Demolition starts in Boca to make way for apartment building

Even before the first shovelful of dirt was turned, a 900-foot-long, nine-story project along Boca Raton's main thoroughfare had spawned two lawsuits, one judicial appeal and even a new state law.

But Tuesday, the residential complex came closer to reality when two excavators flattened law offices and a strip of stores.

It's all to make way for Palmetto Promenade, formerly known Archstone Palmetto Park 378 rental apartments situated near the southeast corner of Northeast Third Avenue and Palmetto Park.

"This is fantastic," said Bill Martin, a 15-year Boca resident who was passing by. "Great location."

The sight of orange tiles being ripped off the roof of the law offices stopped Martin during his morning bike ride. "I wish I owned it," he said.

Palmetto Promenade will be the fourth residential housing project to start building in downtown Boca in the past 20 months. It's part of a 1,700-unit residential boom either expected to be built, being built, or just completed.

"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," said Mark Guzzetta, a key developer on the project. "It will benefit the land values of all the neighbors in the downtown."

Since 2012, nothing sparked controversy quite so much as Palmetto Promenade, when it was known as Archstone, though.

The neighboring single-family home association said the plan was too dense, with some apartments at 700 square feet, and would bring too much traffic to the wrong place.

Citizens in the Golden Triangle Neighborhood filed a lawsuit against an amendment to city codes that allowed the project and briefly won the right to ask for a citywide referendum on it. But the city joined with the developer in appealing that decision.

Read the original post:
Demolition starts in Boca to make way for apartment building