The Boca Raton Innovation Campus will be a mixed-use space – NBC 6 South Florida

It’s a trend you’ve probably heard about or seen with your own eyes: the conversion of malls, old office spaces and old stores into brand new mixed-use spaces.

In 1967, IBM opened a large manufacturing facility called the North American Research and Development Facility. It was located in Boca Raton with more than 40 buildings spanning 3.6 million square feet.

“It was originally developed by IBM and then abandoned in the early 1980s for economic reasons. And over the next few decades, it got really run down,” says Angelo Bianco, managing partner of Crocker Partners Group, also known as CP Group.

When the Boca Raton property went up for sale in 2017, they wondered what could become of this old office space.

Bianco asks, “Why don’t we have a center for technology and life sciences in the southeastern United States? I looked around and we didn’t. And I said, ‘We’re going to build one here.’ And that’s exactly what we did.”

In 2018, CP Group acquired 1.8 million square feet called the Boca Raton Innovation Campus, or BRIC. It is the largest single office facility in the state of Florida.

But it is nothing different than what their predecessors created. It is a mixed-use space that breathes new life into an otherwise forgotten space.

“What we are doing now, mixing uses in the same area, is what people have always done. And it was only in the middle of the last century that people decided to separate themselves from retail to hotels to offices. And for some reason we started doing it, I guess when we built the highway system, but it was never well received by the users, the people,” Bianco says.

“We want to be able to walk from the office to lunch, walk from home to the office,” Bianco continues. “So this new urbanism, or bringing it back through connectivity, is something we’re seeing everywhere in every property type.”

The Boca Raton Innovation Campus has it all: two on-site cafes, 17 art exhibits, a gym, a primary care facility, conference rooms, a ballroom, and what is said to be the longest hallway in the country.

And more is being built.

Bianco opens the door to construction work outside a wing of the campus. He points out with a flourish: “You are standing in the middle of our new arrivals area. We will have one of the largest portable shares in South Florida. This allows visitors coming here to visit office tenants or people using facilities such as the ballroom to arrive undercover.”

This covered garage will be located next to the complex’s Steam Lab.

“This is a place where people in engineering and life sciences can develop their ideas and then implement them on site with 3D printers, amateurs, CNC manufacturers, etc.,” explains Bianco.

These two construction projects, as well as a brand new food hall, are all part of Phase 1.

Phase 2 includes the following: creation of on-site multifamily housing, retail space, 175 hotel rooms, medical office buildings and an event venue.

Bianco shares that they want to give people a real live, work and play experience.

And it’s a trend that’s catching on across South Florida.

One of them is the redevelopment of Sunset Place. Last month, the South Miami City Commission approved the development agreement with Sunset Opportunities.

The agreement stipulates that there will be up to 1,513 residential units, 550,000 square meters of shopping, dining, entertainment or office space and 9,000 square meters of space for a public plaza.

Now the developers have until January to submit a schedule for the construction phases of this project.

Another update comes from Cutler Bay, where the Southplace City Center will be built.

The senior vice president of Urban Retail Properties, one of the parties involved in the project, said in a statement:

Our vision for Southplace City Center is to redefine urban living in South Florida and create something unprecedented that offers an exceptional mix of residential, commercial and recreational spaces and a vibrant community atmosphere. We are aimed at the modern person who is looking for everything they need in one place. At full build-out with approximately 5,000 apartments surrounded by pedestrian walkways, open green spaces and tranquil fountains, as well as a dynamic selection of shops, restaurants and entertainment offerings across 500,000 square meters to suit different tastes, we will realize this vision.

Phase 1 has begun. In mid-October we opened our new DSW at the former ROSS location and construction of the new ROSS store in its new premises is currently underway. In early 2025, infrastructure work will begin on the former Sears site for the first eight-story building, which will include the 25,000 SF Presidente Supermarket and 350 apartments. The Presidente Supermarket will be the first supermarket of its kind tailored specifically to Southplace Town Center. This store offers a diverse selection of common foods complemented by specialty products from Caribbean and Latin American countries that cater to different tastes and preferences.

These rooms want to take into account the trend of meeting the needs of tenants through properties in their vicinity and assume that this will also be the case with other older buildings in the near future.