As New Boca PD Headquarters Debated, Questions Arise Over ‘Save Boca’ Mailers

The proposed location of a new police headquarters building in Boca Raton, FL, May 2025. (Photo: Boca Daily News)

Boca Raton city council members this week spent hours debating the best approach toward the construction of a new police headquarters, however a heated dispute quickly arose over mailers sent out by a political action committee headed by a sitting councilman.

City leaders have long acknowledged the need for a new police headquarters. As it currently stands, the existing building downtown is cramped – with some detectives working out of rooms that once served as coat closets – and suffers from frequent leaks in its roof. Many of the department’s functions have had to be moved to what is known as the “6500 Building” on Congress Avenue, leading to a physical separation of units from one another, which top officers have said limits cooperation and cohesiveness in investigations. The city council formerly proposed a $175 million bond referendum to build a new headquarters adjacent to the Spanish River library on Spanish River Boulevard, which would have carried a total cost of about $192 million, but the plan was soundly defeated by voters alongside a separate referendum to lease downtown land to a developer for 99 years.

While a new council majority – and mayor – were elected in March, the issue has not gone away. There is consensus among city officials that the police department has long outgrown its 1970s headquarters, but a split has emerged with regard to the size and cost of the new building, largely between three council members and Mayor Andy Thomson, and Councilman Jon Pearlman, who founded the “Save Boca” political action committee to oppose the downtown referendum. This week, during a work session meeting of the council, the gulf between Pearlman and the remainder of the governing body – including two of his former running mates – grew deeper, when an e-mail blast from the Save Boca group was labeled “misinformation” and “divisive.” Pressed as to whether he authored the e-mail, Pearlman avoided answering, instead repeating that “the committee” was responsible for its content.

Renderings of a potential new police headquarters building off Spanish River Boulevard in Boca Raton, FL, Sept. 2025. The plan was ultimately voted down at the ballot box. (Planning Document)

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The latest proposal for a new police headquarters is a scaled-back version of what appeared on the ballot in March. Council members and Thomson appeared to reach a consensus regarding its location on Spanish River Boulevard, along with maintaining a substation in the downtown sector. The station as proposed on the March ballot would have spanned 164,000 square feet – purportedly to be able to handle estimates for population and law enforcement needs in 2045 – but the updated proposal calls for a 94,000 square foot building, which would represent the size required for current needs.

“There’s a 70,000 square foot drop between 2045 and the preliminary number we’re preparing for today,” explained City Manager Mark Sohaney.

Sohaney said estimates call for a cost of $80 million to construct the physical structure, while “program costs” such as furniture, technology, infrastructure and facilitating the move itself would bring the project closer to $120 million.

While the presentation itself included a give-and-take discussion on financing options and timelines that are yet to be determined, the conversation quickly moved toward an e-mail blast sent out by the Save Boca group – headed by Pearlman – that stated the original $192 million plan was still on the table. The e-mail spoke of a “Taj Mahal” police station and that “city staff indicated last week their intention to proceed.”

A message sent by the “Save Boca” organization Friday, May 22, 2026.

Thomson and the three other council members all stated at the meeting that, in calls with city staff last Thursday, their understanding was that the smaller building and reduced-cost proposal would be presented at the work session meeting. Asked by Thomson to confirm that was true, all council members except Pearlman stated that it was. Council members then said that after the Save Boca message had been sent from the address “[email protected]” on Friday, hundreds of e-mails began pouring into the inboxes of council members and the mayor opposing what they understood to be a plan that was already dead.

“We’re not privy to private meetings with staff, and so forth,” said Pearlman – stating that he was speaking as the president of Save Boca rather than as a council member. “So, at the last meeting, Mr. Sohaney, we had on the table the $190 million, 190,000 square foot police station, which was the current state of the project and the current scope of the project two weeks ago.”

Council members disputed Pearlman’s account, however, confirming the scaled-back plan was the proposal due to be discussed. Those calls between city staff and elected officials occurred before the Save Boca e-mail was sent, they agreed.

“It’s unacceptable,” said Councilwoman Stacy Sipple, who ran as part of the Save Boca ticket. “I even responded on Save Boca that the information was inaccurate. And, you know, people choose to believe who they want to listen to. But jamming up a mailbox with 600 e-mails so that we can’t actually do the work that we’ve been hired to do, because we’re being swamped with emails, some threatening, and all of them based on false information – it’s a waste of our time, and it’s a waste of yours.”

“It’s confusing to the residents,” said Councilwoman Michelle Grau, who was also a member of the Save Boca ticket. “I’m very concerned. I’m also very frustrated, because you made it seem like the city is moving forward with the same $192 million police station proposal that voters are clearly rejected on March 10.”

Pearlman defended the e-mail, but stopped short of saying he authored it. He said he “wears two hats,” leading Thomson to ask him point blank if he wrote or approved the e-mail sent from the Save Boca political organization.

“The answer is that the political committee sends them out, and we have hundreds of volunteers and thousands of supporters who are involved with the organization,” Pearlman replied. “And it’s a political committee. That’s where it’s coming from.”

“That was a different answer to a question that wasn’t asked,” Thomson shot back. “I said, did the chairman, which is you, of this political organization, approve these emails before they’re sent out?”

“As the president, that’s my responsibility, to review those and be keeping [people] updated on everything that’s going on with the organization,” Pearlman said. “So, I just, we can conclude this part of our conversation this way.”

Pearlman ultimately stated he felt the city should utilize an RFP process to solicit proposals and seek out more affordable building designs that could be constructed on a more rapid basis than the multi-year timeline proposed under the schedule within the staff proposal (the timeline is covered below). He said Cape Coral utilized such a process in 2009 which led to the construction of a police headquarters building in about one year.

Pealrman also endorsed the station being located in downtown Boca Raton.

A Boca Raton police car. (Photo: Boca Daily News)

As the dust-up over the Save Boca e-mails ended without clarity as to who, personally, wrote the message, prospective timelines on the new police station emerged. According to a document produced by Sohaney, a bond referendum on the updated plan could appear on the March 2027 ballot. Council members largely agreed that the referendum would request a $125 million bond appropriation, though the amount would be determined after a lengthy public outreach and study period to be held starting in October of this year.

If the bond measure were to be approved, design would take 16 months, the procurement process would take another six months, and construction would begin in the first quarter of 2029. The new headquarters would open in mid-2030, while the downtown substation would follow a similar timeline, opening in mid-2031.

The council agreed to begin public outreach in preparation for a potential ballot question next March.