In 2019, the 40 year old Kmart in Boca Raton’s Palmetto Park Square plaza closed its doors. In the 5 years since, property owner Selig Enterprises has been unable to fill it. The small businesses in the rest of the plaza have trundled along providing services used and supported by the community. Now, property owner Selig Enterprises of Atlanta, has started the process to re-envision Palmetto Park Square by submitting a preliminary plan to the city. For more about their plan and a discussion of issues with the plaza and the plan, see our a sister article “Palmetto Park Plaza Redevelopment: The Big Picture“. This article focuses on what we think “could be” with a visionary eye to building a place instead of a plaza.
A look at the larger area in which the plaza exists today shows the potential of the area to be more than yet another Florida plaza. The property is surrounded on 3 sides by residential areas of mostly single family zones with yards, fences and kids playing everywhere. NW 12 Ave to the plaza’s east, is a spine that connects these residential areas to the neighborhood elementary, middle, high schools and, at its northern end, Florida Atlantic University.
To the west of the plaza, where Kmart was, are two empty office buildings replete with multilevel parking garages. Rumors are U Miami medical school is moving in there. Looking west one more block, and sandwiched between the office buildings and I-95, is a pleasant peaceful wooded area with a curving driveway that takes you to the Vitas Hospice and Mae Volen Senior center. This west end of the plaza is quiet and serene.
Time To Think Big
Selig’s preliminary “re-envisioning Palmetto Park Square” plan (shown here) is to consolidate the plaza’s shopping into a smaller U-shaped strip mall at the west half of the property and bulldoze the east half. In the east half, Selig proposes a 319 unit residential building with parking garage and mixture of 2-story townhomes and apartments (32 classified under FL law as affordable).
Unlike the old Winn Dixie plaza on Camino Real (now Camino Square) where the whole property was converted to residential, no conversions of commercial zoning to residential square footage are needed for Selig to proceed with its plan. Its proposal does however require permission to build so close to the single family homes next to it.* However, EXACTLY like Camino Square, the surrounding community streets suffer from frustrating congestion. But as explained by attorney Ele Zacharaides who represented the Camino Square property owner KIMCO in her article “Message from the Property Owner“, a motivated property owner can move mountains with the city and county for changes outside the borders of their property.
We recommend Selig listen to residents and understand how the poor integration of Palmetto Park Square with the City/County infrastructure, as outlined in “Palmetto Park Plaza Redevelopment: The Big Picture“, will hurt their tenants, residents and their long term investment “for years to come”.
Some Big Ideas to Re-envision Palmetto Park Square
We hope that Selig is genuine in its stated desire to re-envision Palmetto Park Square to create “a better-connected neighborhood shopping experience for years to come”. Here are some ideas we think are worth considering:
1. Improve the pedestrian and vehicle circulation along the Palmetto Park Service Road
There are currently 8 conflict points between vehicles and pedestrians moving east/west along the Palmetto Park service road. This is the primary path to the Palm Tran stop and the employment centers to the west of the property. We’ve identified 6 things Selig could do with cooperation of the City, County, and landowners of the other businesses embedded in the plaza.
2. Move the Residential Component to the west end
The west end of the property is perhaps the quieter and calmer end of the property more appropriate for the residential component. By putting the residential building on the west end of the property, one side of the residential building will abut single family homes instead of the proposed two when configured in the east end. It also would make for a long and grand entrance road with all kinds of possibilities utilizing the old Kmart Christmas tree lot (now an empty out parcel) that extends all the way to Palmetto Park Rd.
3. Envision another entrance onto the property
It is not uncommon for similar properties sandwiched between a high traffic volume artery and single family homes to create a shared signalized entrance that facilitates safe vehicular circulation in and out of the plaza as well as the neighboring community. The northeast corner of Palmetto Park Square is one such location for an alternate entrance to the property. However Selig does not own any of the lots needed. An entrance combined with a redesign of NW 12th Ave could include:
- A signal at NW 4th St and NW 12th Ave to facilitate resident access to their communities
- A driveway that connects the plaza to NW 4th St (Figure 3)
- A dual lane bikeway on the west side of 12th Ave connecting Palmetto Park to FAU (photo to right)
- A redesigned NW 12th Ave as a “complete street” (Figure 4) that treats all modes of transportation equally and forces vehicular traffic down to “urban” speeds between Palmetto and Glades Rd
What the City of Boca Raton Office of Economic Development Should Do
It’s a credit to the affordable rents in the current plaza that it survived the loss of Kmart and continues to thrive with a nice assortment of small businesses; useful businesses that people need and use. Unfortunately, redevelopment usually brings upscale rents. The City of Boca Raton Office of Economic Development should engage with Selig to provide an economic structure that ensures continuity for the existing small business that want to stay. What the City of Boca Raton should NOT do is proliferate the failed “First Floor Retail” strategy of it’s downtown. Otherwise, it’s bye bye useful small businesses, hello empty shops. This is a legitimate concern of the thousands of residents Selig is depending on to support the property. The Office of Economic Development is managed by Jessica Del Vecchio (economicdevelopment@myboca.us).
What the City of Boca Raton Office of Transportation Management Should Do
In the 50 years since Palmetto Park Plaza was conceived and built, the streets and community have grown. Today, NW 12th Ave is a heavily used corridor for families driving/walking/riding to and from the schools that bookend the plaza as well as vehicle traffic in and out of Boca Raton. As bad as the county designed bumper car service road is, the City’s design for NW 12th Ave serves through traffic over the community. The NW 12th Ave “drag race track” design stifles non-vehicular travel and makes a nearly impenetrable barrier for residents to navigate. In general, NW 12th Ave needs a remake that provides a modern protected “Safe Route to School” pedestrian/bike route along its west side, a protected intersection design at NW 4th and NW 12th and medians/curbs/landscaping from FAU to Palmetto that eliminates the feeling drivers currently have that it’s ok to travel above 30 mph. It needs to happen now. The addition of 5 stories worth of additional residential units from a Palmetto Park Plaza redevelopment will only make it worse. Email the traffic division at bocatraffic@myboca.us
Now is the time to think big
The notion of creating a “Place” over a “Plaza” could transform this area of Boca Raton. But it is an undertaking that will require leadership and vision from Selig Enterprises plus the cooperation of residents, city planners, county traffic engineers, and the other property owners. Every one benefits. Everyone has a vested interest in its success. But you have to think big.
Good governance begins with citizen involvement. Have your voice heard at City Hall by contacting your City Council/CRA Members at mcc@myboca.us
Council Members (left to right): Council Member Marc Widger, Yvette Drucker, Mayor Scott Singer, Council Member Fran Nachlas and Andy Thomson
- * EDIT: July 16 to clarify permission to build inside the setback with Single Family homes is required.
