Boca planning ahead for more residents and visitors, mayor says
BOCA RATON — Boca Raton rose to the challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic and hopes to capitalize off that success in looking forward, Mayor Scott Singer said in his virtual “state of the city” address Wednesday.
Plans for the future include new hotels and apartments, green initiatives, repaved roads, upgraded drainage and recreational activities.
The Mandarin Oriental is scheduled to open by the end of the year in the downtown area and will be the seventh Mandarin hotel in the U.S., Singer said.
Two new apartment complexes — Aura Boca near Yamato Road and Congress Avenue and Manor Broken Sound near Yamato Road and Military Trail — will expand housing in the city, the mayor said.
As the independent Greater Boca Raton Beach and Parks District decides on the future of its defunct golf course at Ocean Breeze, residents can submit ideas for what they want to see there. Possibilities include pickleball, croquet walking paths or a golf school for newcomers.
By October, residents will likely have a new option for golfing, following last year’s donation of the Boca Country Club to the city.
In announcing the donation, city leaders said it will open up golfing opportunities to the public, whereas it is currently exclusive to club members.
In response to the growing threat of climate change and sea level rise, the city is heightening sea walls along waterways and at waterfront parks to prevent flooding.
That construction already began last month at Wildflower Park, with Silver Palm Park across the street to follow.
Last year, the city’s engineering and streets department milled and repaved 17 miles of roadways, 10 miles and sidewalks and spent about $500,000 on drainage improvements in areas such as Boca Square, according to Singer. Similar efforts will begin soon in Country Club Village, Lake Floresta, Old Floresta and Tunison Palms, he said.
Singer also touted the city’s pandemic response over the course of the last year, with vaccine distribution, two testing sites — one at Florida Atlantic University and another at the mall at Town Center — and initiatives such as food distribution and small business loans.
Boca was among the first cities to implement wide scale shutdowns and mask requirements in March 2020, a move that Singer said helped save lives.
Singer said the city used its reserves — instead of raising taxes — to help businesses who needed more assistance after using money from Palm Beach County and the federal government.
“We have been tested and made stronger,” he said. “As a result, we will recover and progress with greater speed, courage and determination.”