BOCA RATON, FL (Boca Post) (Copyright © 2026) — Boca Raton’s city council on Tuesday unanimously approved plans for an eight-story, 76-unit residential tower inside The Boca Raton resort property, clearing another major piece of the private club and hotel’s ongoing redevelopment.
The approval came at the council’s final meeting in its current form and allows the resort to build a 100-foot-tall residential building on a 5.224-acre parcel within the larger 140-acre property. The site now is partially vacant and partially occupied by a maintenance garage. City officials said the parcel sits within the resort’s private boundaries and was never open to the public.
The project is part of a broader remake of the historic resort since its 2019 acquisition by MSD Partners, the investment firm affiliated with billionaire Michael Dell. The resort’s attorney told council members the ownership group has invested more than $375 million into the property since taking control.
The newly approved building will total 505,840 square feet and rise in the interior of the resort near its northeast quadrant, inland from the Intracoastal Waterway and west of the main hotel. Plans also include one level of underground parking, a reconfigured internal roadway, a 31,696-square-foot fitness center with a proposed height of 52 feet, and relocation of the golf maintenance facility building.
Residential units in the tower will range from two to five bedrooms. Plans call for a resident club area, indoor pool, lobby, mailboxes, and a gym reserved for residents and their guests. Outdoor features include a spa garden, a ground-floor golf terrace, and a rooftop pool deck.
The council did not need to grant any variances or technical deviations to approve the application. But it did vote to increase the total number of residential units allowed across the resort property by 14, bringing the master plan cap to 1,140 units. The parcel for the tower was rezoned from open space to residential-high.
Bonnie Miskel, the attorney representing the resort, told council members the added units would not change the overall development intensity of the property.
“While we are increasing the number of units in the master plan by 14 units, we are not increasing the intensity of the uses,” Miskel said. “It is fully enclosed by a screened fence and heavily buffered by landscaping. Most of that landscaping will remain.”
She also praised the current ownership group during the hearing.
“We’re fortunate to have the owners that are there today,” Miskel told the council. “They are great custodians of such a fine asset for Boca Raton.”
The residential portion of the project itself did not draw significant pushback. The longer debate centered on construction traffic — specifically how heavy equipment, workers, and staging activity would move in and out of the site during the buildout.
Residents along Southeast Mizner Boulevard raised concerns about construction equipment passing through their area. City staff sought broad authority over construction access and suggested Camino Real as an alternative route in some cases. Miskel pushed back, arguing that level of control is not typical in development approvals and warning that large equipment, including a mounted crane, likely would not fit through the Camino Real entrance gate.
“We, frankly, would like to continue to do what we’ve done for the last several years that they’ve owned it,” Miskel said. “If it isn’t broken, please don’t try to fix it. We’ve agreed to have a flag man on the site through the hours of construction, on the days of construction, and we’re ensuring that pedestrians and bikes are protected.”
Miskel said construction workers would park offsite and be shuttled in each day. She also said equipment would be moved outside peak traffic periods and that contractors would be instructed to pick up and drop off in areas away from nearby communities.
In the end, she said the resort would agree in principle to limit use of Southeast Mizner Boulevard when reasonable and avoid situations that could create hazards for nearby residents. As with other large construction jobs in the city, the final work schedule and traffic controls will be addressed through a Maintenance of Traffic permit approved by Boca Raton.
The approval keeps moving one of the city’s most prominent private redevelopment efforts forward. For residents watching what comes next, the next practical phase will be permitting, traffic planning, and eventual construction logistics tied to the city’s MOT process.
Stay informed on zoning proposals, City Council decisions, and major development projects shaping Boca Raton. Visit our Boca Raton City Government and Development page for ongoing coverage from City Hall and planning meetings.
