BOCA RATON, FL (Boca Post) (Copyright © 2026) — A private school has been approved for the Boca Raton Innovation Campus, adding another education tenant to the former IBM campus that has steadily expanded into a mixed-use hub for offices, schools, events and community activity.
Palm Beach International Academy, a private school serving students in sixth through 12th grade, will operate from 4960 Conference Way N, Suite 150, at BRiC. The school offers what its website describes as “personalized curricula and extreme flexibility for families and students with busy schedules.”
The model is different from a traditional campus schedule. Students complete schoolwork at their own pace rather than attending classes at a set time each day. They can receive in-person instruction, but they are not required to report to campus daily.
Laura Loughead, the academy’s director of marketing and communications, said the school already had been operating at BRiC as an enrollment center while students completed coursework online from home. She said the Boca Raton location differs from the academy’s sister site in Wellington because the Boca school is accredited and can grant degrees to students when they graduate. The Wellington location, she said, functions more as a tutoring center because it is not accredited.
At a recent Boca Raton City Council meeting, attorney Bonnie Miskel, who represented the project, said the academy is designed for students who do better in a more independent learning structure.
“The program provides a non-traditional learning environment with the support of academic coaches, tutors and teachers and not necessarily in a classroom format,” Miskel told council members. “The school itself meets with each of the children to establish their needs.”
City Planner Peter Begovich said no more than 50 students will be allowed at the Boca Raton facility at one time, although the school’s total enrollment can be larger. That cap, city officials said, helped frame the request as a limited use within the larger campus.
Mayor Andy Thomson said the academy’s presence would have little practical effect on the broader BRiC property.
“We’re talking about 50 students at the most comprising 6,000 square feet, which is a drop in the bucket compared to the overall site of BRiC,” Thomson said.
Council members approved the request in a 3-1 vote.
The approval adds Palm Beach International Academy to a campus that already includes other education uses, including Fusion Academy and Everglades University. Miskel said the setting fits the character of BRiC.
“It is a campus that thrives on innovation, so it really is special and perfect as it related to the nature of this school,” she said.
That campus identity has been a long-running part of the vision for BRiC, where the goal has been to create a kind of micro-city within Boca Raton. In recent years, the sprawling office park has continued to diversify beyond its corporate roots, drawing tenants in health care, technology and finance while also becoming a site for community gatherings and public-facing events.
Weddings have been held there. Church groups have used the campus for services. The Boca Farmers Market also operates there every Sunday.
The school’s approval is another example of how BRiC continues to evolve from a legacy office campus into a broader live-work-learn destination with uses that stretch beyond the typical business park model. For residents, the change is likely to be modest in day-to-day impact but notable in how the campus is being used. For families considering alternative education options, it also means an accredited private school with a flexible format now has formal approval to operate at one of Boca Raton’s largest commercial sites.
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