Boca Raton’s Community Redevelopment Agency voted 5-0 Tuesday to approve The Sanborn, an eight-story private members club planned across Northeast First Avenue from Sanborn Square, after residents raised concerns about traffic, parking and how much more development downtown can absorb.
The vote adopts Resolution CRP-25-01, an individual development approval for the club at 100 N.E. 1st Ave., where the developers bought the existing two-story building for $10 million in March. The approval authorizes an approximately 54,681-square-foot club with a two-level, fully automated underground valet garage, according to the agenda. The Community Appearance Board and the Planning and Zoning Board had each recommended approval by 5-0 votes.
Ellie Zacharitis, a registered lobbyist representing the applicant, told the board the project meets every requirement of the downtown development order and is seeking no variances or technical deviations. City staff recommended approval, finding the project complies with the development order and is compatible with neighboring uses, according to the staff presentation.
The 0.30-acre corner lot sits at Northeast First Avenue and East Boca Raton Road, with an alley running along its north side. The two-story retail and office building there now dates to 1948, according to Palm Beach County Property Appraiser records cited by city staff, and will be demolished.