Developers James and Marta Batmasian’s revised proposal to build a 12-story hotel complex in downtown Boca Raton got the go-ahead from the city’s planning and zoning board in a contentious meeting Thursday in which a neighboring resident called the board “prostitutes.”
Approval for the 219-key hotel, replacing the Minzer Plaza shopping center adjacent to Minzer Park, came with the condition that the developers monitor vibrations and structural integrity for Compson Associates’ neighboring Tower 155. That 12-story condo building will be separated from the planned hotel by a narrow alleyway.
The hotel development would replace a U.S. Post Office branch and retail plaza at 132 and 170 Northeast 2nd Street.
The two-building complex, designed by Boca Raton-based HdA Architects, will have 30,900 square feet of retail and restaurant space, a 6,900-square-foot pool deck and “sun shelf” on the 12th floor of the west tower, according to the city’s development services department.
The developers scaled back their plans, submitting designs for 23 fewer hotel keys than proposed in August. The Batmasians no longer plan to acquire a 0.3-acre city-owned parking lot, where they planned to develop a public underground parking garage and an above ground public pocket park. The developers’ attorney, Ele Zachariades, told the board that her clients withdrew the request due to opposition from the neighborhood.
Traffic, disruption and loss of views, along with the structural integrity of their building, are the main concerns of Tower 155 residents opposing the project, in an area where developers are pouncing.
“We, the residents of Tower 155, find ourselves in the eye of a storm of unwanted development,” Tower 155 resident Bob Simkins said. Another Tower 155 owner, Jeffrey Weinstein, said the project won’t be possible without numerous variances, technical deviations, and development rights transfers.
Tensions flared during the meeting. After one person refused to quiet down, board chairman Arnold Sevell asked security to quiet him down or eject him.
“Prostitutes! You are prostitutes! You sold your souls!” someone yelled at the board in response.
Tower 155 residents worry that the construction activity could weaken a building that may already be structurally compromised.
Since 2023, Tower 155’s condo association has been locked in litigation with the building’s developer, Compson Associates affiliate 155 East Boca Raton Rd LLC, as well as general contractor Kaufman Lynn Construction, and several subcontractors for alleged defects, including cracks in the building’s garage. The developer, in its court filings, blamed the association for not properly maintaining the building.
This is the second hotel project associated with James Batmasian that has undergone design changes in Boca Raton. On February 23, the Boca Raton City Council, sitting as the Community Redevelopment Agency, approved Batmasian’s plans for a 12-story, 137-room Royal Palm Place Hotel, which removed plans for hundreds of underground parking spaces to save on construction costs.