Mill Creek Goes Vertical on Boca Raton Luxury Project
The project cleared a number of entitlement hurdles.
Developer and owner-operator Mill Creek Residential has broken ground on Modera Downtown Boca, a 306-unit luxury apartment community located in the heart of Boca Raton, Fla. The community is expected to open in 2028.
Renters will pick from studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom residences with select den layouts and top-floor penthouses and townhomes. Features and finishes of apartments will include nine-foot ceilings, oversized windows, wood-style plank flooring, pull-down faucets, tile backsplashes, kitchen islands with storage, pendant lighting, built-in desks and shelving, in-unit washers and dryers, oversized bedrooms with large closets, smart thermostats, keyless entry systems, smart leak detection and private patios or balconies.
Among the common-area amenities will be a pool, rooftop terrace with grilling and dining areas, demonstration kitchen, sauna and steam room, resident clubhouse with billiards table and foosball, landscaped courtyards, pet park, dog run, pet spa and club-quality fitness center with cardio equipment, yoga/Pilates studio and personal training.
Modera Downtown Boca is being built to satisfy the National Green Building Standard’s Silver Certification.
Also offered will be controlled-access garage parking featuring EV charging stations, bicycle storage and bike repair stations, digital package lockers, cold storage, additional storage space and controlled-access guest technology.
Bearing an address at 400 S. Dixie Highway, Modera Downtown Boca will be a contemporary high-rise community featuring 306 apartments.
Strong collaboration
Behind the sleek exterior was a tough greenlighting process. “Given the community’s location within Boca Raton’s DDRI district, the entitlement process was highly detailed and required careful navigation of zoning overlays, building height limitations and design guidelines,” John Grimaldi, Mill Creek Residential’s vice president of development in South Florida, told Multi-Housing News. “Balancing the city‘s vision for a vibrant, walkable downtown with the needs of a large-scale residential development presented both technical and coordination challenges.”
“Our success in moving the project forward is a direct result of the strong collaboration between our design team, legal advisors and city staff. From the outset, the process was marked by a spirit of partnership and problem solving,” Grimaldi said.
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“The city’s planning and building departments were proactive, communicative and clearly committed to high-quality development in the downtown. With the support of our legal team, we were able to work through the nuances of the DDRI framework and deliver a project that aligns with the city’s long-term goals.”
Modera Downtown Boca will stand just west of U.S. Route 1, and a short drive from I-95. Its address carries a Walk Score of 91, denoting “walker’s paradise,” with shopping and dining steps away. The three-year-old Brightline Boca Raton station is situated within six blocks. Three of the area’s top-rated hospitals are within a file-mile commute. The setting also will provide residents with abundant opportunities for recreation, with five miles of beaches to the east of the property, and the Everglades to the west.
Development of Modera Downtown Boca continues a year of investment activity in the Sunshine State for Mill Creek. Several months ago, Mill Creek Residential landed a $345 million refinancing from PGIM for a five-asset portfolio. One of the properties funded in the package was Coral Springs, a 351-unit community located in the Broward County city of the same name.
