‘The Boca Raton’ Resort Gains Approval for Expanded Piers Into Lake Boca

The marina at The Boca Raton resort’s main property, which was approved for expansion Oct. 15, 2026. (Photo: Boca Daily News)

Boca Raton’s planning board on Thursday unanimously approved a measure that will let The Boca Raton resort replace aging piers at its Lake Boca marina with longer, wider floating docks.

The 6-0 vote clears the way for the resort, situated off Camino Real, to tear out three outdated wooden finger piers and build four new floating ones to make up a 32-slip marina facility. The hearing was short, with the resort finding support from the board and no objectors from the public. The hearing garnered no public comments.

The resort’s mainland campus sits on Lake Boca, off the Intracoastal Waterway inside Boca Inlet. Its beach resort is across the waterway and has seen increased trans-lake boat traffic in recent years, in addition to the resort’s own water taxi service that shuttles guests and members from the mainland to the beach. The marina is part of the mainland property, which covers about 76 acres.

City code caps finger piers at 60 feet long and 6 feet wide. The new piers will exceed both limits. Two will be 104.2 feet long, 44.2 feet over the limit, and a third will be 103.8 feet long, 43.8 feet over. A fourth, at the south end of the marina, will be 65.5 feet long, 5.5 feet over. All four will be 8.3 feet wide, 2.3 feet over the width limit. Officials said the larger piers are needed to shore up the facility, and accommodate more vessels, including emergency vessels which have access to the marina under agreements.

The marina at The Boca Raton resort’s main property, which was approved for expansion Oct. 15, 2026. (Photo: Boca Daily News)

The marina at The Boca Raton resort’s main property, which was approved for expansion Oct. 15, 2026. (Photo: Boca Daily News)

“There are constantly boats traveling between the beach club and the main resort,” said Christina Bilenki, the attorney representing the resort. “The docks are also used by first responders when they need to have quick access to land, and when there is activity going on at Lake Boca.”

The existing piers sit at an angle to fit inside the resort’s submerged land lease, which covers 24,584 square feet. The new piers will run perpendicular to the shore, and the lease would grow to about 32,176 square feet. The resort has received preliminary approval for the revised lease from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

The project also calls for dredging about 18,160 square feet of “lake” bottom, removing roughly 2,807 cubic yards of material, to ensure vessels have enough water depth. A turbidity barrier will be used during construction to protect water quality. About a dozen colonies of Lesser Starlet Corals will be moved to a rock site of about 225 square feet. Existing platforms and seawalls will stay.

The resort’s owners sought upgrades after determining the existing piers are at the end of their useful life and no longer suit a modern marina. Its attorneys said the larger docks would improve safety, resilience and operations, specifically since fixed piers will evolve into a floating dock environment. The floating docks rise and fall with tides and storm surge, and wider docks are steadier for guests and staff in an area with wave action, so close to the Intracoastal Waterway and Boca Inlet.

The marina at The Boca Raton resort’s main property, which was approved for expansion Oct. 15, 2026. (Photo: Boca Daily News)

The marina at The Boca Raton resort’s main property, which was approved for expansion Oct. 15, 2026. (Photo: Boca Daily News)

In making the case for the increased length of the docks, the resort’s representatives pointed to the size of Lake Boca, which is about 1,400 feet wide where the waterway opens up. Most other waterfront areas in the city range from 200 to 400 feet wide, according to the application. It also cited the marina’s role as part of a full-service resort serving guests, transient boaters and employees.

The distance from the end of the longest-proposed piers to the western edge of the ICW channel is about 62.5 feet. The resort said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ navigation department found the piers would not affect navigation, and that the project would not affect bottom-dwelling marine life.

Before a building permit is issued, the resort must submit an updated survey of marine life, including a detailed plan for moving all coral. The resort must also keep its sewage pump-out system working and promptly notify the city of any malfunction, with a repair plan and timeline. Finally, the city may issue no permits until the state environmental agency and the Army Corps have signed off.

The marina at The Boca Raton resort’s main property, which was approved for expansion Oct. 15, 2026. (Photo: Boca Daily News)

The resort has operated since 1926, when the 100-room Ritz-Carlton Cloister Inn, designed by architect Addison Mizner, opened its doors. The current owner acquired the property in 2019 and has been renovating it ever since.

The board approved the application in a 6-0 unanimous vote.