Residents face wide‑ranging impacts from the proposed project. Although the City has commented on a couple of items, most concerns, from overcrowded parks to traffic, schools, and environmental risks, remain unresolved and unacknowledged.
The City is asking voters to approve a 99‑year lease and 12‑story high‑density buildings that will convert public land to private use and forever change downtown Boca Raton. Yet the City has failed to conduct the due diligence such a decision requires, leaving most fundamental impacts unexamined; a clear violation of basic governance.
● What do voters want their downtown to be like?
● Would voters like City Hall to be moved to Congress Avenue in facility City has already purchased to house staff during downtown renovations?
● Is a P3 more cost‑effective than public financing?
● Does a P3 better serve the public interest?
● Does market demand support the need for another hotel downtown ?
● How will the increased supply of residential units from other downtown projects affect market demand for the project?
● What are the air, noise, flooding impacts?
● What will buildings weigh and how will the increase in weight affect sea levels and flooding risks?
● Will increased pollution adversely affect Boca’s green canopy?
● Will the Banyans survive construction?
● Whether light from 12‑story buildings will affect sea turtle nesting?
● Whether new residents will overcrowd Memorial Park?
● Whether beaches will be overwhelmed?
● What traffic downtown will be like?
● Will the population increase affect traffic on I-95?
● Will the project change the sense of community in Boca?
● How will the project affect the safety of surrounding communities, during and after construction?
● Impacts on schools
● Impacts on day care
● Impacts on health facilities
● Impact on water, sewage, and solid waste
● Will the project will diminish Boca’s appeal to visitors seeking a community that is not overly tourist‑oriented?
● Whether the project will undermine the qualities that make Boca Raton desirable as a place to live, including walkable parks, manageable traffic, a quiet college‑town atmosphere, accessible beaches, and excellent public schools?
● Why was the Terra Group's $28 million settlement regarding the Surfside collapse not disclosed in their proposal?
● What other material facts or liabilities has Terra Group failed to disclose, and how can voters be assured that all risks associated with this project are being presented honestly?
The Terra Group, one of the developer partners for Boca Raton’s Government Campus Project, built a high rise building adjacent to the Surfside Champlain Towers Condominium, the building that collapsed killing 98 people. Residents of the Surfside building had complained about the building shaking when Terra drove piles next door. Terra was a defendant in the lawsuits tied to the collapse and settled with the Surfside families for 28 million dollars. Terra Group did not disclose this on their proposal.
In Boca Raton, the proposed Government Campus Project would also require pile‑driving for a 12‑story building in close proximity to the railroad tracks and other downtown structures. Considering the risks demonstrated in Surfside, do we want to be associated with a developer that withheld this history? Entering into an agreement with Terra Group exposes Boca to reputational and safety risks.
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