Palmetto Park kicks off construction in Boca Raton

On Tuesday, excavators flattened law offices and a strip of stores to make way for a new residential complex known as Palmetto Promenade.

However, the controversial 900-foot-long, nine-story project along Boca Raton’s main thoroughfare has spawned two lawsuits, one judicial appeal and a new state law, according to the Sun-Sentinel.

Plans call for 378 rental apartments situated near the southeast corner of Northeast Third Avenue and Palmetto Park. It will be the fourth residential housing project to break ground in downtown Boca in the past 20 months.

“Out of all the projects under construction or planned, this project will truly bring about a renaissance and resurgence of activity and prosperity on Palmetto Park Road,” Mark Guzzetta, a key developer on the project, told the newspaper. “It will benefit the land values of all the neighbors in the downtown.”

Previously, Golden Triangle locals filed a lawsuit against an amendment to city codes that allowed the project to be built – and briefly prevailed.

But the 4th District Court of Appeal in West Palm agreed with a county circuit court ruling that citizens did not have the right to petition for a wider vote on certain kinds of development the City Council approves.

Meanwhile, the Florida Legislature approved a new law last year that closed the loophole that led to the citizens’ initial court victory. [Sun-Sentinel] – Christopher Cameron