Government

Boca Raton Approves 12 Story Hotel Across From Mizner Park in 4-1 Vote

by
Daniel Nee
March 24, 2026

The current layout of Mizner Plaza (left, Boca Daily News Photo) and the proposed hotel and retail space (right, rendering).

A 12-story hotel with 219 rooms and commercial space along NW 2nd Avenue will replace a landmark “pink” shopping plaza and the downtown post office in Boca Raton, after the 1.65 acre site was approved for redevelopment in a 4-1 vote by Boca Raton officials on Monday. The Mizner Plaza Hotel, as it has been noted in planning documents, will be constructed directly across the street from Mizner Park, Boca Raton’s shopping and restaurant plaza.

The Community Redevelopment Agency, which consists of city council members and the mayor acting as commissioners, provided approval of the project following a four-hour meeting that was marked primarily with opposition by residents of the adjacent “Tower 155” building. The residents – and their legal counsel – objected to the project due to concerns over structural issues that could be caused during construction as well as lost views. The commissioners ultimately placed several conditions on their approval after the marathon session concluded, but were not swayed by more significant legal arguments against granting a 41 percent reduction in required parking spaces for the complex.

A rendering of the proposed Mizner Plaza hotel property. (Planning Document)

The current layout of Mizner Plaza, which would be replaced with a 12-story, 219 room hotel complex. (Photo: Boca Daily News)

A rendering of the proposed Mizner Plaza hotel property. (Planning Document)

CRA Chairman Marc Wigder was the sole member of the board to vote against the approval. Mayor Scott Singer, Mayor-Elect Andy Thomson, and council members Yvette Drucker and Fran Nachlas voted in favor of approval. In several instances, officials praised the owner of the property, James and Marta Batmasian, for philanthropic efforts around town, indicating a level of trust in the prominent property owners to provide extra parking on another nearby parcel should the code deviation prove problematic.

As part of the revised application the Batmasians reduced the number of hotel rooms in the complex to 219 from 242, and converted 4,000 square feet of proposed restaurant space to a hotel spa. The design of the building has not changed since it was initially proposed earlier this year – an effort that stalled after public opposition grew to the sale of the parking lot adjacent to the post office. The developers had proposed a street-level pocket park with several floors of underground parking underneath. The number of parking spaces was recalculated under a new formula, leaving the number of stalls reduced from 557 to 328 – partially due to the lack of the parking that would have been constructed underneath the once-proposed park.

Attorney Ele Zachariades, representing the developers, said the 12-story, 219 room hotel would be divided between two towers and also include two floors of retail and restaurant use. Within the larger tower, the East Tower, 115 rooms will be constructed, totaling approximately 154,614 square feet, and the West Tower – adjacent to NE 1st Avenue – will contain 104 rooms, totaling approximately 101,028 square feet. A new water feature has been proposed in between the staircase and the NE 2nd Street sidewalk, which would be approximately 61 feet in length. In addition to the stairs, the second level will be accessible by a 275-foot pedestrian ramp located at the southeast corner of the property.

A rendering of the proposed Mizner Plaza hotel property. (Planning Document)

In addition to the hotel, the complex will include the 1,800 square feet of retail space, the 4,000 square foot spa, and 6,600 square feet of restaurant space on the second level. An additional 5,400 square feet of restaurant space will be reserved on the 12th floor for a restaurant with a view, alongside a pool deck.

Before the vote to approve the project took place, both Wigder and Nachlas indicated hesitation, leading the developers and city staff to codify a number of conditions of approval that would address concerns by Tower 155 residents, as well as those who opposed the parking reduction. The amendments included the obligation of the developers to conduct a structural engineering report, perform seismic testing to ensure the stability of Tower 155 would be preserved during construction, the addition of a raised crosswalk and a measure that required “contingency parking” within 600 feet from the property if city officials identified problems resulting from an “underparked” complex. Under the condition, the Batmasians would be required to create or acquire new parking stalls within 600 feet of 1 N. Federal Highway and 101 N. Federal Highway.

“While I hear the concerns raised, particularly by the neighbors but also others, I do think this is an application that is consistent with our ordinances,” said Thomson, adding that the Batmasians have a right to develop the property. “With this additional contingency in place for the parking spaces, we’re out of the world where a deviation is even necessary.”

Drucker, a proponent of the now-failed referendum to extend a 99 year lease to separate developers near the government campus area, referenced the public vote as a reason why the hotel should be approved.

“Because the referendum failed, I believe this is even more necessary because we won’t have a hotel at the government center,” she said. “We need places to go, places for people to eat, to create jobs.”

The Boca Raton downtown post office, which would be demolished in favor of a 12-story hotel complex. (Photo: Boca Daily News)

A rendering of the proposed Mizner Plaza hotel property. (Planning Document)

Singer, for his part, said the parking issues were largely a result of the city’s own code, which calls for “overparking” and should be modified. The hotel use largely precludes a need to have a number of parking spaces that would be more appropriate for a residential structure, he argued.

“This is a specific hotel use,” he said, citing the number of spaces at .75 per room. “It can’t be switched to a different type of residential use. If they wanted to do that, they would have to come back and that throws off the calculation. Our examples in the city show that usage is not going to be hit. Certainly, at the Hyatt it isn’t.”

“As of right, they’re entitled to build a much denser building, and I don’t think that’s what we want,” Singer continued, complimenting the design of the building.

The Mizner Plaza developers have also pledged to build elevated sidewalks and crosswalks to improve safety in the area, and will contribute $27,000 annually, in perpetuity, for improvements to transit and mobility in the Mizner Park area as a whole.