Weeks after the Boca Raton City Council decided to wait for a voter referendum on the proposed redevelopment of the city’s government campus, the debate surrounding the project has intensified.
Earlier this week, local attorney Ned Kimmelman filed a lawsuit in Palm Beach County Circuit Court against Save Boca, the group opposing the redevelopment, and its founder, Jon Pearlman. The lawsuit seeks an emergency injunction to invalidate petitions collected by Save Boca as part of their referendum efforts. Save Boca has gathered 7,000 signed petitions from residents who oppose the project.
In his filing, Kimmelman, who lives in Boca Raton, accuses Save Boca and Pearlman of spreading false information to persuade people to sign the petition. The suit claims: “Save Boca and Pearlman are conducting an audacious scheme to evade Florida law and abuse our electoral process in Palm Beach County and the City.” It also alleges that Save Boca’s proposed amendment to Boca Raton’s city charter—which would prevent the city council from selling or leasing land greater than half an acre—could create an “unworkable, very expensive” crisis for local government.
Neither Kimmelman nor Pearlman responded immediately to requests for comment.
The proposed government campus redevelopment, called One Boca, is being led by David Martin’s Terra and the Frisbie family’s Frisbie Group. The plan includes new city offices, apartments, condominiums, and retail space on public land in downtown Boca Raton. This would involve redeveloping the current city hall at 201 West Palmetto Road, with a proposed 99-year lease of public land to Terra and Frisbie.
The city council voted on September 9 to delay approval of this long-term lease until after a public referendum is held. Terra and Frisbie were selected for the project earlier this year after a competitive bidding process that included Related Ross, Namdar Group from New York, and RocaPoint Partners from Atlanta.
At a recent city council workshop about One Boca, Rob Frisbie Jr., a partner at Frisbie Group, announced that new plans would be presented at upcoming city meetings on October 27 and 28. He said the project’s scope is being reduced from its original 30 acres.
Opponents of the project attended the meeting, calling it a betrayal of public trust and expressing concerns about environmental impacts such as gopher tortoise habitats. One supporter of Save Boca referenced Nancy Reagan’s “Just Say No” campaign while addressing the council.
Frisbie stated: “We’re just in the design phase where we’re listening and incorporating additional feedback from the community,” adding that developers are focused on improving Memorial Park in their next set of plans.
After the October meetings, the proposal is scheduled to go before voters in a referendum on March 10, 2026.
