This is the first 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.

More than 45 years ago, Northwest Boca Raton was the model community. IBM’s arrival ushered in neighborhoods, top-rated schools, businesses and key infrastructure that became the blueprint for today’s live-work-play community.

Housing and lifestyle amenities offered IBM’s people “a good place to raise families in a very nurturing environment for professionals,” says IBM veteran Pete Martinez, who today is Chairman of Palm Beach Medical Education Corporation, parent of a new medical school  planned for Boca Raton.

Now more than ever, sustainably-focused redevelopment can establish Boca Raton as a world-class “city of tomorrow.” In Boca Raton’s Northwest subdistrict alone, some $750 million in “shovel-ready,” developable land is available. Plans would include restaurants and coffee shops, retailers, and the affordable, luxury apartments needed to serve the area’s growing high-end employee base.

“There’s a massive population base that’s underserved locally in the community,” Martinez says.

Companies scouting relocation possibilities in major cities – like Charlotte, Atlanta and Austin – want “urban, chic and walkable” destinations for an increasingly “sophisticated” talent pool, says Kelly Smallridge, President & CEO of the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County Inc.

“Anytime a company is looking to move into the county, they are looking for creative, innovative and attractive environment to bring in the best employees,” she says. “It’s all about walkable cities. That younger generation likes to get up, ride their bike, go to the gym or walk to work.”

In 2008, the Northwest Sector was “in a state of evolution,” notes a land use and urban form study from urban planning firm Glatting Jackson Kercher Anglin. Zoned for light industrial, plans for retail and luxury residential development is prohibited. That leaves employees of area companies without suitable housing or services. Even then, “It is increasingly difficult for employees to find proximate housing or to access daily-needs commercial services,” the report noted.

Another report cited critical improvements needed to attract future development and employers, including sustainable planning, enhanced quality of life, and increased commuting connections. Yet, little has changed.

Planned mobility development could help Boca Raton regain its status as world-class live / work / play destination for blue chip companies looking to relocate here, agrees John Crean, CEO of Broken Sound Club, which has invested $27 million in the club over the past four years. “We’re putting our money where our mouth is in our little village in the larger town of Boca Raton,” he says.

Development will not increase traffic woes – and may reduce it. Current commuting patterns prove this, says Charles Siemon, a long-time Boca Resident and partner with land use law firm Siemon & Larsen, P.A. More than 90% of Boca’s 79,000 employees citywide commute in from elsewhere, notes the U.S. Census. Increased commuting means more trips and vehicle miles, a larger carbon footprint, and traffic woes, Siemon says. Development “will shorten commutes and lessen traffic,” he says.

Moreover, as the economy has changed, cities developed years ago find themselves planning for efficient infill of existing parcels and maximum use of already developed land, he says. “This is not your grandfather’s Boca Raton. “The world has changed. Florida has changed. Boca has changed.”

With a balanced, sustainable solution that serves high-wage employers, broadens the city’s tax base and preserves residents’ desires to maintain its neighborhood appeal, Boca Raton can regain its role as a world-class city of tomorrow – today.