A joint venture between Beztak and Wexford Real Estate has received approval from Boca Raton’s Planning and Zoning Board to expand their previously approved apartment project, Bocora. The expansion will allow for 21 additional apartments, a fitness center, and a private school within the 21.4-acre Amtec Center business park at 6401 to 6421 Congress Avenue.
The project was originally approved as an eight-story building with 277 units. The proposed changes now await a vote by the Boca Raton City Council following the planning board’s decision on Thursday.
As part of the proposal for extra units, Beztak and Wexford agreed to reserve four apartments for affordable housing and add a 2,086-square-foot fitness facility. The city’s commercial industrial multifamily development (CIMD) ordinance permits developers to request more residential units in light-industrial areas if they provide attainable housing and new retail options.
Amtec Center’s owners are also seeking conditional use approval for a 2,000-square-foot school that would serve up to 100 students in an existing office building on site. Project attorney Ele Zachariades explained that this would allow Xceed Preparatory Academy, which currently operates as a hybrid tutoring facility at Amtec Center, to accept school vouchers. “It’s a small boutique gym. Most of them don’t have staff at all,” Zachariades said about the planned fitness center.
Jon Ounjian, who owns an office building just north of Amtec Center, voiced opposition to the additional apartments due to concerns about increased traffic unless a turn lane is added.
Planning staff and board members raised questions about whether the fitness center meets CIMD requirements for public retail amenities or if it primarily serves residents. Board member Timothy Dornblaser commented on broader trends: “All these apartments that are going up [have] no retail, so every time someone wants a cup of coffee or breakfast or something, they are leaving the site.”
Brandon Schaad, development services director for Boca Raton, stated that the fitness center must be open to the public and staffed at least 60 hours per week by an independent operator not affiliated with the developers—otherwise fines or legal action could result from non-compliance with CIMD rules. “Unstaffed commercial gyms are a real thing in the world, but I’m not familiar with them,” Schaad said regarding gym staffing requirements.
Beztak is led by Sam Beznos; Wexford is led by Joseph Jacobs and Philip Braunstein. They first announced plans for Bocora in late 2021 after Beztak acquired part of Amtec Center for $12.7 million from Jupiter-based Catexor—run by Stig and Britt Wennerstrom—which still owns most of the property including its mid-1980s office buildings.
Boca Raton continues to attract significant real estate investment activity. In July, Related Group purchased ten acres of Office Depot Campus land for $50 million as part of plans—with PEBB Enterprises and BH Group—to redevelop it into a mixed-use community featuring apartments, retail space, and another large fitness center (https://therealdeal.com/miami/2023/07/24/related-pebb-bh-buy-piece-of-office-depot-campus-for-50m-plan-mixed-use-project/). That same month saw approvals granted for other large-scale projects such as Group P6’s downtown apartment building (https://therealdeal.com/miami/2023/07/19/group-p6-wins-ok-for-306-unit-apartment-project-in-downtown-boca-raton/) and major acquisitions like Del Ola apartment complex (https://therealdeal.com/miami/2023/08/17/church-of-jesus-christ-of-latter-day-saints-pays-153m-for-boca-apartments/) as well as new hotel developments near Mizner Park (https://therealdeal.com/miami/2023/08/18/batmasians-win-ok-for-hotel-near-mizner-park-in-boca-raton).
Some local residents continue to push back against further development; last month thousands signed petitions calling for a referendum on Terra Group and Frisbie Group’s proposed large-scale project on public land (https://therealdeal.com/south-florida-tri-county-area/boca-raton/news/2023/08/30/opponents-file-thousands-of-signatures-against-terra-frisbie-public-land-deal-in-boca-raton).
