04 Jan Booming Boca: Here are the plans for Midtown Boca in the coming years
Several new businesses are coming to Boca Raton in 2023, and developers and city leaders say this expected growth is just a snapshot of what to expect in the coming years.
Restaurant Row off of Town Center Road in Boca Raton will have four new restaurants with outdoor seating starting in the spring and summer.
Restaurant Row is located in Midtown Boca, which spans from Palmetto Park Road to Yamato Road and Interstate 95 to St. Andrews Boulevard.
One of those restaurants is El Camino, which already has locations in West Palm Beach and Delray Beach right now. Management of El Camino says the Boca Raton location will be the largest one when it opens this summer.
“I’m super excited,” said Francis Lake, vice president of operations for Modern Restaurant Group. “Personally, my thoughts are that’s going to be our busiest location. It’s an ideal location.
“Boca Raton is certainly hot right now, so having the foresight to be a part of Restaurant Row and opening up there is something we’re thrilled about,” said Lake. “The project itself with Restaurant Row, there are some other hot restaurants going in there. We felt we were an ideal fit with the quality of food and beverage that we bring to the forefront.”
Commercial real estate broker Athan “Tom” Prakas of Prakas & Co. has sold a lot of the property in Midtown Boca.
“I think Midtown Boca is a boom area because of how it’s located, between the turnpike and I-95,” said Prakas. “The average age, of course, has dropped over the last ten years. It’s a younger demographic. There’s a lot of families. There’s a lot of influx from all over the country that’s coming to Florida.”
Red Pine, an authentic Chinese restaurant, will open at the One Town Center tower off of Military Trail. There will also be various businesses leasing new office spaces in the area, creating apartments, stores, restaurants and medical space.
Prakas expects Midtown Boca to experience some of the most growth in the county in the coming years.
“You realistically have the catalyst, which is Town Center Mall, which brings 15 million visitors a year to the area and then spread out from there, you have 26 million square feet of prime, Class A office space in a couple-mile radius,” said Prakas. “It’s a live, work, play area, and that’s why the mixed-use plays into that. The apartments, the condos, the retail, the restaurant, the shopping areas. I think that this is where people want to be, and I think Midtown Boca is booming because of the influx of people from all over the country.”
Mayor Scott Singer says he thinks Boca Raton is not only one of the fastest-growing parts of South Florida but the whole country.
“We’re already seeing tremendous investment in the Midtown area of Boca Raton,” said Singer. “We have a spec office project that’s proposed next week. We’ve got Restaurant Row. We’ve got other major brands coming here, like Gallaghers Steakhouse and Meat Market. It’s an exciting time for Boca Raton and this area.
“We’ll continue to manage our growth responsibly as we’ve done so for the last 50 years, so we’ll continue to progress as a world-class city that attracts major businesses and much investment but also keep our small-town charm,” said Singer. “Boca Raton is unique, not just among the county, but among all American cities of our size. We have a much larger business strength for a city of our size, a quality of life and neighborhood feel, safe streets, safe neighborhoods, great schools, a proximity to the ocean and major transportation like Brightline. It’s no wonder companies, and businesses want to come here.”
Source: WPBF.com
By: Steve King