Boca Raton's Mizner Park could sell back to firm tied to its builder

• CP Group is in talks to buy back the downtown Boca Raton mixed use complex.
• If the sale is completed, CP Group plans a multi-million dollar renovation of the property's common areas.
• The developer also intends to refine the tenant mix, possibly adding a high-end grocer and a fitness center.

The owners of Mizner Park are in talks to sell the dining, office and residential center to a Boca Raton firm linked to the developer who built the complex 35 years ago.

CPGroup, former known as Crocker Partners, is negotiating to purchase the 30-acre complex, Angelo Bianco, managing partner, confirmed. Bianco did not disclose a price.

Crocker Partners was started by developer Tom Crocker, who built Mizner Park in 1991.

In an April 14 interview, Bianco said CP Group hopes to complete a purchase of the 35-year-old complex to "give it the attention it deserves so it can once again be a beacon of the community."

Bianco said if the sale is completed, CP Group would embark on a multi-million dollar refresh of the property. This includes a renovation of the common areas, which Bianco said are worn and dated.

How that redo would look will be up to the community, which Bianco said will be invited to join in public town halls.

"It's in my best interest to make everyone excited to come back," he said.

In addition to sprucing up the exteriors, Bianco said CP Group also wants to take a more thoughtful approach to the center's tenant mix, which he said doesn't have a clear direction now. Bianco added that he might even consider bringing in a high-end grocer and a fitness center.

Brookfield Properties, the project's current owner, did not respond to requests for comment.

Three years ago, the global real estate firm tried to sell the complex, following its 2018 purchase of General Growth Partners, Mizner Park's prior owner. But the sale didn't go through.

But there's fresh interest in downtown Boca Raton given the construction of new luxury condominiums in the city.

In addition, the city of Boca Raton recently approved plans to build a 12-story hotel at Mizner Plaza, a shopping center on the south side of Mizner Park.

What to know about Mizner Park in Boca Raton

Mizner Park is a Mediterranean-style, low-rise collection of buildings surrounding a central green space featuring fountains and benches.

The complex is at 327 Plaza Real, along South Federal Highway just north of Palmetto Park Road in the downtown. The nearly 900,000-square-foot complex features retail space, a 272-unit apartment building and a seven-story office tower.

The complex, which evokes the feel of a downtown with streets that run through its interior, was among the first mixed-use complexes built in the country in the 1990s.

The Boca Raton Museum of Art is located at the complex.

Mizner Park also features an amphitheater that hosts musical performances, holiday events and a range of cultural offerings throughout the year.

Mizner Park's mixed record of retail success

Crocker first built the project in 1991 after the city of Boca Raton partnered with him on the complex, which backers hoped would create a downtown renaissance.

Although Crocker owned the buildings, the city's Community Redevelopment Agency still owns the land under the shops, offices and apartments.

Through the decades, Mizner Park has had its ups and downs as a shopping and cultural center.

The Lord & Taylor department store, which opened in 2013 in the former Jacobson's spot, closed in August 2020. The space now is an RH Outlet furniture store.

Also cycling in, then out, was the Liberty's bookstore and the International Museum of Cartoon Art.

On the restaurant front, eateries that came and went include Junior's Restaurant and Cheesecake, Truluck's and Loch Bar.

Today, Mizner Park is home to several restaurants, including American Social, Max's Grille, Kapow Noodle Bar and Villagio restaurant.

The complex also has a several retail shops, from the upscale Sur La Table culinary shop to the It's Sugar candy store.

But the center's leasing roster remains unsteady.

IPic Theaters, the luxury movie chain with a prime location at Mizner Park, recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization, for the second time.

And the downstairs space in the Mizner Park office tower soon will be empty because the Ruth's Chris Steakhouse is shutting this location in May after 25 years.

Alexandra Clough is a business writer at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at [email protected]. X: @acloughpbp. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.