A joint venture between Beztak and Wexford Real Estate has received approval from Boca Raton’s Planning and Zoning Board to expand their planned apartment development. The project, known as Bocora, is set within the 21.4-acre Amtec Center business park at 6401 to 6421 Congress Avenue in Boca Raton.
The latest approval allows the developers to add 21 more apartments, a fitness center, and a private school to the original plan, which called for an eight-story building with 277 units. The expansion proposal will next go before the Boca Raton City Council.
In exchange for these additional units, Beztak and Wexford have agreed to reserve four apartments for affordable housing and provide a 2,086-square-foot fitness facility. According to city rules under the commercial industrial multifamily development (CIMD) ordinance, developers can request extra residential units in light-industrial areas if they offer attainable housing or new retail options.
Owners of Amtec Center are also seeking conditional use approval for a 2,000-square-foot school serving up to 100 students within an existing office building on site. This would allow Xceed Preparatory Academy—which already operates a hybrid tutoring facility at Amtec Center—to accept school vouchers. “It’s a small boutique gym. Most of them don’t have staff at all,” said Ele Zachariades, attorney for the project.
Jon Ounjian, who owns property north of Amtec Center, voiced concerns about increased traffic from the added apartments unless roadway improvements are made.
Planning board members questioned whether the proposed fitness center genuinely meets requirements for public retail space under CIMD guidelines or simply serves residents of Bocora. “All these apartments that are going up [have] no retail, so every time someone wants a cup of coffee or breakfast or something, they are leaving the site,” said board member Timothy Dornblaser.
Brandon Schaad, director of development services for Boca Raton, stated that “the fitness center will be required to be open to the public and staffed at least 60 hours a week.” He added that an independent operator must run the gym as mandated by CIMD rules; otherwise developers could face fines or legal action from the city. Schaad also noted staffing details would be finalized when the zoning matter reaches city council: “Unstaffed commercial gyms are a real thing in the world, but I’m not familiar with them,” he said.
Beztak is led by Sam Beznos while Wexford is headed by Joseph Jacobs and Philip Braunstein. They introduced plans for Bocora after Beztak acquired part of Amtec Center in late 2021 for $12.7 million from Jupiter-based Catexor—led by Stig and Britt Wennerstrom—which retains ownership of most remaining acreage at Amtec Center.
Boca Raton continues to attract significant real estate investment activity in recent months as several major projects advance through approvals or sales—including deals involving Related Group’s $50 million purchase on Office Depot Campus property for redevelopment into mixed-use space; approvals granted to Group P6 and Mill Creek Residential for downtown apartments; acquisition by Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints of Del Ola apartment complex; planning board support for James and Marta Batmasians’ hotel project near Mizner Park; and resident opposition efforts targeting other large-scale proposals across town.
