Affiliated Development wins approval for Boynton rental project with workforce housing

Developer is buying a portion of the site from city’s CRA for $100

From left: Affiliated Development's Nick Rojo and Jeff Burns with The Pierce project
From left: Affiliated Development's Nick Rojo and Jeff Burns with The Pierce project (The Pierce/Affiliated Development)

Affiliated Development scored final approval for a mixed-use project with workforce housing in Boynton Beach.

The Boynton Beach City Commission this week unanimously approved the city’s community redevelopment agency entering into a sale and development agreement with an Affiliated-tied entity for the site at 115 North Federal Highway.

The project, called The Pierce, will include an eight-story building with at least 236 apartments, half of which would be workforce housing; 16,800 square feet of restaurant and commercial space; and a 150-space garage, according to an Affiliated news release. The Hurricane Alley restaurant already on part of the site has an agreement with Affiliated to remain.

Amenities will include keyless Bluetooth door entry, the release says.

The project is in line with Affiliated’s strategy to include workforce units — which usually vary from 60 percent to 120 percent of the area median income — in its projects, by partnering with cities in ways that make the developments financially feasible. In Boynton Beach, Affiliated is poised to purchase 2.3 acres of the development site from the CRA for $100, according to the discussion at the meeting on Tuesday. Aside from the parking lot at 115 North Federal, the CRA’s property also includes lots to the north and south. Affiliated also will purchase an additional lot from a private owner.

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Affiliated beat four other contenders to develop the property, including Jorge Pérez’s Coconut Grove-based Related Group. The CRA had issued a request for proposals in December.

In another Affiliated project, its Lake Worth Beach Bohemian development received $1.8 million in financing from that city’s CRA, and another $1.8 million through a Palm Beach County workforce units exchange program.

Affiliated CEO Jeff Burns and President Nick Rojo founded the Fort Lauderdale-based company in 1982.

Although strong multifamily demand throughout South Florida has prompted a building boom, Boynton Beach has not captured much of the activity. Still, several rental complexes in the city have traded recently.

In January, Nuveen Real Estate dropped $125.9 million to acquire The District Boynton, a three-building complex with 350 units, at 1000 Audace Avenue.  And in April, Waterton bought the 216-unit garden-style Verona at Boynton Beach at 1575 Southwest Eighth Street for $80 million.

Just outside the city, Pebb Enterprises and Banyan Development have partly finished the 16-acre Mainstreet at Boynton on the northeast corner of Boynton Beach Boulevard and Jog Road. The development is slated to include 70,000 square feet of retail and a 130-unit congregate living facility.