Smoke, Mirrors, and the Never-Endings Sales Pitch of the Government Campus
MAYOR AND DEVELOPERS PROMOTE MISLEADING SALES PITCH OF "DOUBLING GREEN SPACE" BY IMPLYING THEY ARE GIVING US A PARK WE ALREADY HAVE
Despite no longer seeking to acquire Memorial Park, the developers, in conjunction with the mayor, have constructed a sales pitch to piggy-back Memorial Park onto their new effort to acquire the 8 acres east of NW 2nd Avenue--which they plan to jam pack with high rises that include condos, office buildings and a hotel.
The current deal at stake only pertains to these 8 acres and does not involve Memorial Park. Yet recent presentations by the developer have focused on Memorial Park--which is not part of the deal in question--in order to distract people from the dense development they plan of high rise condos, office buildings and a hotel.
The Mayor and Terra/Frisbie have crafted a sales pitch that suggests they are giving us Memorial Park as part of this proposed development and are in turn "doubling the green space" in the area.
Within the last week, emails have been sent from the Mayor and also the developers claiming that the current plan for the government campus is “doubling” green space in the area. On a November 10th email to all city residents, the Mayor was selling the plan to citizens by stating “Plans under discussion for our downtown campus have changed further to propose more than doubling the green space than what exists now." In an email sent yesterday by the developers, One Boca stated that the revised proposal will be “doubling the amount of recreation and green space.”
Thanks to you — the citizens of Boca Raton who rose to the occasion, signed the Save Boca petition, and attended City Council Meetings for the last many months to speak and oppose the plan — the developer is no longer seeking to acquire Memorial Park. Yet the Mayor and developer have twisted the narrative by suggesting this development plan is now giving us Memorial Park.
The above plan shows Terra/Frisbie's plan to cram as many high rises as possible onto the parcels to the east of NW 2nd Ave. They've also colored the roofs green to fool the eye. At a quick glance these condo buildings, office buildings and hotel appear similar to a park.