Boca Raton Archstone Palmetto Park project: City leaders to vote whether to approve development

BOCA RATON, Fla. - A year-long grassroots battle to keep a large apartment building out of downtown Boca Raton comes down to one vote.

City leaders are poised to decide whether "Archstone Palmetto Park" will soon break ground.

Residents who are against the project feel the odds are stacked against them. Dozens filled city council chambers Monday to show disgust for the project.

"It's unlikely they'll vote it down, but hopefully they'll use common sense and refer to the city 's master plan which discourages this type of development," says George O'Rourke, who lives three blocks away from the proposed site.

Developers want to add 379 units on a five-acre lot near single-family homes. Aside from traffic, and transient housing concerns, neighbors say the local economy can't support the more than 1,000 apartment units set to be built in the downtown area over the next couple years.

Developers argue the demand is there, saying apartment rentals are the missing component of a vibrant downtown. Not one apartment building has been built since the housing bust. City leaders have approved for 1,700 more units.

"There is a reason they want to be here, because we have a strong opportunity for quality rental housing," says Charles Siemon, a land use attorney in support of the project.

Right now the property is half open field, half empty buildings. The businesses that were there closed up and moved out anticipating the arrival of Archstone. Locals want something to move in, but they want something else.

"We moved here because we like the character of the city, it's not Miami, Fort Lauderdale or West Palm Beach and we want to keep it that way," says James wood.

Last year the council decided 4-to-1 to approve the project, but it is caught up in a legal battle. If this proposal is passed, neighbors vow they will also take it to court.