Government

Effort to Repurpose 1939 Building in Downtown Boca Raton Stalls Over Parking, Affordability

by
Daniel Nee
May 19, 2026

The building at 101 E. Palmetto Park Road, Boca Raton, FL, May 2026. (Photo: Boca Daily News)

The owner of a building in downtown Boca Raton that dates back to 1939 is hoping to repurpose the structure, however a vote to allow the project to move forward was tabled after officials questioned parking, safety and affordability in the proposed mixed-use project.

The property in question is located at 101 E. Palmetto Park Road, next to the entrance to Sanborn Square at the corner of NE 1st Avenue. The white building, now encircled by taller structures and next door to the forthcoming Aletto at Sanborn Square project, was constructed in 1939 and stands two stories tall. In 1955, the city permitted the construction of what is now a one-story addition on the east side of the building. The owner is seeking what representatives called an “adaptive re-use” of the property, seeking to transform it from a mix of retail and office space to a new mix of restaurant and residential space.

The building at 101 E. Palmetto Park Road, Boca Raton, FL, May 2026. (Photo: Boca Daily News)

As the building currently stands, the first floor consists of 5,680 square feet of retail space and the second floor houses 2,555 square feet of office space. Under the proposed plan, the first floor would be converted to 3,136 square feet of retail usage and a 2,544 square foot restaurant with outdoor seating on Palmetto Park Road. The second floor would be converted to four residential units with no parking spaces. Historically, the building included no parking access, however the owner leased several spaces from the city in a publicly-owned lot nearby. The apartment proposal does not include a continuation of parking access, however, creating a bone of contention between the developer and some commissioners of the Community Redevelopment Authority, which has jurisdiction over the downtown sector.

Ele Zachariades, representing the property owner, said the four apartments – all studios – on the second floor would be affordable and the overall development would “activate” the entrance to Sanborn Square while preserving one of the downtown’s oldest buildings.

“This is not a development project, so we are not tearing down a building,” she said. “We are not changing the facade of the building. This is the building, and it will remain as it is today.”

The building at 101 E. Palmetto Park Road, Boca Raton, FL, May 2026. (Photo: Boca Daily News)

But some members of the CRA – all of whom are city council members – questioned the “affordable” nature of the apartments. Commissioner Jon Pearlman pressed Zachariades as to whether the property owner would commit to ensuring the apartments would meet the state’s standards of affordable housing, or whether it was being used as a term of art. City officials confirmed that the phrase “affordable housing” was being used as a colloquialism rather than a legal representation, however Zachariades said she would confer with her client as to whether they would adhere to the state income standards.

Commissioner Stacy Sipple voiced concerns over the outdoor tables on Palmetto Park Road, questioning whether locating tables so close to parking spaces in which cars would be pulling in and out would create a safety hazard.

“That area out side, I walked it yesterday,” she said. “Trying to squeeze through there with tables and chairs, and then on-street parking right next to there? This is the main thoroughfare. That’s dangerous.”

Sipple also questioned how residents of four separate apartment units would reside there without any parking spaces.

“I don’t understand how anybody is going to get any parking residential or for restaurant use,” she said, at one point asking for the application to be tabled until the property owner could return with a parking plan for the residents.

Commissioner Yvette Drucker, however, praised the idea of eschewing parking spaces as part of the application.

“I never thought on the days on this dais, I would see a project come before me with no parking … and I smile, because I’m an advocate of no parking and more walkability,” she said. “And activating that corner would be really nice, just because we do have issues with the park that we’ve been discussing, and I think when you have an area that’s activated, there’s more people and there’s just room for other things that are happening in that area of the downtown.”

Drucker was referring to occasional concerns of vagrancy in the park. She also argued that Boca Raton competes with other cities, and the downtown section should be livelier after 5 p.m. – a contention that drew some rumbles from the audience at the meeting.

The building at 101 E. Palmetto Park Road, Boca Raton, FL, May 2026. (Photo: Boca Daily News)

Zachariades said that ultimately, there are a number of plans that could be implemented on the property, but preserving the current building is only viable with new uses.

“This is trying to preserve an existing 1939 building, while, at the same time, adding some vibrancy and having some lights on after 5 o’clock on a prominent corner in our beautiful downtown,” she said. “We could have done tenant swaps, so we could have taken the office end user and switched it with another office end user. We could have taken the retail and switched it, and we could have just gone for a business tax license. But again, what we’re trying to do is have that activation.”

Commissioners and Zachariades ended the hearing with a mutual agreement to table the application for a month in order to address the questions of the affordable housing designation as well as the parking – with some commissioners suggesting the lease of parking spaces could be extended – before a final vote.