while driving on Federal Highway just north of downtown West Palm than I have seen in Miami in a long time. Miami is on the upswing and the ghettos are disappearing, and in West Palm the crime rates are going up.

I have driven along A1A through Boca, just not recently....but it's a nice area, but nothing compared to Miami or Miami Beach......just because a city is not on the water doesn't mean it can't be good.....just look at Coral Gables, it's one of the best cities in SoFla and most of it is located away from the coast. BTW, the Gables has one of the densest cluster of high-rises in Dade County, almost as dense as downtown Miami.....meaning there aren't a lot of open spaces in the skyline and it flows very nicely.....take a ride on Metrorail south of downtown Miami into the Gables, and you can look north at the skyline of the City Beautiful. Palm Beach doesn't have any real tall buildings, the tallest looks like it's like 20-25 floors or something, and the Gables has about the same, but the buildings in the Gables are definitely more beautiful and architecturally stunning.

I would MUCH rather take the MAGIC CITY and the CITY BEAUTIFUL over the auto-oriented, suburbanite community of BOCA RATON (the "rat's mouth" of South Florida).

As far as Coral Springs, OK, I'll put that at about the same level as Boca, it's not very impressive either and is a place I'd never live, just like with Boca.

BOCA RATON is a nice place for South Florida to have, it's a great suburban community. But I can't beleive you would say it's better than Coral Gables. Coral Gables has better restaurants, retail, office buildings, and architecture. In another thread it talks about world-class cities and how it doesn't necessarily depend on the skyline of the city. The atmosphere is much better in the Gables than it is in Boca. I've been there before and I have seen all of the buildings that are going up now. I know about what Boca is and what it's about. It's a great place that's better than the suburbs of most other major American cities, but I hold my point of view that there are at least 8-10 better cities/municipalities in South Florida and that Miami is #1.

Why don't you check out Coral Gables soon so you can see what it's like??

I will try to take some nice shots of Coral Gables so you can see how great it is.

Wow you only saw SOME ghetto area's in WPB? WPB is having a really hard time with crime. Gables is definately a cleaner, more pleasent city. While the skyline in WPB may be nicer, gables is premere.

You're right.....SOME is an understatement......the northern section of West Palm Beach as well as areas like Riviera Beach are almost completely ghettos. While Miami's crime rate is decreasing and the ghettos are dissappearing, the opposite is happening to WPB. WPB is the best city in Palm Beach County, but Coral Gables is the cleanest, most elegant city in South Florida, and Miami is the best city overall at #1 because of the skyline, the nightlife, and attractions, and it is getting cleaner and safer with less crime.

Coruna--> I'm not going to lie... it's been a couple years since I've been down to Coral Gables, just as I imagine it's been a few years since you've been to central Boca. I'm a local to my respective community, and you're a local to yours--and no matter how much we debate it, we'll never convince the other that where we live is better. I dig it. And I also understand now what you said aboug Gables vs. WPB. I can agree with that.

I don't know so much about WPB being the best city in Palm Beach County... I sorta feel like that's saying Hialeah's the best city in Dade. Yes, it's big, and it has some big urban buildings, but I don't see it competing with Boca. Anytime I drive there it's w/ the doors locked and the windows rolled up--hide the jewelry and secure the wallet on your body. How does that make a city great?

But back to Boca.... I'll look for some photos to take.

The central area of WPB right near the intercoastal waterway was pretty nice.....there is some good construction going on there and the area looks nice and pedestrian-friendly, near a Tri-Rail station, and it's safe.....but the majority of the other parts of WPB are in bad condition and are not a good city at all. But it's not like saying Hialeah is the best city in Dade county, what are you talking about? Big with urban buildings? Sure, Hialeah has more than most cities in South Florida, and it has a big population, but Miami has hundreds of times more skyscrapers and urban buildings. Miami has more people living in it and it's the king of urban design and skyscrapers in all of South Florida.....I agree with what you're saying, but in no way is Hialeah a bigger city than Miami, so it's incorrect that you say it would be like saying Hialeah's the best city in Dade county.

I haven't actually spent much time in central Boca since 2005, I'm sure it's changed some, but I have the general idea of it.....it's a very nice city but once again it loses points because of the auto-centric, suburbanite lifestyle that is found there.

^^ touche.

ok I will say first that I hate both boca and gables and have lived in neighboring areas to both places.

they are both too boring and suburban for me but honestly other than Mizner Park (disneyfied antiseptic mall) what does boca have to offer besides nice suburban homes? generic publix plazas? and manicured lawns?

Gables is not my cup of tea either but it does have a massive urban business district that is very busy, dense and active... Boca seems like a sleepy island town by comparison

again I'm no fan of the gables I hate that lame faux mediterranean architecture... yuck but it's definitely a lot more urban and pedestrian than Boca.

ok I will say first that I hate both boca and gables and have lived in neighboring areas to both places.

they are both too boring and suburban for me but honestly other than Mizner Park (disneyfied antiseptic mall) what does boca have to offer besides nice suburban homes? generic publix plazas? and manicured lawns?

Gables is not my cup of tea either but it does have a massive urban business district that is very busy, dense and active... Boca seems like a sleepy island town by comparison

again I'm no fan of the gables I hate that lame faux mediterranean architecture... yuck but it's definitely a lot more urban and pedestrian than Boca.



You may not like either of those cities, but you are a fan of the MAGIC CITY of MIAMI, correct? I know you're not like nothingman......you do like our city; I have seen it in many of your previous posts. I can understand.....you just don't like suburbs at all, and I agree with you for the most part, but the Gables is very urban and it's great, although nowhere near as good as Miami itself and Miami Beach.

So.... Anyone have pictures of Boca? Concidering this is the Boca photo thread.

I'm disappointed. I wanted to see pictures of Boca Raton, and I thought I would definitely see some, judging by the thread name. But there are none. :(

Yes I was hoping for pictures too, but it seems this has turned into a debate.

where this photo.

Boca wont even be on the top of the best skylines in SoFlo!
Boca doesnt even have an actual skyline its basically a couple of buildings around the same area just like other suburbs like miramar, pembroke and doral.
Boca cant have a better skyline than say aventura, sunny isles, kendall, coral Gables, hollywood, even hialeah has more dense number of midrises.

Boca will never be about skyscrapers!
Its about quality of life and best schools in the state.

Boca Raton is in a class of its own in South Florida, and everybody who lives down here knows it. No other city comes close, the island of Palm Beach has the same flavor with perhaps more $$$.
It doesnt have the Black, or Spanish/Portuguese speaking population if thats what one is looking for, its mostly entrepreneurial retired rich NYC Jews, rich Europeans, etc...

ok, so what do you guys think of the new development behind the new library building? Personally i think those guys are nuts putting up close to 200units (thomes +single family) I'm even more disappointed because I was hoping that lot could be sold to some one like "Scripps"

I dont mind the Ravella development on the corner of Spanish River and Military though.



http://www.multi-housingnews.com/multihousing/headlines/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003553737
http://www.ravellaboca.com/welcome.aspx
http://www.reserveatbluelake.com/

They all look luxurious and Boca looking:)

They all look luxurious and Boca looking:)

It seems you either love Boca, or you hate it...
It is by far the most homogeneic city in South Florida.

^^ Of course "I" love Boca. I don't mind Blue Lake, I think that with Ravella will be awesome communities for the area. Their location promotes a walkable lifestyle, with its parks and shops and company headquarters in a 1/4 mile radius. For a really low-rise area, there's a lot of walkable potential there.

I'm really psyched for North Boca Village. I'll look for more to post on that...

^^how do you post pictures? I haven't done it in 2 years, and I took some great photos last weekend.

Go to image shack, have them host the image than you paste the image here and put, IMAGE LINK HERE Note: the slash before the img on the last img.

It seems you either love Boca, or you hate it...
It is by far the most homogeneic city in South Florida.

Before you get all rambo on me let me inform you that I never said I hate Boca. In fact I have stuck up for Boca several times, LOOK WHO STARTED THE BOCA PHOTO THREAD. And as far as safety in Boca goes, watch the News lately? So no its not the best city in SoFla IMO, there are others that I like WAY more, but its still an awsome city.

They all look luxurious and Boca looking:)It seems you either love Boca, or you hate it...
It is by far the most homogeneic city in South Florida.Before you get all rambo on me let me inform you that I never said I hate Boca. In fact I have stuck up for Boca several times, LOOK WHO STARTED THE BOCA PHOTO THREAD. And as far as safety in Boca goes, watch the News lately? So no its not the best city in SoFla IMO, there are others that I like WAY more, but its still an awsome city.

F-W, I do believe he meant it as a figure of speech, not as a direct attack against you.

"You either love it, or you hate it..."

Kinda like sushi... (Someone) either loves it, or they hate it...

;)

Go to image shack, have them host the image than you paste the image here and put, IMAGE LINK HERE Note: the slash before the img on the last img.

Right. Here's a link, Shoost:

http://www.imageshack.us

On the main page, click "Browse", locate the image file on your computer, click "Open" to acknowledge, then select "Host it!" to begin the upload process.

When the file is done uploading, you will be taken to another page which provides you with different link options for embedding it here in the forum. You can elect to do a clickable thumbnail, or what most of us around here prefer to do is to simply show the entire photo in the thread itself by using the method that Floridian-Will described. In that case, the direct link to the image will be the last link provided on the page.

For instance,

typing [ img]http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/1994/img4138yx8.jpg[ /img]

...Without the spaces in the "img" tags would provide this:

http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/1994/img4138yx8.jpg

Good luck ;)

Before you get all rambo on me let me inform you that I never said I hate Boca. In fact I have stuck up for Boca several times, LOOK WHO STARTED THE BOCA PHOTO THREAD. And as far as safety in Boca goes, watch the News lately? So no its not the best city in SoFla IMO, there are others that I like WAY more, but its still an awsome city.


I disagree,it still is, and always will be, the best city in SoFLa outside of the island of Palm Beach. Simple reason demographics, and $$ and entrepreneurial spirit thats moving down here from NYC and Europe.

Which city would you put ahead of Boca?

^^ Of course "I" love Boca. I don't mind Blue Lake, I think that with Ravella will be awesome communities for the area. Their location promotes a walkable lifestyle, with its parks and shops and company headquarters in a 1/4 mile radius. For a really low-rise area, there's a lot of walkable potential there.

I'm really psyched for North Boca Village. I'll look for more to post on that...

Why are you psyched about North Boca Village? 99% people in Boca would say this is Delray Beach already, thats #1, then you have a ghetto along Dixie next to it, it is there to stay you know.. I personally think its a terrible waste of $$ and some incredible lobbying by someone to have that $$ being spent there. Unless they have Delray Beach squad cars patrolling the place 24/7 no one is going to be walking around there.

I disagree,it still is, and always will be, the best city in SoFLa outside of the island of Palm Beach. Simple reason demographics, and $$ and entrepreneurial spirit thats moving down here from NYC and Europe.

Which city would you put ahead of Boca?

Miami Beach and Coral Gables to name 2.

I disagree,it still is, and always will be, the best city in SoFLa outside of the island of Palm Beach. Simple reason demographics, and $$ and entrepreneurial spirit thats moving down here from NYC and Europe.

Which city would you put ahead of Boca?

Well I would about die for the chance to live in Miami. Living in Fort Lauderdale even adds a LOT more excitement to life than anything in Palm Beach County with its surprisingly amazing Ft Lauderdale Beach, unrivaled by ANYTHING in Palm Beach County. But all in all Miami Beach is where I want to live, its one of the best beaches in the world, its right by Biscayne bay, Collins avn. Downtown Miami, its just the center of everything I crave right now. Like I've said before Boca would make a nice vacation spot, but not the best living spot, a little too boring.

CORAL GABLES AND MIAMI BEACH????

I agree 100 percent. Boca is one of the most boring places in South Florida. MY first choice for living would be Miami......but I'd even rather live in Ft. Lauderdale then Boca. Basically, life in South Florida gets more interesting the closer to downtown Miami you are. The most boring places are in northern Palm Beach county and the best areas are in Miami-Dade.....unless you actually like a boring suburban life, then Boca is for you.

Boca is the best place to live period. Definitely not the best place to party, but do not confuse the two.

Fort Lauderdale is fine strictly by the water, going west even of federal in some place you have a ghetto central, enough said.

Once again Miami has a different flavor, it has become a Spanish/Portuguese colony in the state of Florida.

Miami Beach and Coral Gables to name 2.

Miami Beach, no way, unless you are into partying 24/7. Its fine by the beach and within two blocks of it, rest is a shit house.

Coral Gables ok, maybe on par with Boca, but different demographics.
Only place I would take over Boca is Key Biscayne..

I'll agree with one thing: Boca can be boring; however, that does not mean it's a boring place to live. It is a wonderful place to live, and an even more wonderful and accessible place when it comes to visiting Ft. Lauderdale Beach and Miami and West Palm, et al. Hey, I mean look at what I called the thread: the big suburb. That's what it is and, even though I wish it to be untrue, it will always be that big suburb north of Miami. That doesn't mean it's not a nice place to live.

Believe me, though, there have been countless evenings my friends and I have just pondered every possible activity to do in Boca, and the truth is it can get old very quickly. I'll admit that Miami is the sh*t and that we're lucky to have places like it nearby.

You need to rethink your view on urban life......Miami is not all about partying. I have to say that Boca is a very nice city but personally it would be one of the last places in Florida that I would want to live in. Like I have said before, it's a suburbanite, auto-centric, boring place that is no different than any other suburb. I have nothing against Boca, but it's not a place that I would like to live in. I still would not want to live in FTL either but it's still much better than Boca......I'd rather live in Dade county than Broward or Palm Beach.

You need to rethink your view on urban life......Miami is not all about partying, it's a much better place to live than Boca. I have to say that Boca is a very nice city but personally it would be one of the last places in Florida that I would want to live in. Like I have said before, it's a suburbanite, auto-centric, boring place that is no different than any other suburb. I don't understand why it's getting so much attention in this forum, but apparently there are a lot of Boca-dwellers around here. I have nothing against Boca, but it's not a place that I would like to live in. I still would not want to live in FTL either but it's still much better than Boca......but Miami is a lot better than any of the other cities around the Tri-County area.


Ok, you probably are of Hispanic or Black heritage, thats the difference, you simply dont feel at home in Boca. Most of the white people dont feel at home in Miami...they like to go and party, but they dont want to live there day in and day out

http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/4407/dscn0503yu3.th.jpg (http://img90.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscn0503yu3.jpg)

Thats a good pic bro, but could you make it a little bigger, and do you have any more?

http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/6885/dscn0505fo7.th.jpg (http://img89.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscn0505fo7.jpg)\

I'm working on this; it's really difficult..... I'm finally starting to show my age. :-P

That’s NOT true, and its racist. Miami is the main attraction cause it has the biggest Downtown, AND Biscayne Bay which has a whole other WORLD of activities, and it has Miami beach, which is NOT all about partying, it is a WORLD CLASS BEACH, it has the clearest bluest water on the east coast main land of the USA. It has so many different restaurants right on the bay and beach where you can just kick back, or go fishing on the docks while admiring the skyline, you can go boating in the bay, which is also clear and turquoise, or in the ocean. You can just go site seeing, which there is alot more to see in Miami than anywhere else in FLA. Its the closest city to the Keys, a heaven on earth, should I go on???

Only place I would take over Boca is Key Biscayne..


Coral Gables, Pinecrest, Aventura, Miami Beach, come on, those are all better than Boca. Miami is not the best city in South Florida either, but Boca is just a retirement community...I wouldn't want to live there full-time until I retire.

wow thats a really good pic, I think image shack is resizing it, turn that option to about 800x600

^^???? Why the hell would ANYONE put PGA and Coral Springs ahead of Boca? BTW, I noticed you failed to mention a few other municipalities in SoFlo, such as: Jupiter, Mangonia Park, Wellington, Loxahatchee, the Acreage, Lake Worth, Boynton Beach, Delray Beach, Parkland, Deerfield Beach, POMPANO Beach, Lauderhill, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Oakland Park, Coconut Creek, Southwest Ranches, Davie, Miramar, Pembroke Pines, Kendall, Cooper City, Florida City, North Palm Beach, Margate, Lazy Lake, and Homestead.

There are a lot of cities in South Florida--towns, villages, cities, and metropolises--and it's unfair for one to judge them based on merit of their own opinion. It's ridiculous how much we've argued and time wasted comparing. Coruna: I'm sorry Boca is the last place you'd ever want to live in SoFlo. Oh well. We get it. Fine. I can easily rename a handful of cities down here I'd never want to live in... but then again, it's all the same place. It's all SoFlo, and that's all that really counts when you live in as regionally-dependant an area as we do. Even people that live in Miami Beach make it west once in a while; the truth is we all need each other to succeed and define ourselves and be great.

Back to Boca....

Ok, you probably are of Hispanic or Black heritage, thats the difference, you simply dont feel at home in Boca. Most of the white people dont feel at home in Miami...they like to go and party, but they dont want to live there day in and day out

I'm not of Hispanic or Black heritage

Wow, that ugly pink low-rise building makes Boca really impressive. Nice shot, but it just shows how inferior Boca is to Miami. That is the only skyscraper in the city as well......just shows how bad Boca is.

Mods, please ban this user.

First of all, I am of 100% white heritage, not one bit Hispanic or African-American. What you said is very racist and I take offense to it. It's a perfect example of the stereotypical suburbanites that live in horrific communities like Boca. It's good for a community to have diversity as well, just look at all of the world class cities like NYC, Chicago, LA, London, and Paris. Miami has a huge downtown with several hundred skyscrapers. Boca has one building over ten floors in the entire city. Miami's downtown is very exciting and large with tons of skyscrapers. It has beautiful Biscayne Bay, the great beaches, all of the museums and attractions, and it is the most beautiful city in South Florida. There are so many options for entertainment, restaurants, sightseeing, etc., basically everything that Floridian-will just said. Miam is the most pedestrian-friendly, transit-oriented city in Florida and is working harder than any other city in SoFla to save our planet by reducing greenhouse gas emmisions.
This is a skyscraper forum and Miami is home to more skyscrapers than any other city in Florida. The skyline is so beautiful, there are so many things to do, and the city will continue to get better. As long as you stay away from the few bad areas it's a very wealthy city as well.
Boca is a boring, terrible place that should be avoided by any visitors to South Florida. You are a perfect example of a racist suburbanite who dislikes a place just because of the large number of foreign-born citizens in a city.

ALL VISITORS TO FLORIDA: Come to Miami and see the wonderful South Florida. But STAY AWAY FROM BOCA RATON, the rat's mouth of the region.

how is this racist? since when did stating facts become classified as racism?
I simply made an observation, and did not judge anyone!

Wow, that ugly pink low-rise building makes Boca really impressive. Nice shot, but it just shows how inferior Boca is to Miami. That is the only skyscraper in the city as well......just shows how bad Boca is.

Jesus, what's with this city vs. city crap? Can't you people just enjoy the area as a whole, for everything it has to offer? :ohno:

That’s NOT true, and its racist. Miami is the main attraction cause it has the biggest Downtown, AND Biscayne Bay which has a whole other WORLD of activities, and it has Miami beach, which is NOT all about partying, it is a WORLD CLASS BEACH, it has the clearest bluest water on the east coast main land of the USA. It has so many different restaurants right on the bay and beach where you can just kick back, or go fishing on the docks while admiring the skyline, you can go boating in the bay, which is also clear and turquoise, or in the ocean. You can just go site seeing, which there is alot more to see in Miami than anywhere else in FLA. Its the closest city to the Keys, a heaven on earth, should I go on???

how is this racist? lets hear it... simply stating facts.. this whole racism thing is becoming ridiculous in America.

ALL VISITORS TO FLORIDA: Come to Miami and see the wonderful South Florida. But STAY AWAY FROM BOCA RATON, the rat's mouth of the region.

As I have 6 months experience doing very comprehensive research on the proud, one-of-a-kind, rich, *Wonderful* history of the Great City of Boca Raton, I'd like to recognize an error and misunderstanding made by FAR too many people.

Yes, the obvious and easy definition of Boca Raton is "Rat's Mouth." But who on earth would name a city that? That's upsurd. I mean, Addison Mizner wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, but surely he wouldn't advertise a place called rat's mouth as a playground for the rich and famous.

The name Boca Raton was first coined in 1861 during the Civil War. There were government officials and mappers trying to correctly map and name the areas along the U.S. Coastline. Back then, in South Florida, there was a natural inlet feeding water from the Atlantic Ocean into an inland body of water. Because of an inlet definition and shape, it was nicknamed an opening or mouth---"Boca". At this particular inlet waters from the gulf stream had carried remains from sunken pirate ships to its shores, leaving beaches of plywood and dead bodies (it's expected these "Pirates of the Caribbean" were caught up in hurricanes and left helpless to drown). Because of their status as low-lives and scum, pirates had been nicknamed mice or rats--- "Ratones". Hence, in 1861, when mapping South Florida, a map maker named this particular inlet "Boca de Ratones".

This explains the history behind the name... but there's more. There was more than one inlet along the South Florida coastline, and because of poor mapping skills, there was a minor error in the actual location of "Boca de Ratones". The original Boca de Ratones was 40 miles south of the current Boca Raton, due to this error in mapping. When Mizner saw this mistake on a map and visited the northern Boca Raton (where the name stuck), he decided to build his resort there... the rest of that is history.

What thrills me most about this story is that many Miamians like Coruna who like to poke fun at our name and call us a crap-hole don't realize that Miami's very own "Haulover Beach Inlet" is the original "Boca De Ratones." So now where's the real mouth of the rats, huh?

Honestly, Coruna, if you really just wanna be a hard ass, than just sulk on a Corona. It's a photo thread, and I'm doing my best, and believe me, there's more to Boca than a pink hotel.

Wow, that ugly pink low-rise building makes Boca really impressive. Nice shot, but it just shows how inferior Boca is to Miami. That is the only skyscraper in the city as well......just shows how bad Boca is.

that ugly pink low-rise is the Boca Resort. more $$ has changed hands there in the last 10 years than in the whole history of Miami

You guys need to take a chill pill, maybe have a few drinks (if you're old enough), and relax.

All this in-fighting gets this forum nowhere. Let's celebrate what we have, not rip eachother's heads off over it! There's no point.

that ugly pink low-rise is the Boca Resort. more $$ has changed hands there in the last 10 years than in the whole history of Miami

Fun facts about the Boca Resort:
- Was purchased by the Blackstone Group from Huizenga Holdings for more than $1 Billion in 2003--that alone is a testament to it's influence as a major economic engine for South Florida.
- It ranks in the top 10 for amount of convention space in South Florida.
- Of the famous 3 resorts in South Florida built in the early twentieth century (Breakers Palm Beach, Boca Resort, Biltmore Coral Gables), it's the only one with boat/yacht access, adding to its appeal and value.

I'm not saying that the resort is a bad place. I'm sure it's a very nice place to stay on vacation. My point is that it's not visually appealing from the outside. Boca's skyline is nothing compared to Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Miami Beach, Coral Gables, Sunny Isles, etc.

I am only being a hard ass towards Boca because of the invasion of the forum by the Boca-dwellers. Like I said, Boca is a nice place but I would never want to live there. It is dumbfounding to me that anyone could like Boca more than Miami. Please stop ragging on Miami, and then I will stop ragging on Boca.

You guys need to take a chill pill, maybe have a few drinks (if you're old enough), and relax.

All this in-fighting gets this forum nowhere. Let's celebrate what we have, not rip eachother's heads off over it! There's no point.

I agree. Let's all stop arguing and just enjoy the great South Florida that we have. We each can have different opinions about what the best city is in the region, but in the end, each city helps one another. Miami is what makes South Florida, it's the big city with all of the attractions and skyscrapers; but we need some nice laid-back suburbs like Boca....and don't forget that all of those suburban communities help us get the large population numbers of the metro area.

I have spent this past week in Denver and Colorado, and it has made me realize how much I love South Florida. I can't wait to get back to the Florida weather and lifestyle, and coming to a place like this just makes me appreciate what South Florida has to offer even more. *And for those of you who remember the Denver vs. Miami argument a few months ago, I have to say that I stand by my opinion that Miami is better than Denver overall. The skyline is about ten times longer and the buildings are a lot taller. There is much more culture in Miami and there are more attractions. Denver is a very nice city as well with a nice walkable downtown area. It's not a bad city by any means, very clean and such, but it doesn't compare to Miami. Much smaller metro area, and at this time of year the vegetation is NASTY. You can say what you want about living somewhere with four defined seasons, but mud season in Colorado is not beautiful by any means. All of the grass is brown and the mountains are full of mud and dead bushes. I have been here in the fall and it's much nicer scenery-wise, but right now I'd take the crystal-blue water of Biscayne Bay, the tropical palm trees, and the green grass of Miami over the scenery of Denver. And for Senor Tancredo, who calls Miami a "third world", it's MUCH more Mexican here than it is in Miami.

Why do you bring this argument to the Boca photo thread Coruna? Boca is a nice city, lets just leave it at that. And it is also in the MIAMI metro area, therefore the Boca residents and lovers are entitled to use this forum for Boca topics as well.

And that "Ugly" Pink building isnt really that bad. But a more impresive place in Boca is the Cloister, not sure but I think its a resort, built in 1926, but it looks BRAND new, and its really grandier inside.

Like I posted in the main Boca thread, let's end the argument and just agree that South Florida is a great area. Read my other post......both Miami and Boca gain from one another, and Boca would not be possible without Miami. The 5.5 million metro area would not be possible without Boca.

Boca IS a very nice city, all I said is that I would not ever want to live there over Miami.

Yea but lets all stop saying Boca sucks, cause it has my respect. I just like Miami better, to each his own, cheers?

:cheers:

I agree with you, floridian-will.

:cheers:

<_----_>Wrong post sorry.

Boca is just a suburb nothing more than that, it has a downtown that alot of other suburbs have and nice neigborhoods that lots of suburbs have. Boca is probaly best known for oldees and retired people. All of south florida is having people and companies coming from new york and europe and even latin america and to say its only boca and palm beach is ridiculous bcuz its happening more in broward and miami dade. Im not sayin that boca is horrible but its not anything out of the normal in south florida, it is a more boring less exciting place. And to say that if you live in miami or the beach your in party central is also ridiculous your just close to it because the rest of miami and the beach are some nice neigborhoods and no sh*t house< lol


are you saying Boca is a suburb of Miami? thats crazy... Two different worlds.

Here is the difference between Miami and Boca. Miami is getting the affluent South Americans, Boca is getting the retired affluent New Yorkers and Europeans. When you walk to a store in Miami you are greeted in Spanish, not so in Boca.

Miami is great for its own reasons, but like I said before it has become a Spanish/Portuguese colony in the state of Florida. Saying that one either likes it and fits in, or not...

Thats exactly why I erased my post because nobody can convince people and i hadnt read the last couple posts where people agreed to stop.
Lets just say Boca is nice, Because it is and thats that.

Boca will never be about skyscrapers!
Its about quality of life and best schools in the state.

Boca Raton is in a class of its own in South Florida, and everybody who lives down here knows it. No other city comes close, the island of Palm Beach has the same flavor with perhaps more $$$.
It doesnt have the Black, or Spanish/Portuguese speaking population if thats what one is looking for, its mostly entrepreneurial retired rich NYC Jews, rich Europeans, etc...

I was just responding to a statement that DShoost88 wrote.
And i think your thinking of Boca a little bit more than it is. I dont want to bash Boca but im amazed of how people from there think boca is something more than a clean suburb with wealthy people like countless other places in south florida.

IS THIS THE ONLY WAY THE BOCA THREAD SEES ACTIVITY?

GIVE IT A REST ALLREADY...

HMM MAYBE THEY SHOULD LOCK THE THREAD THEN BOCA WOULD BE DEAD WITH NO THREADS LEFT...

GIVE IT A REST... EVERYONE BACK TO THERE RESPECTIVE CORNERS :bash:

We've already held up the white flag. Please no more fighting. If you have pictures post them, if you have comments on pictures, post them, if not, then please dont post.

http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/654/picture028fp8.jpg
http://img365.imageshack.us/img365/9923/picture027yu7.jpg

http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/41/picture012qh0.jpg
http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/7531/bocaresortal4.jpg

Fun facts about the Boca Resort:
- Was purchased by the Blackstone Group from Huizenga Holdings for more than $1 Billion in 2003--that alone is a testament to it's influence as a major economic engine for South Florida.
- It ranks in the top 10 for amount of convention space in South Florida.
- Of the famous 3 resorts in South Florida built in the early twentieth century (Breakers Palm Beach, Boca Resort, Biltmore Coral Gables), it's the only one with boat/yacht access, adding to its appeal and value.


Not only that, but the true testament to the prestige of the Boca Resort, is the actual conferences that do take place there. The biggest Wall Street and Hedge Funds conferences in the world take place in the Boca Resort.


Here is a link to few excellent pictures of the resort.

http://www.bocaresort.com/photo_gallery/photo_gallery.cfm

few more from expedia.

http://www.expedia.com/pub/agent.dll?qscr=dspv&flag=l&itid=&itdx=&itty=&from=f&foop=0&hwrq=&htid=15462&spsh=&spsi=&crti=4&nfla=1&mdpcid=21187-1.ExpediaHotelImages|+ShowUserReviews|+Inktomi|+ROW

I was really hoping to see some pictures. :-P

I am currently residing in Seattle but I am not American. Having visited Boca Raton, and spent several nights in the city I must say I was very impressed. I was impressed by the restaurants, shops and buildings being built in the downtown area. It seems as though the city leaders are trying to pedestrianize the city and it seems as though it will pay off in a few years.

one other note, from what I saw Boca Raton did spread west which I guess would be its suburbs. However, I really saw a lot of investment that made it appear to be a city trying to form a core. Mizner Park was a nice addition, saw a great concert there outdoors. My friend showed me an area that is being built which will be another pedestrian area.

Having just come back to Seattle after visiting your region, I must say you all should be working together to make your region a better place rather than bicker. I am from Auckland, Nz. I have been living all around the world. (London, NYC, San Fran, and many other places. You live in a beautiful part of the world and should come together to brainstorm ways to make your cities and towns better. I loved Miami. Thought it was a beautiful place. I also liked Boca Raton and thought it was a very sophisticated place. So, what the problem? One is bigger than the other but for people from other parts of the world, they are in the same region, therefore they are connected. Got me?

Totally agree. Guess what? To you, Boca might be completely seperate from Miami. For Bob and Joe that live in Kansas City, Boca is part of Miami. Believe it or not, all of S Florida is considered Miami to the rest of the country.

Having just come back to Seattle after visiting your region, I must say you all should be working together to make your region a better place rather than bicker. I am from Auckland, Nz. I have been living all around the world. (London, NYC, San Fran, and many other places. You live in a beautiful part of the world and should come together to brainstorm ways to make your cities and towns better. I loved Miami. Thought it was a beautiful place. I also liked Boca Raton and thought it was a very sophisticated place. So, what the problem? One is bigger than the other but for people from other parts of the world, they are in the same region, therefore they are connected. Got me?

Totally agree. Guess what? To you, Boca might be completely seperate from Miami. For Bob and Joe that live in Kansas City, Boca is part of Miami. Believe it or not, all of S Florida is considered Miami to the rest of the country.

All of South Florida is considered to be Miami to anyone in SF...I bump into people all across the country claiming to be from Miami and I often ask: "Oh, yeah which part?" and the reply is often somewhere decidedly North of Miami...

All of South Florida is considered to be Miami to anyone in SF...I bump into people all across the country claiming to be from Miami and I often ask: "Oh, yeah which part?" and the reply is often somewhere decidedly North of Miami...

true just as everyone in the east considers all of south cali to be los angeles. (when i moved to los angeles i didn't know san diego even was a city). LOL

The disagreement on these forums only reflect the disagreement between the cities and municipalities of south florida. thats why we don't have region wide public transportation, except for tri-rail.

The disagreement on these forums only reflect the disagreement between the cities and municipalities of south florida. thats why we don't have region wide public transportation, except for tri-rail.

Thats what I've always said...its so true...

On that issue of transportation, I think that it's more important to have a great expanded metrorail system that connects almost all areas of Miami-Dade county. That can connect to Tri-Rail which can then connect those same passengers to the transit systems in Broward and Palm Beach counties. I know what you mean, but I think that MIAMI transit should take priority over SOUTH FLORIDA transit, simply because Dade County is the most dense area of the region and there are more people there that would use the public transportation.

^^ To address the "other" area "being" built that Urbandeco was talking about for a pedestrian area, I'm pretty sure you were referring to Royal Palm Place. It's actually the oldest shopping venue in the city, but in recent years they've added 10-story condo towers and offices to it (and no shortage of restaurants either). The overall goal to make Boca a very walkable downtown is to open a "spine" between Mizner Park and Royal Palm Place from North to South. It would do for Boca what Lincoln Road does for Miami Beach or what Las Olas does for Ft. Lauderdale.

Pictures coming, I swear it.

On that issue of transportation, I think that it's more important to have a great expanded metrorail system that connects almost all areas of Miami-Dade county. That can connect to Tri-Rail which can then connect those same passengers to the transit systems in Broward and Palm Beach counties. I know what you mean, but I think that MIAMI transit should take priority over SOUTH FLORIDA transit, simply because Dade County is the most dense area of the region and there are more people there that would use the public transportation.

top priority right now is to get the property taxes eliminated or reduced to give the economy a boost.

http://www.nomorepropertytax.com/

Here in Gainesville they're going to have to eliminate somewhere around 25% of city services unless they can find some other way to generate city revenue than property taxes. In order to do this they will probably add a 5 cent tax to the already expensive gas price (Gainesville is a little more expensive than Miami already). So I am reluctant to agree with the "no property tax" idea. It is going to hit college students and other renters hard.

^^About the property tax issue, Boca Raton also relies very heavily on them to generate money for services in the city. The city has discussed options to the northwest and southwest for annex into the city--all of those properties would generate plenty of funds the city needs.

When I read about this, I learned another very interesting fact. About 50 square miles of urbanized area west of the FL turnpike with the Boca Raton mailing address (locally known as West Boca) is classified by the state of Florida as a sort of reserve. If the city of Boca Raton ever wants to annex the region west of the Turnpike, it cannot do it piece-by-piece as its done in the past with annexations east of the turnpike. If the city ever plans to annex "west Boca" down the road, the property tax generation for the city would be higher than any other municipality in South Florida.

Whats up with Boca having its own thread?!?!?!
One its just a normal suburb and its not having alot of development like Miami, Kendal, Ft. Lauderdale, or West Palm Beach.

Maybe it should have its own forum...

ITS PART OF THE MIAMI METRO AREA. Maybe the mods should make a forum for just Palm Beach county, because no one in the Miami forums, except for Chuckskyscraper, Kevin, Maki, and RX, have been welcoming to anyone in Palm Beach County, Im tired of seeing Boca getting bashed.

Hialeah makes a good point. I actually think Boca is really nice. Top notch place to raise a family, etc. etc.

No not Boca. But maybe Palm Beach County all together can have its own thread like Tampa, instead of just a development news area, Im sure youll find less of us pesky Palm Beach ppl lingering here if that happens.

Does that include you Will?

As long as I dont have to listen to you anymore:)

No i think its good that West Palm Beach has its own thread, WPB has alot of development and alot of news comes out of there but not really enough for its own forum. And Boca really doesnt have alot of news except for DShoot88 talking about it, I just dont think Boca needs its own thread and much less one thats 5 pages long in a skyscraper website.

Whats up with Boca having its own thread?!?!?!
One its just a normal suburb and its not having alot of development like Miami, Kendal, Ft. Lauderdale, or West Palm Beach.

miami forum clearly states
" Miami
Also includes Broward and Palm Beach Counties"
I dont see anything wrong with a city having its own thread here. I think its nice the city has its own little 'representation' here so people from that city or people interested in it can see pictures of it and learn about it etc.

miami forum clearly states
" Miami
Also includes Broward and Palm Beach Counties"
I dont see anything wrong with a city having its own thread here. I think its nice the city has its own little 'representation' here so people from that city or people interested in it can see pictures of it and learn about it etc.

THANKYOU.

People here are so caught up in their own little Miami world that even pics of Ft Laud go unoticed.

While Boca may not be a large city, it is a significant one. I feel it is the city that links West Palm with the rest of the Ft. Lauderdale/Miami area. I say let it have its own thread. It is in the South Florida area, and its a decent sized city. Now if there was a thread about Loxahatchee Groves, then it would be out of hand. But Boca has a few good sized buildings, and continues to grow.

If someone can please give me a detailed crash course in how to properly upload pictures onto this site (*note, I use a mac), I'll make this thread something worth looking at. Development is going on... yeah, in the eyes of people from Miami they're probably thinking "oh, that's so cute", but there are bigger things happening in Boca than 8 out of 10 other cities in SoFlo. So, again, someone please send me a detailed message on how to use photobucket or whatever site and I will upload some decent photos in the next few days (if the sunshine works in my favor, of course).

check your PM DShoost88

http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/8130/dscn0497es9.jpg

^^Test.

Double Post

you forgot the insertbocaimagehere

http://img369.imageshack.us/img369/1044/bocard1.jpg

This is the image

http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/4118/dscn0505qw6.jpg

YAY! I GOT IT! :-D

http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/141/dscn0496fk7.jpg
http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/6356/dscn0506lc2.jpg

It's so damn tedious doing the images... grr... kudos to you guys that do 20+ photo updates.

A little more impressive than most suburbs out there, wouldn't you agree?

Good work, you got it.

*One more. I've always wanted to post this (in case I haven't already)... it's my favorite building in the city... (I really need to get out there and take more pictures).

http://img299.imageshack.us/img299/8506/img9878jm2.jpg

http://img299.imageshack.us/img299/8506/img9878jm2.jpg

'The heck is that?

Thats a cool building, Ill have to get to Boca some day to take some pics.

Beautiful shots Shoost, thanks for taking the time to post. :okay:

Nice pics and cool building. I'll stop trying to figure out why Boca has a thread, BTW what is that building?

Ok I have some pics I took with my camera phone a while back but they are REALLY blury... cause they are from my camera phone.

http://img78.imageshack.us/img78/3359/bocaalbumfb3.jpg

This is the inside of a condo I was at, I believe the development was called Mizner Falls
http://img78.imageshack.us/img78/3185/bocaalbum2ou9.jpg

And here is a penthouse
http://img167.imageshack.us/img167/2448/bocaalbum3kj2.jpg

http://img108.imageshack.us/img108/5076/boca4rz5.jpg

http://img167.imageshack.us/img167/5359/bocaalbum6vy0.jpg

Wow these are really blury, dont know if they are even worth posting

^^Yeah, I know those condos... I think they're on the Boca Resort property...maybe immediately north of it.

To answer the previous questions, the cool 7-story building that looks like a chunk was taken out of it is simply called the "Wachovia Building". Just like Miami, we have our own "Wachovia building" landmark. :)
In terms of mid-rise buildings, a lot of work is being done in our CRA (Community Redevelopment Area). There's a few cool ones going up along Palmetto that I will, again, try to take pics of when I've got my camera with me.

^^Yeah, I know those condos... I think they're on the Boca Resort property...maybe immediately north of it.

To answer the previous questions, the cool 7-story building that looks like a chunk was taken out of it is simply called the "Wachovia Building". Just like Miami, we have our own "Wachovia building" landmark. :)
In terms of mid-rise buildings, a lot of work is being done in our CRA (Community Redevelopment Area). There's a few cool ones going up along Palmetto that I will, again, try to take pics of when I've got my camera with me.

Awesome, where in Boca is the "missing chunk" building located?

Awesome, where in Boca is the "missing chunk" building located?

Northwest corner of Camino Real and US-1.

*FUN FACT*: Just south of the "Wachovia Building" is a Publix called "Mercado Real" or 'rich marketplace' as it's translated into Spanish... the fun fact is that it's the only Publix that features valet parking service. :-P

This thread is utterly ridiculous. This forum is about Miami, not Boca Raton. Floridian-will and Dshoost88, you should take your adolescent games elsewhere. I know both of you are teenagers. Like I told Kevin22 earlier today, adolescent behavior is acceptable only in certain places. This forum is not one of them.

Coruna,

You've been had.

See you soon!

Kyle

This thread is utterly ridiculous. This forum is about Miami, not Boca Raton. Floridian-will and Dshoost88, you should take your adolescent games elsewhere. I know both of you are teenagers. Like I told Kevin22 earlier today, adolescent behavior is acceptable only in certain places. This forum is not one of them.

"Miami
Also includes Broward and Palm Beach Counties"
This forum is about miami broward and palm beach counties.

This thread is utterly ridiculous. This forum is about Miami, not Boca Raton. Floridian-will and Dshoost88, you should take your adolescent games elsewhere. I know both of you are teenagers. Like I told Kevin22 earlier today, adolescent behavior is acceptable only in certain places. This forum is not one of them.

Adolescent behavior? We are discussing a MIAMI suburb, but we all know your Barney since you told us. You have no religion, even if you think you are religious you aren’t. You are the one being immature and I think your religious thing is just another part of your wonderful tale of a retard.

The "Kyle Mahonie" character was created by Coruna, or so I'm told.

I will be finding out this Coruna's personal information soon enough, and will be coming to pay him a little personal visit.

See ya soon bud, and if the legal system doesn't do it for me, I'll handle it Arnie style.

Please, Coruna has nothing to do with this

LOL its not Coruna, no one will buy that ;)

The "Kyle Mahonie" character was created by Coruna, or so I'm told.

I will be finding out this Coruna's personal information soon enough, and will be coming to pay him a little personal visit.

See ya soon bud, and if the legal system doesn't do it for me, I'll handle it Arnie style.

Wouldn't it be funny if you came to the mans house like a bad a*s and he beat you like the illegitimate step-child you are. Lol. Like I've said before you teenagers really destroyed the quality of this website. Unbelievable.

^^ I highly doubt he is a teenager. Also i am a teenager how have i destroyed the quality of this site?

Wouldn't it be funny if you came to the mans house like a bad a*s and he beat you like the illegitimate step-child you are. Lol. Like I've said before you teenagers really destroyed the quality of this website. Unbelievable.

yea i am a teenager 2 i havent donned anything either

^^ Well that is up for debate! ;)

^^ Well that is up for debate! ;)

ha ha ha, funny :bash:

I'm a teenager too, and even know I haven't been around long I don't think I've done anything wrong.

Mahonie, what are you talking about? I didn't create "Kyle Mahonie". I'm not sure if you are the real Barney or not, but whoever the real Barney is created that account to try and confuse us or something. I'm sorry if I insulted you if you're not the real Barney, but you are just a bit too suspicious for me.

I'm reconsidering my decision on whether to still visit Skyscraper City or to try and find another website like this that doesn't have as many "characters" on it. I have to agree with MiamiMike here....not all of you (Miami-305 and Maki-chan are excluded), but most of you teenagers are ruining the site.

Mahonie, what are you talking about? I didn't create "Kyle Mahonie". I'm not sure if you are the real Barney or not, but whoever the real Barney is created that account to try and confuse us or something. I'm sorry if I insulted you if you're not the real Barney, but you are just a bit too suspicious for me.

I'm reconsidering my decision on whether to still visit Skyscraper City or to try and find another website like this that doesn't have as many "characters" on it. I have to agree with MiamiMike here....not all of you (Miami-305 and Maki-chan are excluded), but most of you teenagers are ruining the site.

hey how about me? and if u leave coruna i am leaving 2

Kevin, you've improved your behavior tremendously since you first joined. At this point I don't have any problem with you. I used to, but not any more. You've gotten a lot better.

Kevin, you've improved your behavior tremendously since you first joined. At this point I don't have any problem with you. I used to, but not any more. You've gotten a lot better.

k, i am glad u dont hate me any more, LOL see i could be a good person

What the hell have I done? I was here before MiamiMike anyways and no one had a problem with me then.

Well i post alot on this site not only the Miami forum. Only the Miami forum has this kind of problem. I do agree that Kevin improved his behavior ALOT since he had the weeklong ban, good job! :cheers:

Well i post alot on this site not only the Miami forum. Only the Miami forum has this kind of problem. I do agree that Kevin improved his behavior ALOT since he had the weeklong ban, good job! :cheers:
^^
Maki Chan:) ( Japan's Female ),
my best female friend,
Who's " NOT " relative to my best Actor Jackie Chan:banana: ( China Man ).
Its Not the friendly family members that have been here for awhile that are human here,
Its the Aliens that keep coming in new that have already been Banned, but will always keep trying anything to make us look bad with their bad bahavior .:cheers:

Well, I am not a teenager. All I know is I posted a couple good threads, expected some kind remarks, and all of the sudden I am accused of being someone else. This Corona character, (not sure if he is one of the ones you guys are talking about that is part of the Barney thing or not), comes along accusing me of being Barney. Then my name is used by someone else, oddly enough right after Corona got pissed at me, (which is why I just naturally assumed that Corona was the one who did it) to post an apology and admit to being someone I am really not.

It is quite confusing. I really don't know who I am anymore actually.

Oh well, fuck it, I will get back to posting some Miami pictures though. Hopefully you people can just block the asshole that keeps showing up here and posting all that silly shit.

I'm not a "character" and I don't appreciate the accusations, Mahonie. I know you are Barney and [I]you{/I] are the one that created "Kyle Mahonie". After "Mahonie" is banned, let's just forget this whole thing and hope that Barney doesn't come back under a new username and pollute the forum with his immature antics. Anyone who has been around the forum for a while knows I hate Barney and his immature antics, and would never do something like that. In the future, I won't even post next time Barney shows up under a different username, it's not worth it...

Wow. I'm so happy to see the Boca thread has grown in popularity! :no: :no:

I don't know why that Kyle Mahonie fellow was in a twist about this thread, but I'm not about to take that crap from a Miramar resident. I'm not about to turn this into a city battle, but someone can't rip on a forum for not being homogenic to Miami and that same person represents another suburb like Miramar. The name doesn't even suit it--"Miramar"--> translated to "sea view"... IT DOESN'T EVEN HAVE COASTAL ACCESS!

My personal feelings: Miramar and Pembroke Pines were mistakes. Their placement on a map and linear nature are testaments to their imposition for South Florida. Their only sense of place is "between Miami and Ft. Lauderdale". It's a tragedy county/city planners never gave that land to Hollywood or Ft. Lauderdale--the demographics would have worked in those established cities' favor to demonstrate and recognize the great cities Hollywood and Ft. Lauderdale actually are.

At least Boca Raton doesn't suffer these problems... sure it's small(er) now, but it's on its way. It has a whole lot more potential than Miramar ever will.

I agree man Boca is much better than Miramar. Boca is a great suburb that Miami is fortunate to have. Most of southern and western Broward isn't that nice, Boca is on the water and is much more beautiful than Miramar.

Just a few thoughts here from a 45-year-old guy:

First of all, I'd hope we ALL agree that there's been some genuinely embarrassing stuff on this site lately (yes, I saw the "photos" earlier today). The forum should NEVER get that juvenile and poor Toucano should NEVER have to deal with such imbecilic nonsense.

Second, some of you guys FEED the trolls. Don't you understand the mentality going on? They aren't idiots. They're pranksters. They know how to push your buttons. But the ADULT response is to just ignore that crap. Responding to it just makes the whole thing a dreary, endless thread that winds up destroying the entire POINT of this message board.

Third, I have zero problem with any teenagers posting here and in fact I think most of them provide VERY good posts that are both informative and interesting.

I will, however, call out "kevin22" as a too-frequent exception. There's simply too many juvenile responses (i.e. "you're stupid") anytime someone disagrees with his VERY limited experiences and too many petulant, bratty comments to think of him as a responsible member here. And he's done the same thing elsewhere on SSC which I think embarrasses the Miami board.

I have no desire whatsoever to see him banned and think he can eventually become a GOOD poster but the jury's out on that so far. We'll see.

And since I know you're going to read this, Kevin, please know I mean NO personal animosity towards you. It's just that you come across too immature at times and it really doesn't do you OR this board much good when you do. Capisco?

So anyway. end of rant. Here's to this board returning to normalcy with all the EXCELLENT posters who have been here all along..:cheers:

thank you spellbound, for what needed to be said.

Thanks spellbound, and yes I've noticed that this troll loves posting inappropriate pictures.

I know what this thread needs: MORE BOCA PICTURES!

I found a couple old ones (i.e. summer 2005), but at least they move the focus away from immature postings.

http://img520.imageshack.us/img520/3200/img0328rf7.jpg
http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/126/img0340of1.jpg

Also, from the same day, I got a bonus shot for FortLauderdaleBeachBum :)
Give Boca 10 to 20 years to adjust some height restrictions, and I think this'll be what our downtown looks like (except Pink and Yellow and with gaudy Medieval statues, cause that's how Mizner would've wanted it.)

http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/593/img1011dc1.jpg

And lastly, this photo is from a trip I took last spring to The Bahamas. It was the sunset over Rock Sound on Eleuthera, and it was the most beautiful sunset I've ever seen. I'd like to symbolically use the sunset from this photo to set away any negative, immature postings on this thread.

http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/9002/dscn0814sh8.jpg

^^ Nice pictures! I really like the sunset.

He was in the Bahamas, you can see the sunset over the water there.

He was in the Bahamas, you can see the sunset over the water there.

I have another newsflash for you... there are places in SoFlo where you can see the sunset over the water. Take my "Boca Raton" backyard for instance:

http://img501.imageshack.us/img501/9713/dscn0464xn0.jpg

It all sticks with the theme of the thread... and again, there's something special here that you can't find anywhere else down here. (BTW, if someone ever starts a SoFlo Sunrise/Sunset thread, I have dozens of pics to post there)

Wow thats pretty. Is that a lake or something?

Wow thats pretty. Is that a lake or something?

of course

I was reading into this and found these pics... basically, the Falcone Group is coming into town and revitalizing North Boca (just south of the Delray Beach city line) and putting in a mixed use development--the first mixed use development of this scale in the city outside of downtown.

This is how it looks now.
http://img162.imageshack.us/img162/1806/bocarivrwkqj2.jpg

This is how it will look in time.
http://img102.imageshack.us/img102/6174/bocariverwalkrendpx8.jpg

more to come....

Nice, urban!

I was reading into this and found these pics... basically, the Falcone Group is coming into town and revitalizing North Boca (just south of the Delray Beach city line) and putting in a mixed use development--the first mixed use development of this scale in the city outside of downtown.

This is how it looks now.
http://img162.imageshack.us/img162/1806/bocarivrwkqj2.jpg

This is how it will look in time.
http://img102.imageshack.us/img102/6174/bocariverwalkrendpx8.jpg

more to come....

I thought it was supposed to more like "Mizner Park" this looks like an office development.

Does anybody have any renderings of the sports complex (soccer and lacrosse fields or something like that) that is supposed to be across from the brand new boca raton public library on Spanish River Blvd close to Military Trail? it is supposed to be named after the same Count which has the amphitheater named after him in Mizner Park.

I thought it was supposed to more like "Mizner Park" this looks like an office development.

Does anybody have any renderings of the sports complex (soccer and lacrosse fields or something like that) that is supposed to be across from the brand new boca raton public library on Spanish River Blvd close to Military Trail? it is supposed to be named after the same Count which has the amphitheater named after him in Mizner Park.

The concept for North Boca Village Center is supposed to be like Mizner Park, but not the appearance of the project itself. The residents there are trying to create their own identity, and while they'll preserve the Mizner code already in place for Boca Raton, they aren't looking for all the pomp and frill that comes with the high-end status of a Mizner Park. This is a lot more middle-income than you think, believe me.

As for the park--it's to be named after Countess Henrietta deHoernle. The Countess, wife of the late Count Adolf deHoernle, has stood out as a philanthropic icon for the city of Boca Raton during the last 10 to 20 years. There is still debate amongst city leaders about the final layout of the park due to plan changes; such as accomodating all-turf soccer fields, a world-class ice skating facility, and a 110-foot tall bio-dome/botanical garden conservatory. As soon as the plans come my way, I'll post them.

Nice updates. I miss Boca sometimes. I had a great time when I visited last summer. Very beautiful, friendly people, and the weather was amazing. The tall pink building is also a personal favorite. I may not like the color pink but it is too outrageous not to like. Someday I'll have to plan another Miami/Boca return.

Here are some random pics I had taken.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b9/axb8000/DSCN0275.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b9/axb8000/DSCN0283.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b9/axb8000/DSCN0259.jpg

The concept for North Boca Village Center is supposed to be like Mizner Park, but not the appearance of the project itself. The residents there are trying to create their own identity, and while they'll preserve the Mizner code already in place for Boca Raton, they aren't looking for all the pomp and frill that comes with the high-end status of a Mizner Park. This is a lot more middle-income than you think, believe me.

As for the park--it's to be named after Countess Henrietta deHoernle. The Countess, wife of the late Count Adolf deHoernle, has stood out as a philanthropic icon for the city of Boca Raton during the last 10 to 20 years. There is still debate amongst city leaders about the final layout of the park due to plan changes; such as accomodating all-turf soccer fields, a world-class ice skating facility, and a 110-foot tall bio-dome/botanical garden conservatory. As soon as the plans come my way, I'll post them.

ice skating and botanical garden? That would be nice.. Do you have any links talking about it?

Generally, all the info I've gathered about it has been from the Boca Raton News and Sun-Sentinel newspapers... Boca news is good about looking into archives via the internet, so you may want to look there. Also, if you visit the Boca Raton Historical Society in the 'ole town hall building, they have a lot of info on the goings'-on for development in the city (no web links I'm afraid).

The concept for North Boca Village Center is supposed to be like Mizner Park, but not the appearance of the project itself. The residents there are trying to create their own identity, and while they'll preserve the Mizner code already in place for Boca Raton, they aren't looking for all the pomp and frill that comes with the high-end status of a Mizner Park. This is a lot more middle-income than you think, believe me.

As for the park--it's to be named after Countess Henrietta deHoernle. The Countess, wife of the late Count Adolf deHoernle, has stood out as a philanthropic icon for the city of Boca Raton during the last 10 to 20 years. There is still debate amongst city leaders about the final layout of the park due to plan changes; such as accomodating all-turf soccer fields, a world-class ice skating facility, and a 110-foot tall bio-dome/botanical garden conservatory. As soon as the plans come my way, I'll post them.

why do we need soccer fields?? there are 3 of them at FAU, as well as one in that middle school, within 0.5 mile radius from this park.. makes absolutely no sense to me to have soccer fields there....?
Also this Police/Fire training center? Thats just stupid, all over the place.

The proposed and partially completed Countess Henrietta de Hoernle Park in Boca Raton should become "official" on Tuesday night.

The Boca Raton City Council will hold a public hearing at its 6 p.m. meeting in City Hall in advance of approving a tentative plat for the 217-acre site that will be dedicated to one of the city's leading charitable benefactors.

The park has been in the conceptual stage for years. And just what to do with the former Blue Lake property that the city purchased in 2000 has been the subject of many previous hearings.

A new library is already rising on part of the land. The city's new dog park called Mizner Bark off Banyon Trail is open and accepting visitors.

Also being eyed for the facility is an outdoor police-fire training center that will complement the indoor training site at 6500 Congress Ave.

In a memo to the council, City Manager Leif Ahnell said de Hoernle Park consists of just over 56 acres north of Spanish River Boulevard and about 171 acres to the south of that road.

As envisioned by the city, the land will be divided into seven parcels for the creation of recreational facilities, park amenities and open spaces.

The library is located on parcel 1. Parcel 2 will be used for a road leading to Broken Sound Parkway, plans say.

All of parcel 3 will be dedicated to park and recreation uses. Parcels 4 and 5 will house the police-fire training center.

The dog park is on parcel 6. Parcel 7 - measuring just over four acres - will remain zoned for light industrial use.





i have many pix i want to post but imageshack seems to be down..

http://img77.imageshack.us/img77/5194/picture008we8.jpg

http://img77.imageshack.us/img77/5430/picture005yg1.jpg

http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/5117/picture010th9.jpg
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http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/3508/picture049cc1.jpg
http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/293/picture050at8.jpg
http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/638/picture052hd9.jpg
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http://img77.imageshack.us/img77/9312/picture056dq4.jpg
http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/7937/picture062sv1.jpg
http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/4583/picture066oy7.jpg
http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/8053/picture070wp2.jpg
http://img77.imageshack.us/img77/4246/picture074sk3.jpg
http://img77.imageshack.us/img77/716/picture075ep3.jpg
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http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/5333/picture078rk2.jpg
http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/797/picture080sx3.jpg
http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/8924/picture082ds2.jpg

too many repeat pix
i am deleting this post

I merged the two Boca Threads into one...Enjoy...

Thanks Toucano.

And Copernicus: Great photos! :happy: Again, I went to downtown today and was shamed for not having a camera, and sure enough I come home to see you posted these beautiful photos. Thank you very much.
I'm guessing those shots of the nice homes you took are on the south side of Camino Real between the resort and the Wachovia Building. And you got the cranes building 200 East Palmetto... nice.
--also, for a little news: I have just been accepted to intern this summer :bowtie: for the Boca Raton Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA)! I'll post any good news on here for you guys (at the discretion of the city, of course). :righton:

Thanks Toucano.

And Copernicus: Great photos! :happy: Again, I went to downtown today and was shamed for not having a camera, and sure enough I come home to see you posted these beautiful photos. Thank you very much.
I'm guessing those shots of the nice homes you took are on the south side of Camino Real between the resort and the Wachovia Building. And you got the cranes building 200 East Palmetto... nice.
--also, for a little news: I have just been accepted to intern this summer :bowtie: for the Boca Raton Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA)! I'll post any good news on here for you guys (at the discretion of the city, of course). :righton:


yes, those are the homes! in due time i'll try to take few photos of the ones along A1A. congrats on the internship and keep us posted! its tough getting info on new developments in Boca.

what do you guys think of these 3 new renderings for buildings across from CityPlace in downtown WPB? One of those glass towers is really nice! they had them on palm beach post.com

Go to WPB development news under the development sections to discuss WPB please.

What is the latest on the RAVELLA development corner of Spanish River/Military.

Has Kotler abandoned that project??? The website does not work anymore, its off their projects list, the site itself looks abandoned, etc?

http://www.ravellaboca.com/

That corner lot would be perfect for something like "boca village" behind the train station, or a small office building.

On another subject, I read somewhere that FAU is planning a 40,000 football stadium, and if that happened they would try to bring in MLB spring training down here.

What is the latest on the RAVELLA development corner of Spanish River/Military.

Has Kotler abandoned that project??? The website does not work anymore, its off their projects list, the site itself looks abandoned, etc?

http://www.ravellaboca.com/

That corner lot would be perfect for something like "boca village" behind the train station, or a small office building.

On another subject, I read somewhere that FAU is planning a 40,000 football stadium, and if that happened they would try to bring in MLB spring training down here.

I don't know about the Ravella website being down, but I drive by that site frequently and there's a lot of progress going on. They've torn down the trees for it and have begun installing sewer-pipeline. I have always thought it was ridiculously expensive to have $900,000 townhomes at that corner when cheaper ones w/ waterfront views are being built a few hundred feet away at "The Reserve at Blue Lake". Given time, I think a lot of affordable housing and mixed-use will come to the T-Rex property and area surrounding it, including "Boca Village". A lot of the places there now depend heavily on daytime customers from all the corporate headquarters nearby, but even so there is still a massive shortage of shops and restaurants for those people in that area.

As far as the FAU stadium--there have been talks amongst the FAU board of trustees to build a 40,000-seat domed stadium and "innovation village" on the northern part of the FAU campus. A few obstacles delaying that for now are traffic flow, funds (of course), and convincing all of the trustees that the school needs a domed stadium. Brogan has said that they will not begin stadium construction until FDOT announces/begins construction on an I-95 interchange @ Spanish River Blvd. It's crucially needed to relieve traffic on Glades Road, which is twice over capacity and one of the most travelled on roads in Palm Beach County.

Palm Beach Post did an article a couple months ago about attendance at Lockhart Stadium in Ft. Lauderdale for FAU Owls football games and mentioned how it might be money wasted to create such a massive facility for such a new program. On the plus side, the school could make a deal with the city to rent out the space for conventions, concerts, and/or even as a Hurricane shelter.

I don't know about the Ravella website being down, but I drive by that site frequently and there's a lot of progress going on. They've torn down the trees for it and have begun installing sewer-pipeline. I have always thought it was ridiculously expensive to have $900,000 townhomes at that corner when cheaper ones w/ waterfront views are being built a few hundred feet away at "The Reserve at Blue Lake". Given time, I think a lot of affordable housing and mixed-use will come to the T-Rex property and area surrounding it, including "Boca Village". A lot of the places there now depend heavily on daytime customers from all the corporate headquarters nearby, but even so there is still a massive shortage of shops and restaurants for those people in that area.

As far as the FAU stadium--there have been talks amongst the FAU board of trustees to build a 40,000-seat domed stadium and "innovation village" on the northern part of the FAU campus. A few obstacles delaying that for now are traffic flow, funds (of course), and convincing all of the trustees that the school needs a domed stadium. Brogan has said that they will not begin stadium construction until FDOT announces/begins construction on an I-95 interchange @ Spanish River Blvd. It's crucially needed to relieve traffic on Glades Road, which is twice over capacity and one of the most travelled on roads in Palm Beach County.

Palm Beach Post did an article a couple months ago about attendance at Lockhart Stadium in Ft. Lauderdale for FAU Owls football games and mentioned how it might be money wasted to create such a massive facility for such a new program. On the plus side, the school could make a deal with the city to rent out the space for conventions, concerts, and/or even as a Hurricane shelter.


"The Reserve at Blue Lake" starts in high 600s and goes up to over a million, so depending on size/quality Ravella is pretty much priced the same.

It seems to be that the area around T-rex is the hottest development zone right now, and in the years to come.

If that world class ice skating facility works out, this could be a major boost for real estate in the area. There are plenty of people with $$ in Boca, and not all kids can play tennis..

Alright, so I was returning from FLL airport an hour ago and happened to have my camera with me when I was driving by the construction at the T-Rex Corporate Center. So I decided to take a drive thru and snap these for you guys. :banana2: :banana2: I think they're adding about half a million square feet of office space to the area, in multiple buildings and phases, but these are shots of some of the newer, bigger projects.

http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/7236/dscn0973ma2.jpg

http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/4126/dscn0976jq8.jpg

http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/6456/dscn0977rb1.jpg

http://img240.imageshack.us/img240/4858/dscn0980ri4.jpg

http://img505.imageshack.us/img505/6439/dscn0979dg5.jpg

These ones are of the progress on the new Boca Raton Library. It's been featured in the news a lot recently because it's so far behind schedule. But after speaking to the contractor (who walked up to my car to tell me I was trespassing), he said the library should be done by December of this year. It's especially nice because it has a 2nd floor ballroom and overlooks Blue Lake.

http://img230.imageshack.us/img230/8172/dscn0986qi2.jpg

http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/6222/dscn0987zj1.jpg

This shows the bridge across a new canal connecting Blue Lake to the new deHoernle Park. The bridge pathway takes people through the Pondahowk Nature Preserve, then over to the new Ravella Condominiums site and Lynn University.

http://img248.imageshack.us/img248/8714/dscn0990xz5.jpg

And finally: BRAND NEW UP-TO-DATE PHOTOS OF THE U/C WORLD HEADQUARTERS FOR OFFICE DEPOT! Three 5-story buildings, 500,000 sq. ft., utilizing Green technology and competing for LEED certification.

http://img61.imageshack.us/img61/3323/dscn0992ei4.jpg

http://img510.imageshack.us/img510/7352/dscn0994bn3.jpg

http://img510.imageshack.us/img510/6053/dscn0995oe2.jpg

:banana2::banana2::banana2::banana2::banana2::banana2::banana2::banana2:

A ballroom ontop of a Library!??!!? That sounds preety dumb.

A ballroom ontop of a Library!??!!? That sounds preety dumb.

Banquet Hall**, not exactly a ballroom. It's actually a great thing to have for the area, considering the library is surrounded by hundreds of employers and corporate headquarters--not to mention the Boca Raton folks that can use it as a scenic wedding reception hall or a great venue for Bar/Bat Mitzvah celebrations. This isn't your average library.

Nice shots Dshoost, lots of construction, Office Depot is gonna be awsome.

Alright, so I was returning from FLL airport an hour ago and happened to have my camera with me

...And didn't stop for any pics of downtown Lauderdale??


Just kidding ;)


Thanks for posting Shoost, great pics. http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/4608/thumbsupfv5.gif

Anybody with an idea of where exactly this is?
seems like a nice chunk of land..

BOCA RATON 8 ACRES OF LAND SUITABLE FOR RESIDENTIAL REDEVELOPMENT; LOCATED IN EAST BOCA NEAR FAU CLOSE TO I-95 AND TURNPIKE; PRESENTLY 74,000’ SQ. FT. NONE FUNCTIONING ASSISTED LIVING FACILITY W/ EXISTING REC. FACILITIES DEMO AND REDEVELOPE OR REHAB (ALF) ASKING 8,900,000

Just a wild guess--I'd say it's between NW 20th street and Spanish River Blvd., near FAU. There's a few acres of undeveloped land around there that might fit the profile.

http://img243.imageshack.us/img243/8189/bocaparcelscz5.png

Again, just a wild guess. Also, I begin interning tomorrow for City of Boca Raton Development Services, so I'll try do address some questions you guys have about development in the city.

Just a wild guess--I'd say it's between NW 20th street and Spanish River Blvd., near FAU. There's a few acres of undeveloped land around there that might fit the profile.

http://img243.imageshack.us/img243/8189/bocaparcelscz5.png

Again, just a wild guess. Also, I begin interning tomorrow for City of Boca Raton Development Services, so I'll try do address some questions you guys have about development in the city.

I think it would be a mistake using this land for residential. They should do something along the lines of Boca Village in T-rex, offices to support the new hospital and "lunch" places.

Have a friend who works for development office in Boca Raton, Florida. Newest development just approved are 2 big towers along Federal Hwy just 1 block north of Camino Real. This will be an adult luxury senior residence but 2 towers. They are tearing apart that old strip mall next to the Wachovia Bank. Also, the TheModern, will be a large loft development right around the corner from the Dunkin Donunts on Fed Hwy. Also, Palmetto Park East has a loft development next to Lilly's Cafe and Palmetto and Mizner Blvd is a luxury development. SE 1st Street has seen some new restaurants and cafes open, as well as shops that run along the new semi pedestrian/complex where Chops Lobster Bar is located.

Hope this helped you guys out.

Have a friend who works for development office in Boca Raton, Florida. Newest development just approved are 2 big towers along Federal Hwy just 1 block north of Camino Real. This will be an adult luxury senior residence but 2 towers. They are tearing apart that old strip mall next to the Wachovia Bank. Also, the TheModern, will be a large loft development right around the corner from the Dunkin Donunts on Fed Hwy. Also, Palmetto Park East has a loft development next to Lilly's Cafe and Palmetto and Mizner Blvd is a luxury development. SE 1st Street has seen some new restaurants and cafes open, as well as shops that run along the new semi pedestrian/complex where Chops Lobster Bar is located.

Hope this helped you guys out.

good news!
do you know anything about Spanish River Blvd getting its own exit off I-95?

After week one at the Development Services office, allow me to share some of the new developments mentioned above... and others too (as best as I can remember).

VIA MIZNER
- At the northeast corner of US-1 and Camino Real, they are tearing down the current Via Mizner center and constructing four 10-story buildings. One will be a hotel, one will be an office building, and the other two will be residential.
- There is talk of putting a robotic parking garage in two of the buildings; and it should be dually noted that there will be ground-floor and second floor retail for the buildings in the project that front US-1.

BOCA LOFTS
- The property behind Dunkin Donuts that Urbandeco brought up is known as Boca Lofts. It will be two 10-story buildings with 1 and 2-floor loft units.
- A unique feature about the project is that it isn't designed much like its counterparts in the area with the Addison Mizner style. From the plans I remember seeing, it looks more modern and stylish, letting in a lot of natural light into the lofs.

PALADIO
- I'm not 100% on the name, but this is the senior assisted-living center Urbandeco also mentioned. I actually liked the renderings for this one, because it looks a lot nicer than any senior-living center I've ever seen.
-10 stories with ground floor retail, fronting US-1, and follows the Mizner style code required by the city for new buildings fronting US-1.

FIVE PALMS
- This is the loft development next to Lilly's Cafe. It's been topped off at around 7 or 8 stories and is located on E. Palmetto Park Blvd, about 2 blocks west of the intracoastal.

200 EAST
- Located on the SE corner of Mizner Blvd and Palmetto Park Blvd, this will be two 10-story luxurious condominiums interconnected at the 5th floor with a pool deck, all on top of ground-floor retail and a 3 or 4-floor parking structure.
- Upon the completion of 200 East and Five Palms, a canyon effect will compliment the drive east down Palmetto, much like the canyon effect driving north on US-1 from Camino Real.
(it's a work in progress)
http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/34/062907125000ti9.jpg

THE MILAN AT TOWN CENTER
- Currently u/c and at about the sixth floor, the Milan's prime tennant is supposed to be Commerce Bank. There is a 4-story parking garage making up the base of the building and the rest will be above it.
- Rumor has it there will be a restaurant on the top floor of The Milan. It is currently zoned for up to 85 feet, so the views from the top should make for an interesting dining experience.

http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/1695/062707145900cd5.jpg

There's also about 400,000 sq. ft. of office space being added to the back of Boca Center (formerly Crocker center). You can see the construction from I-95, just south of Glades Rd. Town Center at Boca is also continuing to add about 250,000 sq. ft. of retail space, including a new lifestyle center known as the "Terrace at Town Center". To relieve the additional visitors and the lost parking spaces, a 3-story parking garage by Bloomingdales is u/c and should be opened by Thanksgiving.

Collectively, there's probably between 1.5 million and 2 million square feet of new office space currently under construction in the city of Boca Raton. If my research is accurate, that's far more new office space by Summer 2008 than any city in South Florida.

And lastly, to answer Copernicus' question about the Spanish River overpass at I-95: I've asked planners about that and they've said that the soonest any construction of an interchange there can begin is probably around 2012. The interchange construction depends on the timing of plans delivered by FAU to build their "innovation village" and Owl's stadium. Once construction on I-95 in the rest of Palm Beach county is completed, expect to hear very, very, VERY big plans about I-95 enhances and reconstruction... plans on the scale of what's in place between I-595 and Broward Blvd. in Fort Lauderdale.

And lastly, to answer Copernicus' question about the Spanish River overpass at I-95: I've asked planners about that and they've said that the soonest any construction of an interchange there can begin is probably around 2012. The interchange construction depends on the timing of plans delivered by FAU to build their "innovation village" and Owl's stadium. Once construction on I-95 in the rest of Palm Beach county is completed, expect to hear very, very, VERY big plans about I-95 enhances and reconstruction... plans on the scale of what's in place between I-595 and Broward Blvd. in Fort Lauderdale.


What is FAU "innovation Village" is it part of R&D park? The very big plans similiar to I-595 is that supposed to be at Spanish River overpass?

thankx for the update, we truly need someone like yourself with inside info!

If you look back a few posts at the aerial map I posted of FAU, you will notice a big wedge of forest/green space bordered by Boca Raton Airport to the northwest, FAU R&D park to the northeast, PBCC to the east, and the rest of the FAU campus to the south. It's likely the stadium will be constructed in the northernmost quadrant of that green space, and probably some reconfiguration of the parking there and around PBCC.

The innovation village is supposed to be upper-classmen dorms and theme housing for athletes, as well as retail venues and possibly a hotel. The idea came along when Brogan (president of FAU) and the board recognized the need for more on-campus housing as the school is trying to shift to a more traditional college campus and experience. The village will probably be between the stadium and the current academic facilities @ FAU.

None of this can be constructed without an interchange at Spanish River Blvd. and I=95 to relieve traffic congestion on Glades Rd. Glades capacity is nearly 50,000 vehicles/day, but between I-95 and the FAU entrance nearly 92,000 cars a day drive on it. IT'S A NIGHTMARE!

Very big plans for I-95 --> The thing I learned recently about Boca from the development services office is that more people come to work in Boca than people that actually live in Boca. This explains our traffic woes. Basically, if the concept hasn't changed in the past year, they want to add a two-lane wide shoulder in each direction on I-95 between the county line (Hillsboro canal) and the Congress Ave. interchange. If you're driving north on I-95 through Boca Raton and want to get off at one of the 4 exits (5 including Spanish River), you'll have to veer to the right shoulder and get off at each exit from the shoulder. Cars entering 95 in Boca would proceed onto the shoulder and likely have checkpoints along the highway where they can merge into general 95 traffic. One interchange configuration that has definitely been announced is for Yamato road. The plan there is to turn it into an urban interchange, like the ones along Sterling and Griffin in Broward county, so it can free up a good 100 acres of space currently occupied by a semi-clover leaf (that space would become prime office real estate).

Glades Rd & I-95 --> plans are still on the drawing boards, but the most effective way to relieve congestion here would be to have fly-overs/tunnels from 95 directly onto the FAU campus. The reason I propose tunnels is because of the interchanges proximity to the Boca Raton Airport landing strip--planes fly as low as 40 or 50 feet sometimes over the interchange to land. It is important especially in the future to provide a direct link to FAU because Boca Medical Center is massively expanding and relocating to FAU, creating a complex that's the magnitude of Jackson Memorial Hospital.

Keep your eyes open.

so it can free up a good 100 acres of space currently occupied by a semi-clover leaf (that space would become prime office real estate).

Boca Medical Center is massively expanding and relocating to FAU, creating a complex that's the magnitude of Jackson Memorial Hospital.

Keep your eyes open.

can you post a map of where that 100 acres of space is?

I think FAUs hospital will the best in South Florida by miles, way to much aging $$$ here to have something not up to its' standards.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=33431&ie=UTF8&ll=26.393523,-80.09604&spn=0.038327,0.028925&t=k&z=15&om=1

is this that 100 acres?

how about that green area between yamato and spanish river, directly north/east of r&d park, is that some kind of wild life sanctuary that cant be touched?

The space currently occupied by the on/off I-95 ramps @ Yamato road is the est. 100 acres... so yes, that link is correct. I know that the space south of the I-95 bend and to the east of the El Rio canal is a fish and wildlife research center. I'm not sure about the space across the canal from it though. I'll ask the development services people about that on Monday.

And about FAU's hospital--at a price tag of $650 million, I'm betting it'll be a national model for top quality health care and sustainable design.

I don't think a hotel is going up there. Just senior residences. i think it is called Paladin (corner of fed and camino)

I don't think a hotel is going up there. Just senior residences. i think it is called Paladin (corner of fed and camino)

No, you're misinformed. Paladin, the senior residences, is going up on the west side of Federal Highway, right next to the cool Wachovia Building. The Via Mizner property is on the northeast corner of Camino Real and US-1, right across the street. Of the four buildings proposed for that property, one was announced to be a hotel. I'm in "downtown" almost everyday this summer, so I'll take some snap shots tomorrow.

I promised downtown Boca photos, and luckily it was a nice day.

http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/1025/dscn0997kx3.jpg

http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/6292/dscn1001zr6.jpg

http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/8011/dscn1002rc6.jpg

http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/7708/dscn1005qi9.jpg

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http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/7082/dscn1029jq1.jpg

Well, there's a better picture of downtown... at least from the Mizner Park perspective.

Copernicus--> earlier today I saw the master plan for Florida Atlantic University and its I-95 interchange direct link/Spanish River interchange (among hundreds of other features for Boca's future). I've been sworn to secrecy about the details outlining how the campus will look in the next 10 to 15 years, but I'll tell you this: my jaw dropped to the ground when I saw images of what FAU WILL look like a few years down the road. The new Boca Community Hospital, the stadium placement--I've already said too much.

Hope everyone likes the photos.

Thanks DShoost88. Boca looks nice. My friend wanted to know what kind of hotel will be opening there. Do you when construction starts? Will they tear down the Citibank offices? He had some other questions. Do you know what they are building near the Boca Grand. Its a big property. He said they tore down some consigment shops. What about the corner of Palmetto and Federal (SE corner) Are there plans to build there.

^^Urbandeco, my friend... If the Via Mizner property gets developed as planned, than I believe they'll be demolishing the CitiBank offices. Unfortunately, I'm not sure when the property will be developed--it was approved almost a year ago, so who knows. I'm not sure what your friend saw torn down near Boca Grand. I've been driving by it everyday and haven't noticed anything missing :no:. I do know, however, that Boca Lofts will be going up only a couple blocks south of Boca Grand, and some stuff is always going up on the Royal Palm Place property, so maybe that's what he saw. The SE corner of Palmetto and Federal shall (unfortunately) remain a parking lot, although I saw plans filed through the planning and zoning board @ city hall for that property--9 story offices with rear parking garage. I think what happened is that the planning board asked the developer to touch up on the designs, or maybe it didn't meet some city codes.

Lastly, I have a picture to show you. I will neither tell you what it is of, nor when it will be realized. Think of me as J.J. Abrams and that this picture is my "Cloverfield" trailer... (see Transformers and you'll understand my analogy).

http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/8612/photohs5.jpg

^^ FAU

Dshoost...thanks!!
It might not be right next door to the Grand but he said either a few blocks north or south of there, several consignment shops were torn down. It is easier to see this piece of land from Dixie Hwy and it stretches up to Federal Hwy. He also mentioned something about the Boca Spine. Not sure what that is but he said it will be like lincoln road in Ft Lauderdale.

Lincoln Road in Ft. Lauderdale?
You mean Las Olas?

Yes... the spine, of course. :-P

It's been a dream for the past 50 years, almost, and judging by the 200 pages of drawings, layouts, and other details I've observed from the P&Z office, the spine WILL become a reality. It's basically a long-sought pedestrian link between Mizner Park and Royal Palm Place. To build it, they'll have to tear down a few shops along Palmetto Park Blvd. and Boca Raton Rd. The Boca Historical Society is working very, VERY closely with the city to preserve historical characteristics of the area, which is why the project has taken so long. Las Olas and Atlantic Ave (Delray) have set the benchmark for what Boca's aiming at with work on Palmetto Park Rd., while Lincoln Rd. is essentially what they're aiming at with the spine.

^^Urbandeco, my friend... If the Via Mizner property gets developed as planned, than I believe they'll be demolishing the CitiBank offices. Unfortunately, I'm not sure when the property will be developed--it was approved almost a year ago, so who knows. I'm not sure what your friend saw torn down near Boca Grand. I've been driving by it everyday and haven't noticed anything missing :no:. I do know, however, that Boca Lofts will be going up only a couple blocks south of Boca Grand, and some stuff is always going up on the Royal Palm Place property, so maybe that's what he saw. The SE corner of Palmetto and Federal shall (unfortunately) remain a parking lot, although I saw plans filed through the planning and zoning board @ city hall for that property--9 story offices with rear parking garage. I think what happened is that the planning board asked the developer to touch up on the designs, or maybe it didn't meet some city codes.

Lastly, I have a picture to show you. I will neither tell you what it is of, nor when it will be realized. Think of me as J.J. Abrams and that this picture is my "Cloverfield" trailer... (see Transformers and you'll understand my analogy).

http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/8612/photohs5.jpg

what is that pink thing next to the "stadium" i presume?

also is boca going to do anything about the beach ?
something along the lines what deerfiled beach has, that walkway along the ocean?

what are current office rental rates in Boca? from low to high end?

The only improvements for the beach to be accessible to the public will be along Palmetto Park rd. near A1A. There's a whole plan to make it similar to Atlantic Ave. in Delray in terms of generating foot traffic on Palmetto. Unlike Deerfield, the condo associations and city parks are trying to maintain the exclusive status that Boca's known for, so there aren't gigantic plans besides some nice restaurants and stores along Palmetto.

Can you be more specific about the office rental rates? Do you mean cost or availability?

The only improvements for the beach to be accessible to the public will be along Palmetto Park rd. near A1A. There's a whole plan to make it similar to Atlantic Ave. in Delray in terms of generating foot traffic on Palmetto. Unlike Deerfield, the condo associations and city parks are trying to maintain the exclusive status that Boca's known for, so there aren't gigantic plans besides some nice restaurants and stores along Palmetto.

Can you be more specific about the office rental rates? Do you mean cost or availability?

both if you have that kind of information. I drove by T-rex the other day, I must say that one building will be very nice, but the other 2 almost completed are complete waste of space @ 2 stories each... New Lynn Insurance corporate headquarters building,off Military, looks very nice as well.

there was an article in boca paper regarding ice skating rings
1 olympic size 2 NHL size, does this mean we are going to have MLB at FAU and NHL training camps here?

I must say this corridor between spanish river and yamato is the hottest area in boca right now!

Yeah, I read that too. Here's the arcticle:

http://www.bocaratonnews.com/index.php?src=news&refno=20546&category=Main%20Headline

I'm trying to convince a few developers I know to take a look at it. They'd be foolish to turn down this opportunity. Ice Rinks in FL = $$$! I guess it makes sense that the hottest place in town is lookin' for an ice rink to cool things down. ::no::

Yeah, I read that too. Here's the arcticle:

http://www.bocaratonnews.com/index.php?src=news&refno=20546&category=Main%20Headline

I'm trying to convince a few developers I know to take a look at it. They'd be foolish to turn down this opportunity. Ice Rinks in FL = $$$! I guess it makes sense that the hottest place in town is lookin' for an ice rink to cool things down. ::no::

If they play this olympic size ice-skating facility right this could be the biggest cash cow in SE Florida. Think about it, how many tennis schools do we have down here? hundreds..thousands, maybe... Well the only other thing which appeals more to rich NYC/Long Islanders is the dream of their little girl competing in the Olympics, and its easy to sell dreams. If this facility in Boca can hire the right coaching stuff, etc, man this is going to be huge. I would not be difficult hiring talented Russian coaches for Boca Raton location. I can see people coming from all over the country here for this as well, rental market around this place should be pretty hot with higher enrollment and FAU and now hopefully this.

I really can not belive all the developments in this Spanish River area, between what is going to be going on at FAU and De Hoernle Park this has to big the biggest recreational development ever...

I really can not belive all the developments in this Spanish River area, between what is going to be going on at FAU and De Hoernle Park this has to big the biggest recreational development ever...

I'd say it's more educational than recreational--but nevertheless, certainly recreational. It seems to me that Boca's becoming a mecca for education in South Florida. We're the only city in SoFlo with 4 A-rated high schools on the FCAT, and even with the well-ranked public schools, there are more students enrolled in private schools per capita than any municipality in SoFlo. Lynn University is consistently stepping up their programs, offering Aviation, Bio-Medical, and expanding their performing arts department. FAU is solidifying Boca Raton as its mother ship, creating the traditional college campus atmosphere year-by-year, aiming at UCF or FSU status. Proposed botanical gardens, the new library that'll open in a few months, and of course the ice skating rink--Boca's HOT!

Ravella at the corner of Spanish River/Military is not going to be built.. info signs are gone, project is gone of Kotler's website...

Any information on whats going to happen on that piece of land?

Would be nice if the developer of Reserve at Blue Lake come to his senses as well and sold that land to be used for more recreational development - extension of the park, something like mizner park around the lake, restaurants, shops that wold be nice!!