In October, the Boca Raton City Council told its staff to look at the cost of opening up a temporary park at the Wildflower site for short-term use.
Earlier this week, the Council rejected the idea of the park, citing the cost, which according to the Sun-Sentinel is estimated to be $313,500, as one of the main reasons.
The Boca Raton Tribune ran a survey regarding the Wildflower property in November in which locals were asked their opinion on what the city should do with the Wildflower property and it showed that 21.96% of the participants agree it should be leased to an outside company to build a restaurant, 60.28% voted for a park to be built, and 17.76% voted “other” specifying their proposals and ideas in the comments.
The council did however, instruct its staff to move forward with the permitting process for installing a floating dock at the site, an estimate that can range from $215,000 to $350,000.
In the survey conducted by The Boca Raton Tribune, many of the readers voiced their opinions regarding opening up a park.
“Incorporate a park that can be altered to fit restaurants, food trucks and public activities,” said Isabel, a participant of the survey. “Prime locations don’t just benefit the city, developers, architects, but presents an opportunity to activate the urban fabric of Boca Raton to manifest a true identity of culture for optimal quality of pedestrian interaction.”
However, Building up the Houston’s restaurant in the property means the city would earn back the $7.5 million that has been spent on the development of the property. Changing the deal, making a park instead of a restaurant, would not help the city to produce enough money to cover the investments.