Boca Raton/Delray Beach News
April 30, 2002
POMPANO BEACH-A location for a second Tri-Rail station in Boca Raton is still up in the air, after the board for the commuter railway gave a lukewarm reception Friday to a proposal to put a station just south of busy Glades Road.
Codina Development Corp wants to build two four-story 100,000 square-foot office buildings on a Tri-Rail-owned 12 acres on Military Trail near Glades Road, and put either a bus station or train station on about 1 1/2 acres of it.
But Tri-Rail’s board of directors seemed cool to the idea.
“I, personaly am not in favor of going forward with this said board Chairman James Cummings, who owns a Fort Lauderdale construction company. “We’re not in the real estate development business. I don’t think we’re getting a good return on our investment.”
Both Codina and Tri-Rail said the access to the site is a concern. There’s no direct access from Military Trail to Glades Road, which crosses Glades on an overpass. Currently, only righjt turns are allowed to and from the site.
Boca Raton officals said they didn’t want to have a train station near Glades Road, and would prefer it be located at the T-Rex Technology Center @ Boca Raton, south of Yamato Road between interstate 95 and Military Trail.
Tri-Rail officals said they will consider putting a station at T-Rex. They also plan to talk to large employers, such as Florida Atlantic University to see where they would like a train station.
Tri-Rail already is palnning to construct a new train stop at the Congress Avenue park and ride lot at the city’s northern border. It will close its Yamato Road station.
The board didn’t vote on any of the proposals during Friday’s meeting.
Tri-Rail has had a history of troubles developing its Military Trail site, for which it paid approximately $3.3 milion in 1994.
In 1999, the board accepted a proposal from Sapphire Properties to develop a replica of a historic CSX railroad depot in Tampa, along with an office building two 150 unit, five story apartment buildings; a five story, 150 room hotel, two restaurants, and a parking garage.
The developers estimated the project would produce more than $19 million during the next 30 years in income for Tri-Rail.
But the proposal fell apart after Sapphire expressed concerns about the lack of access to the site.
Sapphire Properties later teamed with Codina Development and Teachers Insurance and Annuity Associations and proposed the two office buildings.
Codina estimated it would pay Tri-Rail about $300,000 a year in rent, and possibly more, for the site after it was fully built.
Board member Michael Masanoff said Tri-Rail still is owned $75,000 from Sapphire, and “if they want to continue to negotiate with us (to develop the site) they need to pay us the money.”
Cummings said he hopes Tri-Rail can still make good use of the site–build a bus station, maybe. He said he hopes the agency will “do something positive, not just get rid of the land.”
Kathy Bushouses@sunsentinel.com or 516-243-6641