14 minute read
Leading The Way
from Boca Chamber 2023
by JES Media
Leading
Written by Tyler Childress, Marie Speed and John Thomason Waythe written by tyler childress • marie speed • john thomason Boca Raton continues to evolve and grow as its population surges and a new wave of businesses and innovation defines the community.
Rocket by Hubert Phipps at the Boca Raton Innovation Campus
JACEK GANCARZ Boca’s “comeback” after the pandemic was swift— overtaken by a surge in new businesses and residents that relocated from the Northeast and the Midwest to establish a footing in South Florida. The initiatives the city had already started were infused with new momentum, as once again the rest of the country migrated to a city full of vision and economic vitality. Here are a few of the things fueling Boca Raton’s growth and expanding its profile as a city of innovation and promise.
Building an Ecosystem, BRIC by BRIC
Part office building, part cultural destination, the Boca Raton Innovation Campus (BRIC) is a complex unlike any other. For starters, it is enormous: The largest building in Florida, it sits on 123 acres and boasts the longest contiguous hallway in the western hemisphere at 907 feet, leading directly to retail establishments across the street.Visiting the FitBit-friendly building, it’s easy to get in one’s steps.
The idea for this sprawling campus is to “reposition the property as the premier technology and life sciences hub of the Southeastern United States [and] encourage innovative firms to ditch Silicon Valley for ‘Silicon Beach,’” according to Giana Pacinelli, director of communications for CP Group, which owns BRIC. The vision is to integrate “next-generation amenities and modern-day conveniences” with the workplace to attract quality employers and talent, giving tenants access to a wide range of amenities, like onsite dry-cleaning services, wellness options, concierge advisory services for tech startups, bikeshare services, coffee shops and more.
Ninety-percent leased at the time of this writing, BRIC is home to companies and schools such as Modernizing Medicine, Shoes for Crews, Everglades University and Baptist Health—businesses that appreciate the campus’ storied history as well as its ambitious future. The CP Group purchased the property, a former IBM research facility that launched the personal computer, in 2018, and has been working tirelessly to re-imagine it. Additions have included coffee shop Marcel Brewer’s (a punny nod to Marcel Breuer, the legendary Brutalist architect behind the building’s distinctive design), a conference center, an outdoor pavilion perfect for events and gatherings, and public art that looks both to the past and the future: “Rocket,” a stainless steel, sci-fi-inspired monument, welcomes visitors to the building, and a large-scale re-creation of a P.C. keyboard, cast in concrete, recognizes the pioneering work of its former inhabitants. Additionally, BRIC has become a haven for modern art, with many of its miles of common-area corridors filled with paintings and photography often affiliated with local artistic institutions. Massive metal sculptures by renowned artist Dorothy Gillespie decorate the new Java coffee shop, while across the corner, the Lynn University NFT Museum is the only university-run showcase of nonfungible tokens, or unique digital artwork protected on blockchains.
Boca Raton’s first food hall and a STEAM lab are on the way—all part of a 10- to 15-year vision to evolve BRIC into the Silicon Valley of the southeast.
As Boca Raton Regional Hospital nears its fundraising goal in a historic capital campaign, what was once a small community hospital is transforming into a modern medical marvel while still preserving the legacy of its founders.
In 1962, Gloria Drummond experienced what every parent fears most. Her children, Debbie and Randall, accidentally ingested poison, leading to a mad scramble to the nearest hospital for aid. But when the family arrived at Bethesda Hospital in Boynton Beach, it was already too late. Both of the Drummond children tragically died, but from this tragedy came Gloria’s vision to provide the Boca community with the resources to save lives in the hope that no one else would experience her loss. Five years later, through efforts spearheaded by the Drummonds and aided by overwhelming community support, Boca Raton Regional Hospital opened its doors and has since become an invaluable health resource to Boca residents.
“They went from nothing to a 100-bed hospital in five years and did the majority of that through charitable gifts from the community,” says Mark Larkin, president of the Boca Raton Regional Hospital Foundation.
During the pandemic, the hospital’s staff was there to provide state-of-the-art critical care to patients suffering from COVID-19, risking themselves to ensure the health and safety of the community. Even as they faced shortages of personal protective equipment, the staff at Boca Regional selflessly provided care to all who walked through their doors.
Today, Gloria Drummond’s legacy continues through the Boca Raton Regional Hospital Foundation and its Keeping the Promise campaign, a fundraising effort of historic proportions that will dramatically transform and expand the hospital. To date, the Foundation has raised more than $230 million of its $250 million goal, all donated from local benefactors dedicated to the health and well-being of the Boca Raton community.
Just this year, the hospital broke ground on its new Gloria Drummond Patient Tower expansion, which will feature 20 state-of-the-art operating rooms, an education suite for the community and physicians, five floors of critical care beds, and more. The addition is expected to be completed in 2026, but the work doesn’t stop there.
“[We’re] basically replacing the entire hospital while it’s running and still serving patients,” says Larkin, and that this campaign is just as much about renewing the old as establishing the new. Current hospital structures like the Marcus Neuroscience Institute will be renovated and expanded, with a new unit being dedicated to the research and treatment of epilepsy. Patients will also soon be enjoying completely private rooms, all newly renovated and upgraded from semi-private spaces.
As the Boca community continues to grow, more and more are turning to Boca Regional for care, and the hospital is keeping the promise of providing quality medical assistance to all in need. For the Foundation, having the hospital grow with the community is essential to protect life’s most essential quality: health.
Gloria Drummond Patient Tower rendering; Mark Larkin
Boca Raton’s ‘Bright’ Future
From unpredictable fuel prices to reckless motorists to the inevitable wear and tear of highway driving, the desire for a cleaner, safer alternative to the gas-powered automobile are legion. Patrick Goddard, president of Brightline Trains, believes his company offers a solution to all of them—and that solution is poised to make its debut in Boca Raton.
Florida’s first high-speed electric train, Brightline launched in 2018 with stateof-the-art stations in three of the state’s urban centers: Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. By the end of fall 2022, a fourth station is expected to open, adjacent to Boca Raton’s Downtown Library and across the street from Mizner Park, one of the city’s hubs for shopping, dining and culture. The 38,000-squarefoot station represents the next phase of Brightline’s ambitious expansions plans, and it further solidifies the statewide endorsement of Boca Raton’s vitality.
“[Boca Raton] is a growing city that happens to be positioned equidistant between two of our existing stations, in the densest part of South Florida, with so much to offer in terms of dining, hotel stays, attractions,” Goddard says. “It has a growing community, and we think it’s the perfect location for a Brightline station to help connect the Boca community to the rest of South Florida, and ultimately to Central Florida.”
Goddard predicts the station will transform the lives of both commuters—many of whom have chosen to live in Boca Raton for its lifestyle and amenities but work in places like West Palm Beach and Miami—and tourists looking for a safe and convenient way to explore the city.
“It’s really about creating a mobility alternative for residents of Boca and visitors to Boca,” he says. “And currently, your only option is to deal with terrible congestion, very unreliable travel times and excessive gas prices. So Brightline presents an alternative to getting into your car, where in most cases to get north and south, you’ve got to go east and west. Being able to go downtown to downtown on a Brightline
Brightline Boca Raton rendering; Patrick Goddard
Brightline trains also represent the most environmentally conscious way to travel. The Boca Raton station will ensure the company continues toward its goal of taking 3 million cars off the road annually, which will reduce the amount of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by 100 thousand cubic tons. It’s also a business-friendly way to travel. Upwards of 40 companies have joined Brightline’s corporate portal, offering discounted pricing for their 40 thousand or so employees to use for work or play.
And the Brightline experience, Goddard says, is worlds away from traditional train travel. “Like everything we do at Brightline, we think about the guest experience. … You’re sitting in leather seats, you’ve got Wi-Fi, you’ve got a charger, you’ve got access to food and beverage, you’ve got a beautiful station environment.
“I’m a hospitality guy; I’ve worked in the hotel industry most of my career until I joined Brightline. And in that industry, we care a lot about architecture and interior design and comfort and function. And we’ve been very focused on those details as we’ve been creating Brightline.” Being able to go downtown to downtown on a Brightline train and have reliable travel times, and not deal with traffic or be affected by weather or accidents ... there are so many benefits to train travel.”
The Boca Raton and its President and CEO Daniel Hostettler
A Golden Era—Rediscovered
It was only 2019 when MSD Partners bought the Boca Raton Resort & Club (and its membership component, the Premier Club) for an estimated $875 million, according to forbes.com. But it feels like another age, as perhaps it should, as the historic resort embraces its $200 million transformation under the tagline “A New Golden Era.”
Now named The Boca Raton, the sweeping changes to the property have redefined the resort from a sprawling campus comprised of different disconnected venues to a property defined by a collection of five distinct hotels, each with its own “style and personality” as well as loosely targeted demographics. From the active and youngish Beach Club to the all-suite luxury adults-only Yacht Club, the accommodations offer a wide range of experiences, all with access to the significant amenities of The Boca Raton. The bywords for the transformation of the property are “reimagined” and “elevated”—code for a massive redo defined by a contemporary and luxurious aesthetic, much of it directed by Rockwell Group, the prestigious architectural and design firm. The resort’s waterfront was completely redesigned and now includes multiple pools and a lazy river on the Intracoastal side, now known as Harborside. Dining has also been “elevated” as one new restaurant after another opens, some in partnership with the hotter-than-hot New York-based Major Food Group, home to Carbone and The Grill, among other icons.
Common areas have been reoriented and completely redone, the Tower has been revamped, and even the longtime “Boca pink” Cloister is now a stately “coastal white.”
President and CEO of The Boca Raton, Daniel Hostettler, says, “There have been so many palpable differences from when I arrived at the property last spring. The evolution has been extraordinary, and the whole Harborside experience is transformed, including the physical beauty of the resort. The arrival experience is breathtaking, as the resort glows in the luminous Coastal White from its historic origins. … We have already accomplished so much in this past year, and I am continually looking ahead at what’s next. There is a lot in store.”
The Boca Raton has always had notable amenities, but the upgrade now extends even to that aspect of the experience. The 18-hole par-71 golf course also offers a full program of clinics; The Racquet Club features 16 HydroGrid tennis courts, four pickleball courts and a dedicated Racquet Club concierge; and Beach Club’s half-mile of dazzling beach parallels three oceanfront pools, private cabana rentals and daybeds. Pool Club is a whole new offering, overlooking Lake Boca Raton with three pools, a 450-foot lazy river, two water slides, luxury cabanas, Pool Bar, a sprawling lawn for special events and Banyan Bunch kids club.
There is more, of course, from a 34-slip marina, a whole roster of water sports and the world-class Spa Palmera to fitness clubs and a complement of high-end retail slated for later this year.
This is easily the most significant overhaul undertaken in the resort’s 100-year history, and it is aimed at positioning it as a true international luxury destination, with a five-star rating very much in the aspirational crosshairs of management. The Boca Raton is now emerging as a serious global competitor in the luxury market— the city’s profile is also enhanced—as both a place of business stature as well as a privileged lifestyle.
Boca Punches Above its Weight When it Comes to Tech Innovation
Florida Atlantic University’s Research Park is fast-becoming the local go-to for tech entrepreneurs who want to get their innovative ideas off the ground. Developed in 1985, the Research Park has become the premier incubator hub for business startups in the area. With a 70-acre space that serves as a research and development playground for new ideas, the park continues a long tradition of tech innovation in Boca Raton, a history that informs and inspires today’s entrepreneurs.
“As [FAU] came into its own in terms of research, people in general started to remember that Boca has a rich history in innovation, particularly in IT because of the legacy of IBM and Motorola,” says Research Park President and CEO Andrew Duffell.
The relationship between the university and the Research Park has ushered in a surge of developments in the field of health technology from companies that began as startups in the park and are now flourishing in their own spaces. Modernizing Medicine, a health software company, got its start in the park in 2012 with just 12 employees and now has offices at the Boca Raton Innovation Campus with more than 1,000 employees and a valuation of nearly $500 billion.
Keeping these companies and the economic energy they bring to the area is also a priority for the park. An economic impact study from 2017 shows that the park generated $535 million for the area’s economy, and the figure is only increasing as more companies decide to make Boca their home. Developments in the city, such as the addition of the new Brightline station, are going to increase attractiveness to Boca from startup companies.
While there are more than 200 research parks across the country, most are unable to boast the same level of assets as FAU. One of these assets is the FAU Tech Runway, a rich tech business ecosystem that houses more than a dozen startup companies and provides them with the resources they need to scale larger. Duffell says that industries will continue to grow in the park; as the university expands its curriculum, the park expands its purview.
Research Park is rapidly establishing Boca Raton as an alternative for tech companies that prefer a different quality of life than the Miami scene. According to Duffell, Boca is already proving itself to be more attractive to entrepreneurs.
