District Retires North Park Debt Early

Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District Commissioners turbocharged plans to develop North Park when they voted unanimously to pay off the bond on the site's west side nearly seven years early.

The decision gives Commissioners the ability to move forward with design and development plans, and to pursue potential public-private partnerships more than half-a-decade ahead of the originally determined pace.

“I think what we did tonight was really a milestone in paying off the debt to the city,” Commissioner Steve Engel said. “It frees our hand to entertain the thought of doing all the things we want to do on the west side.”

In 2018 the District purchased the defunct Ocean Breeze Golf Course in the Boca Teeca section of east Boca Raton to help offset the city of Boca Raton's plan to sell its municipal golf course. 

The District purchased the east side of Ocean Breeze, but the City issued a bond for the west side with the agreement that the District would pay off the bond in 2032. The City of Boca Raton holds the deed for that property until the District retires that bond.

The need to develop Ocean Breeze, renamed North Park, into a golf-only facility diminished when The Boca Raton gifted the City its golf course located off Congress Ave., north of Clint Moore Rd. 

Retiring the bond early will save District taxpayers $1,083,000 in interest payments alone across the next seven years. Additional savings are expected to come from regular maintenance and upkeep that won't be needed once construction and development begins.

Paying the bond early won't prohibit the District from moving forward on other projects already scheduled.

“It's a positive,” District Treasurer Craig Ehrnst said. “It's not really a financial decision, it's more about getting development going.”

Ideas for features to be included on the west side include golf amenities, an aquatic center and a field house.

“We'll be able to exercise a little more flexibility in the development of the west side,” Commissioner Bob Rollins said when discussing the positives of retiring the debt early.

District plans to develop the outright-owned east portion of North Park are already moving forward. In June Boca Paddle broke ground on its new indoor pickleball and padel facility coming to North Park. Future plans for the east side include the addition of walking trails and mountain bike trails.

In another major step forward for east side development, the District recently issued a Request For Qualifications from contractors interested in bringing the design plan to reality. The District plans to pre-qualify vendors, accelerating the process of choosing contractors. Companies that do not partake in the RFQ process will not be considered for the North Park project.

Responding to beautification requests from local residents, crews in July began painting a Traffic Garden on pavement that had previously been tennis courts. Traffic gardens offer children a fun opportunity to learn bicycle and road safety in a visually appealing area free of cars. 

The Traffic Garden will also include a shaded seating area from which parents can monitor their children.