A high-end condominium building may be coming to one of downtown Boca Raton’s last-remaining vacant lots.
If approved, the Concierge would be a 42-unit multifamily project at 22 SE Sixth St., not far from the Mandarin Oriental Hotel and Residences project and near popular shopping spots such as Trader Joe’s and Publix.
The project would rise nine stories and feature 74 parking spots, including 60 valet-only parking spots.
“The condo market is doing extremely well in downtown Boca Raton,” said Ele Zachariades, the land-use attorney behind the project. “I see no reason why this would be any different than any other downtown condos in Boca.”
The site currently is vacant, previously occupied by an office building, Zachariades said. It was demolished in 2020.
The Concierge was originally set to be an 88-unit assisted-living facility, but after the project was sold to a new client and construction costs skyrocketed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the initial plans were no longer economically feasible, Zachariades said.
The project went before the Boca Raton Planning and Zoning Board on Thursday and received a unanimous recommendation. Next, the project will go to the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency, likely in May.
Boca Raton’s booming growth
If the Concierge gets the CRA green light, it will join many other residential projects in downtown Boca Raton, some still under construction.
- The Alina Residences, The Alina Residences, three nine-story buildings at 200 SE Mizner Blvd. featuring more than 300 luxury condo units.
- Royal Palm Residences, which are three nine-story towers featuring 48 luxury condominiums at 475 E. Royal Palm Road.
- Camino Square, which has nearly 350 apartment units packed into eight stories at 171 W. Camino Square.
- Tower 155, which has is an eight-, 10- and 12-story building with 128 homes.
Amid the influx of new residential buildings, Boca Raton also has drawn more people seeking jobs, as well as new businesses.
In the beginning of the year, the city announced it led the way in office leasing activity across South Florida in 2022 and 2023.
Other buildings are coming to bolster that growth as well. Aletto, a luxury office building, is scheduled to finish construction in 2025.
The Concierge, if designed as current renderings depict, would take a likeness to the ultra-modern Glass House project under construction along Palmetto Park Road, dotted with panels of glass.
“People really gravitate to wanting that new product,” said John Farina, the president of U.S. Development, which has residential projects in South Florida, such as the Salato Residences in Pompano Beach.
“New product” means fresh construction and contemporary features, he said, such as all-glass buildings, floor-to-ceiling doors and open-living concepts.
“Natural sunlight and views are absolutely vital to new development, and we have so much natural sunlight here in Florida, and it’s such an inspiration to architects,” said Scott Gerow, the director of luxury sales for the CBG Luxury Team at Compass in Boca Raton. In 2018, he was a sales executive for the Alina residences.
Buyers, especially those from other big metropolitan cities such as New York City and Chicago, want styles they are used to, Gerow said, hence the style shift in Boca Raton.
“Developers have to deliver what buyers want, otherwise they don’t sell their inventory,” Gerow said. “So if they’re seeing sales velocity for these newer contemporary buildings, they kind of have to stay on track with that thinking and offer what the public wants.”
Fran Nachlas, the newly appointed Boca Raton CRA chair, said part of the vision for Boca Raton includes innovation, which extends to architecture.
“I like to see exceptional design and development,” she said. “That’s what I really want to see going forward, that exceptional design and something we haven’t seen before.”
