A $45 million barrier island parcel in Boca Raton known as the “Boca Trophy” lot has received approval for a 196-foot dock extending into the Intracoastal Waterway, with officials saying the extra size is the most environmentally-friendly option.
The applicants — 910 NE 24th Street LLC and 911 NE 24th St LLC, represented by attorney Ryan Abrams — sought the board’s permission to build a 196-foot dock on what is ultimately expected to become two waterfront lots with a single finger pier extending into Lake Wyman, more than three times the standard maximum length. The pier would also sit far closer to each property’s side boundary than typically required, and the dock connecting to it would have no side setback at all, rather than the standard buffer distance.
Boca Raton’s zoning ordinance allows for piers to extend 60-feet from a bulkhead in the barrier island’s residential zone. But representatives said the pier, which would be one of the longest on the waterway in the city, is the best option for preserving the coastal environment since its distance and location would allow two properties to share a single pier, and avoid multiple instances of dredging the bottom close to shore.
The future location of a 196-foot pier extending from the ‘Boca Trophy’ lot on NE 24th Street on the barrier island. (Photo: Boca Daily News)
The future location of a 196-foot pier extending from the ‘Boca Trophy’ lot on NE 24th Street on the barrier island. (Photo: Boca Daily News)
The future location of a 196-foot pier extending from the ‘Boca Trophy’ lot on NE 24th Street on the barrier island. (Photo: Boca Daily News)
“By consolidating access to a single pier, the design reduces the footprint on the canal and avoids unnecessary encroachment into sensitive areas,” said city zoning manager Tori Boone. “The approach is not only efficient, but minimizes environmental disturbance.”
To avoid disrupting the underwater ecosystem by dredging, the property owner will not be allowed to moor vessels within approximately 45 feet of the seawall that lines the property. The proposed finger pier is designed to be just long enough to safely allow mooring boats on both sides of the pier, which will accommodate two single-family homes. The current owner’s development plan also avoids what would likely have been a large, multifamily building on the property, which would normally be allowed within its zone.
“A code-compliant 60-foot dock would require significant dredging, causing irreversible ecological damage,” Abrams told board members during a short presentation. “Most places along the ICW are 200 to 300 feet wide, but here it is 771 feet wide with a lot of shallow water that hasn’t been disturbed in the past, and that’s why a variance is necessary here.”
Abrams said the plan for the future property owners is to have two slips are for 80-foot vessels with 4.5 foot drafts out the outer wharf, with the inner two slips supporting a maximum of a 45-foot vessel on each side with 3.5-foot draft. The property has 291 total feet of frontage on the ICW, with the pier adding 1,400 feet of dockage space, which is roughly half the maximum amount required by law. The property directly to its south has what is largely believed to be the city’s longest pier, at 209 feet. A similar variance was previously granted for that property.
The future location of a 196-foot pier extending from the ‘Boca Trophy’ lot on NE 24th Street on the barrier island. (Photo: Boca Daily News)
The future location of a 196-foot pier extending from the ‘Boca Trophy’ lot on NE 24th Street on the barrier island. (Photo: Boca Daily News)
The nearly two-acre plot of land on the barrier island, south of Spanish River Park, is something almost unheard-of in 2026: open land, steps from the ocean, with hundreds of feet of frontage on the Intracoastal Waterway and Lake Wyman. It is known in local real estate circles as the “Boca Trophy,” and has been offered for sale at as much as $45 million.
Abrams noted the current property owners have already secured a permit from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, which endorsed the longer dock in lieu of a shorter pier that would have required significant dredging. City development services staff reviewed the request and also recommended approval with conditions, concluding the site’s unique shallow-water conditions justify the larger dock and that the design represents the “minimum necessary to give the owners reasonable use of their waterfront property.”
The board approved the pier in a unanimous, 7-0 vote.
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