13th Floor Investments landed board approval for a 340-unit apartment project at the Boca Raton Tri-Rail station.
13th Floor, led by managing principal Arnaud Karsenti, plans an eight-story building on an 8.2-acre site at 680 West Yamato Road, according to an application filed to the city last week. The development, called Boca Village, will include 34 affordably priced rentals and 17 workforce-priced units, as well as 30,100 square feet of retail and restaurant space.
The Boca Raton Planning and Zoning Board on Jan. 2 approved Boca Village, including a 10-foot reduction of the building setback from Yamato Road and a reduction of the parking requirement. Next, the development is headed to a city council vote on Tuesday.
The planned 684 parking spots, fewer than the 793 required, will be for renters, Tri-Rail commuters, and patrons of the retail and restaurants, according to a presentation at the planning board meeting. Specifically, 159 spots will be for Tri-Rail commuters, or the same number of spaces they now have on the surface parking lot that will be redeveloped with Boca Village, a city staff member said at the meeting.
13th Floor will lease the site from the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority, the application shows.
Tri-Rail, which has 19 stops across South Florida, runs on tracks west of Brightline’s route, except for where it connects to Brightline’s MiamiCentral.
Developers have homed in on projects near Tri-Rail and Brightline stops, as part of a growing trend of transit-oriented development in South Florida.
Near the Tri-Rail Hialeah Market Station, Prestige Companies is developing a 114-unit apartment complex at 1001 Southeast 11th Street. Near the Brightline Aventura station, Mill Creek Residential is developing Modera Aventura with a 15-story, 420-unit apartment building at 2681 Northeast 191st Street and plans an eight-story, 251-unit building for the second phase at 2681 Northeast 191st Street and 2660 Northeast 192nd Terrace in Ojus.
South Florida’s multifamily market experienced unprecedented demand due to an influx of out-of-staters from late 2020 through 2022, prompting record rent hikes and a construction frenzy. As of last summer, Berkadia estimated a record of 23,863 units will be completed by the end of last year.
The new supply, coupled with a slowdown of new residents, has tempered demand, slowing leaseups at newly built projects and prompting landlords to offer concessions. Some developers have responded by pausing their plans for apartment projects, at least until demand catches up.