BOCA RATON An introduction to South Florida’s preeminent business destination
KIM SENG
BOCA RATON
From its miles of pristine beachfront to its sophisticated amenities, the City of Boca Raton offers a rare opportunity for corporate expansion and relocation.
A Sense of Place Boca Raton’s emergence as an international destination began nearly a century ago—and continues to thrive.
The Dream Begins
BOCA RATON BEGAN as a coastal enclave in the American subtropics, an early Florida
farming community 60 miles north of present-day Miami. The city began to take shape in the Jazz Age with the debut of the iconic Boca Raton Resort & Club, fully coming into its own as a resort town and robust business community from the 1960s onward. Today, Boca Raton is the South Florida city that has it all—miles of pristine coastline, a thriving downtown and arts community, and a solid reputation as a sophisticated, diversified business center. The city has embraced a vision to think big, attracting national and international corporations— including several Fortune 500 companies—over the years. What sets it apart from other Sun Belt destinations is its context of planned growth, a life lived well, an emphasis on balance between progress and coastal charm.
What sets Boca apart is its context of smart growth—and a life well-lived.
Life Reimagined
BOCA RATON TOOK charge of its own destiny and aesthetic decades ago, buying up miles
of coastline to stave off high-rise seaside development and installing green measures from bikeways to special beachside lighting to protect nesting sea turtles. It is a city with 24 golf courses (including an oceanfront public course) and an outdoor lifestyle that ranges from Zumba on the beach to cycling on A1A, Florida’s iconic coastal highway. Today, Boca Raton is synonymous with luxury, business and technology—a lifestyle that moves easily from the boardroom to the paddleboard. Boca is served by three international airports (Miami, Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale) as well as its own executive airport, complete with a U.S. Customs and Border Protection facility. It has access to two duty-free zones, three bustling container ports (Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Riviera Beach) and Foreign Trade Zones at the Palm Beach International Airport and the Port of Miami. Florida East Coast and CSX Railways run through the area, as does Amtrak and the Tri-Rail and Brightline passenger services. The city is a short flight to Cuba and the Bahamas. This proximity to national and international trade is another way doing business is easy here. It is an extension of the city’s general vibe—part purposeful planning, part celebrating its unique island-style mystique that informs daily life, in and out of the office.
Today the city is an international destination synonymous with luxury, business and technology.
KIM SENG
City on the Move
AARON BRISTOL
With a booming corporate climate and innovative education system, Boca Raton offers economic prospects for all ages.
Education
THE CITY IS ATTRACTING a growing number of millennials and Gen-Zers
choosing to study and play in Boca Raton. It is a booming college town with several universities, including Florida Atlantic University—which has been named the “fastest-growing public institution in Florida”—and Lynn University, which specializes in international and individualized studies. Other students receive degrees from Palm Beach State College and Everglades University. The city is also home to top-ranked public and private schools.
Boca Raton is also a college town, with several universities—and A-rated public schools.
Business
THE CITY IS HOME to 200 corporate headquarters, including Office Depot, Newell
Brands, Cancer Treatment Centers of America and ADT, among others. Boca is known for its Class A office space and modern office parks, which typify best practices in office development. Boca Raton also excels as a job provider in the desirable STEM fields, establishing a foothold as the Silicon Valley of the South. The city’s high-tech history began in 1966, when fledgling company IBM purchased 550 acres of scrubland and constructed a 40-building plant that would eventually hatch the personal computer. Countless IT and life sciences firms have followed suit, resulting in a climate today of innovation and creativity.
Research
FOR MORE THAN three decades, technology firms have clustered at the Research Park
at FAU, one of the city’s most valuable resources. Research Park houses approximately two dozen high-tech, high-wage companies, along with almost as many startups in its adjacent Technology Business Incubator. FAU further assists creative entrepreneurs through its Tech Runway initiative, a hub aimed at accelerating the technological development of new businesses. The city is also home to the Boca Raton Innovation Campus (BRIC), a sprawling nexus of exciting high-growth companies.
Taxes
FLORIDA HAS NO corporate income tax on limited partnership and subchapter
S-corporations, no personal income tax, no state-level assessed property tax, and no property tax on business inventories. Sales and use tax exemptions have likewise proven valuable, especially for businesses in the technology, aviation/ aerospace and manufacturing sectors.
Boca Raton is home to numerous corporate headquarters and a nexus of technology innovators.
Health & Wellness
BOCA RATON REGIONAL HOSPITAL (BRRH) is both an economic powerhouse and a
cutting-edge medical center. An exemplary institution for urgent care, preventive care and medical tourism alike, the hospital receives industry awards on an annual basis, and has spawned a growing number of specialty institutes. BRRH’s Lynn Cancer Institute features the latest in cancer care and oncology research, and the tranquil Christine E. Lynn Women’s Health & Wellness Institute is the only known facility of its kind dedicated exclusively to the unique health needs of women. The hospital also houses the $14 million Gloria Drummond Physical Rehabilitation Institute and the Marcus Neuroscience Institute, which has single-handedly raised the bar for neurologic and neurosurgical care in the region.
The city has a world-class regional hospital and a constellation of renowned health care providers.
Airport
ALTHOUGH BOCA RATON is just 26 miles south of the county’s largest commuter airport,
Palm Beach International (PBI), the Boca Raton Airport has been meeting the needs of corporate travelers and recreational fliers for decades. Today, it houses two fixed-base operators, 125 T-Hangars and nearly 300 based aircraft; it averages more than 60,000 annual operations. It also features its own U.S. Customs and Border Protection facility—which allows international travelers to bypass PBI and land directly in Boca, underscoring its stature as an important entry point to South Florida for the business commuter.
COURTESY OF PRIVAIRA / JERRY WYSZATYCKI / AVATARPIX.COM
Boca’s bustling executive airport has its own U.S. Customs facility.
The Good Life
AARON BRISTOL
The transition from the boardroom to beach living is easy in Boca; the city offers the best in luxury homes, recreation, shopping and dining.
The Great Outdoors
THE CITY’S PLANNERS likely had recreation in mind decades ago when they purchased
its two miles of beachfront, thus preserving the ocean breezes and white-powder sand for surfers, swimmers and sun-tanners—instead of condos and office buildings. These visionary mandates have helped create an outdoorsman’s paradise that continues to attract divers, anglers, runners and nature enthusiasts. The beach-hugging Red Reef Park features stunning sea life in a coral reef, a golf course and the lush Gumbo Limbo Nature Center, an animal sanctuary that rescues sea turtles and educates the public about a variety of sea life. There are other parks—close to 50 in total—including natural Florida preserves, children’s parks and state-of-the-art athletic fields.
The Boca lifestyle is vibrant and compelling, from salt life adventures like diving and surfing to more than 40 parks and a rare stretch of pristine beachfront.
Arts & Entertainment
THOSE WHO PREFER to relax in the comfort of air conditioning can enjoy year-round
delights at Boca’s trendsetting theaters, cinemas and museums. A glittering cultural enclave complete with show-stopping chandeliers, The Wick Theatre & Costume Museum stages professional productions of lavish musicals. The adjacent museum showcases original costumes from more than 35 Broadway productions in curated rotating exhibitions. More performing arts await at several theaters and performance venues, as well as luxury movie theaters and special events all year long. One of the city’s landmark cultural events is its annual Festival of the Arts Boca. A popular draw among locals and vacationers alike, the festival at the Mizner Park Amphitheater has attracted top names in music, opera, dance and literature, bringing stars like Itzhak Perlman, Joshua Bell, Renée Fleming, Fareed Zakaria and Jon Meacham to Boca Raton.
The arts and cultural life of the city is rich and varied—with an annual Festival of the Arts that is world-renowned.
Dining
DINING IS ITS own form of entertainment in Boca Raton, and a frequent destination for
culinary enthusiasts from South Florida and beyond. Between its downtown shopping and dining centers and its gracious landscaped plazas throughout the city, Boca’s enviable culinary culture (and its connection to fresh seafood!) is one of its well-known leisure attractions. The city has long been a center for sophisticated cuisine and innovative chefs, responsible for both setting the bar on great dining and continually raising it.
Downtown
DOWNTOWN BOCA CHARMS with its beautiful architecture, great public spaces, diverse
attractions and lush landscaping. It was here that Addison Mizner established his signature Spanish-Mediterranean style, still evident throughout the district. Today, Downtown Boca is a hip and exciting—and walkable—destination with year-round cultural events, top-notch dining and shopping, and an exhilarating nightlife scene.
Boca Raton is a city with good taste—and it shows in its roster of exciting restaurants.
Housing
B0CA’S RANGE OF housing options is impressive, from country club communities and
luxury downtown apartments to beachfront or Intracoastal estates. From single urbanites to nuclear families to the 55-and-older set, and from high to middle incomes, Boca’s real estate market is welcoming, inclusive and growing. Resort living is interchangeable with everyday life in Boca; Intracoastal estates with deepwater access for yachts are common, as are luxury ocean-side condominiums and private country clubs with A-list amenities and concierge services. Downtown living is becoming increasingly popular, and families enjoy well-planned communities near excellent schools. These features represent only some of the reasons Boca Raton remains one of the most desirable cities on the East Coast. It’s the ideal location for grade-A education, a thriving corporate climate and unparalleled leisure. From weekend getaways to corporate relocations, the city ensures a warm welcome, and presents an intriguing option for living the good life at its best.
Retail Therapy
THE UPSCALE MIZNER PARK in downtown Boca Raton is a luxurious open-air shopping
and dining enclave with high-end retailers, sumptuous dining and the venerable Boca Raton Museum of Art. At nearby Royal Palm Place, the impressive al fresco shopper’s haven continues, with many charming boutiques and gourmet restaurants. The luxurious Town Center at Boca Raton is an international shopping destination, with three luxury anchors— Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdale’s and Nordstrom—and a wide array of top-notch retailers, including Tesla, Tiffany & Co., Williams-Sonoma, Henri Bendel, Gucci, Cartier, Louis Vuitton and many more. Town Center also offers concierge and personal shopping services.
EANDY FRAME
Living well is a hallmark of Boca, from luxury estates and communities to couture shopping and distinctive South Florida boutiques.
KIM SENG