This is the second in a series of articles from One Boca, One Future spotlighting the City of Boca Raton’s most valuable yet under-realized growth area: The Northwest Sector, the space on the map between I-95 and Military Trail, Clint Moore Road and Spanish River Blvd.
They’re young, educated and upwardly mobile. Many enjoy starting incomes close to $75,000 – and rising into the six figures. Who wouldn’t want these people as neighbors?
The problem is, these young employees face a dilemma in northwest Boca Raton. Not yet prepared to buy a residence, their incomes are sufficient to rent luxury apartments. Yet, no such apartments exist in the city’s Northwest Sector. So they commute – South from Delray Beach, or north from Fort Lauderdale.
As a result, Boca Raton risks losing them as productive, engaged life-long residents whose families one day will play on the soccer fields and whose incomes will help fuel the tax base.
This is a snapshot of Boca Raton’s burgeoning employment base. From high-tech firms to medical start-ups to corporate headquarters, employers here are hiring a smart workforce at a prime age for any city hoping to an attract up-and-coming residential base.
At the Research Park at Florida Atlantic University, the 23 tech companies have a combined 952 employees with an average salary of $68,158, says Andrew Duffell, the park’s President & CEO. Starting salaries are in the low- to mid-$50,000 for these tech firms, he says. At several companies in the area, base salaries approach $75,000, or about 60% higher than the county’s median salary.
When it comes to work and life, these employees have more in mind than finding lucrative jobs. Many Baby Boomers, Generation X and Generation Y workers who have jobs in Boca Raton find themselves commuting in for work – and leaving at day’s end. The younger the worker, the more likely they’d be to rent an apartment that incorporates flexibility in their living options. The concept of Planned Mobility successfully has attracted these workers in other markets.
Agile, Mobile – and Business-Friendly
Of the 140 employees at 3CInteractive, about 40% commute into Boca Raton – and about one in three rent. Boca Raton risks permanently losing such employees – whom some call the “next generation of civic leaders” – if housing isn’t developed nearby to suit their lifestyles, says John Duffy, CEO of the tech firm located on Congress north of Yamato.
What’s more, on any given day the company has 10 long-distance commuters – including the CFO – staying in extended-stay hotels. Instead, a corporate, luxury apartment would be less expensive – and better suit their lifestyles, he says. Additionally, a “campus” environment, where people walk, ride their bikes or take public transportation to work – and gather at nearby cafes or restaurants for dining or networking – is appealing to Duffy.
“That’s what we dream about – that campus where people walk around and meet outside,” he says. “It’s that philosophy – building that community within a community. As an entrepreneur, that’s very exciting.”
Creating a Cluster Community
A live / work / play community could emerge in the Northwest Sector to serve employees and employers alike, said land-use attorney Jeffrey Lynne. The situation is not unlike what Lynne faced when he arrived in Boca Raton in 2000. He rented an apartment, and later moved to a single family home.
“People need places to live here,” he says, “They don’t want to commute now or uproot later.”
Such a move makes sense in an overall regional strategy for sustainable economic development, Duffell adds.
“We’re trying to develop a cluster and make it as easy as possible for people to access their work, but also make it appealing for personal and social life,” Duffell says. “Some like to go home, then go back after dinner. If it’s 30 miles, they won’t do it. But with a light rail or trolley, it becomes part of developing a more cohesive integrated community between work and home.”