Business – Page 5 – West Boca News

Toys R Us Closing in Mission Bay; Dick's Sporting Goods Coming

Update: See response from Toys R Us at bottom

Toys R Us in Mission Bay Plaza; image by Google

We’ve heard persistent rumors that Toys ‘R Us in Mission Bay would be closing and we can now confirm that. We called and talked to store employee, who identified himself as Tony Sandals. However we received a phone call from a man named Tony Sandals who says it wasn’t him, and he had quit before Christmas.
They started a store closing event yesterday. Everything in the store is up to 40% off and there are no returns allowed. The store employee expects that the store will be completely closed by the end of January. He was not able to tell us if the store will open in another nearby location.
The store employee also confirmed another rumor, that the spot will be filled by a new Dick’s Sporting Goods store. We would guess it will take at least a couple months for Dick’s to get going, and maybe not until the summer.
We had previously attempted to confirm these rumors with the firm that manages Mission Bay Plaza. The leasing agent did not respond and the property manager hung up on us.

Toys R Us responds:
I wanted to reach out as we had seen your story on our Boca Raton, FL Toys“R”Us store closing and wanted to correct/verify some of this information.
The Toys“R”Us store located at 20429 State Road 7 in Boca Raton will be closing at the end of the company’s lease term for this property, which is at the end of January.
Items purchased during the liquidation sale cannot be returned. As indicated on receipts, all sales during this time period are final. Items purchased prior to the liquidation sale on Saturday, December 26 can be returned under our normal return policy guidelines (including to the Mission Bay store). For more information and to view our full return policy, please click here.
Gift cards can be redeemed at the store until it closes. After that, customers can use their gift cards at any other Toys“R”Us or Babies“R”Us location nationwide, or online at www.Toysrus.com or www.Babiesrus.com.
At this time, we do not have any plans for a new store in the Boca Raton area. We’ve enjoyed serving the Boca Raton community for many years. We continue to operate a number of stores throughout the state of Florida, including a Toys“R”Us/Babies“R”Us store at 6001 West Sample Road in Coral Springs and a Toys“R”Us store at 601 N. Congress Avenue in Boynton Beach. Customers can also shop 24 hours a day on www.Toysrus.com and www.Babiesrus.com.
–There is also a Babies“R”Us store in West Boca Square (aka the Target plaza).–

New Projects Coming: Clint Moore & 441; and Boca Rio

Thomas Produce viewed from 441; image by Google

Two new projects appear to be coming to West Boca. First on the list is the Thomas Produce property on the northeast corner of 441 and Clint Moore. The original plan, for 300 townhomes and a large retail space, has been drastically changed.

The request for Multiple Land Use (MLU with CL, LR-2) would provide for a mix of commercial retail, storage, office, and congregate living facility uses which are consistent and compatible with the surrounding suburban land use pattern in the geographic area.

We previously reported that another congregate living facility is under way in Logger’s Run.
The Thomas property zoning change has been recommended to the Board of County Commissioners. In late October the BCC voted 6-1 to send it to a final vote on January 27th. Our commissioners, Mary Lou Berger (mostly west of the Turnpike) and Steven Abrams (east of the Turnpike) both voted in favor.

Tri-County Animal Shelter from Via Ancho and Boca Rio; image and map data by Google.

Next up is a proposal by the Tri-County Humane Society to expand their animal shelter on the west side of Boca Rio south of Via Ancho (south of Glades by the Post Office):

The Preliminary Site Plan for the 14.05-acre site indicates 40,000 square feet, in 9 buildings and 5 structures, which is a proposed increase of 23,997 square feet. The applicant proposes to remove and/or relocate trailers and structures; and, to construct 2 building additions and 5 new 1-story buildings in 3 phases with the 5-acre western portion reserved for future development. A total of 102 parking spaces will be provided. The existing access points from Boca Rio Road (1) and Via Ancho Road (1) will remain.

We believe this was approved in 2012 and a reader recently told us that construction has begun.
Some of the documents we have on these are below:
[gview file=”https://westbocanews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/via-ancho-animal.pdf”]
[gview file=”https://westbocanews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/ThomasPet-Sum-Revised.pdf”]
[gview file=”https://westbocanews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Thomas-Application.pdf”]

Big Changes in Loggers' Run Shoppes

Things are happening in the Shoppes at Loggers’ Run plaza (Palmetto Park Road about 2 miles west of 441, across from the middle school). As we’ve reported in the past, Dunkin’ Donuts is coming. It’s more than just donuts. We now have more detail on several changes.

As you can see on the map above (full flyer at bottom), the plaza is marketing four separate spaces available for lease. Starting with the new “outparcel” building, there are three spaces, each with about 1450 square feet of space.

The Dunkin’ Donuts will be the furthest west and it looks like it will have a drive-thru window on the western wall (see photo at top of this article).
Also available is another small space in the middle near the post office and Mama’s Pizza.
One of the bigger spaces is a story we’re sad to see. The Player’s Edge indoor baseball facility, next to Monkey Joe’s, has closed. This sign was in the door.

For those who don’t realize it, it’s tough to run a business. The nearly 15,000 square feet (about twice the size of the proposed Benihana in the Home Depot plaza) in this space means monthly rent in the ballpark of $27,000. You have to generate a lot of revenue to pay that, plus all the other expenses.
That also means it will be tough to fill that space. It might be deep enough for some 50-yard rifle lanes, but that probably won’t happen. And it’s way too big for our dream of an Indian restaurant (maybe one of the other spaces?).

There are two other new businesses in the plaza. We noticed one between Monkey Joe’s and Kumon. The owner of Creative Elephant Arts and Crafts Studio is apparently Inna Marty Nenko, but she was not in when we visited. They will offer a variety of classes as well as summer camp sessions (maybe they’ll advertise in our summer camp directory?).

There’s also a gym coming – FitRX, just west of Monkey Joe’s. Other than the photos we took we don’t have any more details on it.

The full flyer for the plaza is below:
[gview file=”https://westbocanews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/loggers-rent-flyer.pdf”]

Benihana Coming to Westwinds of Boca

We’ve heard rumors for years now and it’s finally true. Benihana is coming to Westwinds of Boca (aka the Home Depot plaza) on the southeast corner of 441 and Glades. Originally we heard this what was going into the new building that now has Pei Wei and a few other stores.

The old Denny’s; photo by Warren Redlich

While we heard all those rumors, people also kept asking us “what’s going on with the Denny’s building.” Now we have the answer. There is a proposal pending before the county, titled “Benihana at Festival Shoppes of Boca Raton” (the old name of Westwinds). The essence of the plan:

The Applicant is requesting to reconfigure the Site Plan and add square footage. The Preliminary Site Plan indicates the existing Type II Restaurant (3,154 sq. ft.) to be demolished and a new (8,060 sq. ft.) restaurant to be constructed.

The zoning commission has scheduled a hearing for December 4th, and then it will go in front of the County Commissioners on January 7th. Sometimes these dates get pushed back, but it appears to be coming soon. One reader even tells us she saw workers at the building.
There are already a couple of Japanese steak houses in West Boca, with Tempura House at Clint Moore & 441, and Saito’s at Lyons and Glades. Benihana is may be a step up in quality, but we’ll see if and when they open.

Benihana to replace Denny’s in Westwinds of Boca, southeast corner of Glades and 441; image and map data by Google.

Overall the parking in that plaza can be a nightmare, though the worst of it is closer to Home Depot and Publix. Doubling the size of this building will bring in a lot more cars, but we think there’s room for it. Plus we’re excited to try it.
It’s always a good sign for the local economy when businesses want to open and expand.
The full zoning application is below:
[gview file=”https://westbocanews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/1990-00024DOA-2015-01723_Benihana-at-Festival-Shoppes-of-Boca-Raton.pdf”]

New Project in Logger's Run: Assisted Living

Update (July 2017): The Assisted Living Facility is now named Symphony at Boca Raton. We called and a recorded message said they expect to open in November of 2017.

Many readers have asked us what’s going on on the northwest corner of Ponderosa and Cobblestone. The location is north of Packy’s and the Montessori school, and borders the Crystal Cove Estates subdivision.

We looked into this further and learned that a 168-bed assisted living facility is being built. This will be fantastic for the local seniors as we have been crying out for a senior assisted living facility for such a long time. The name of it is: Cobblestone Place Congregate Living Facility. This is a form of housing intended primarily for seniors who need substantial nursing or medical assistance but not 24-hour supervision. If Florida is too far for you, then you might be interested in checking out this caregiver agency to help you with you find someone to look after you in your old age. However, if Florida is the perfect location for you, then you can read more on the Florida Elder Affairs website.
From the plan document we reviewed, there will be 90 parking spaces initially as required, with additional space set aside for 74 spaces if necessary. Assisted living through lakeside assisted living providers or similar can be a huge benefit to those who want their independence but are in need of help from time to time, if this is what you are looking for and you are looking for a facility to accommodate you, and you are not living in this vicinity, then there is The Hermatige based in Virginia. The Hermitage of Northern Virginia assisted living facilities are located in Alexandria Virginia with memory and skilled nursing care too, this can be of a great aid to you and your living conditions, check your local area for facilities near you.
Addressing concerns we’ve heard from residents, the plan is attempting to minimize the impact on neighbors:

The site has been design[ed] to orient the 3-story portion of the building away from the adjacent residential properties to the north with additional setbacks and required buffers to minimize any impact. In addition, the service driveways and service areas are located in areas away from the adjacent residential properties and are placed towards the interior of the building which will provide screening from any perceived nuisances.

We’re not sure that description fits with the overhead map in the project document, which shows only a fifteen foot buffer between an internal circular driveway and the existing wall on the south side of Crystal Cove:

To us it looks like a large building is being squeezed into a tight space.
Here are some “elevation” images of what the project should look like:

This is an image showing data from the project:

The project is apparently owned by a Delaware corporation controlled by Capital Health Group and a man named Kenneth Assiran.
Here’s a 2014 interview with Mr. Assiran that mentions Boca Raton:

The transcript of that interview is available at Levin Associates.

Steve Monroe
Got you. Okay, good. Now, that’s a big deal for you to start the year. Do you have anything else like that in the pipeline for the rest of 2014?
Ken Assiran
Yes, we have other prospects we’re looking at. We’re looking at also developing a couple of deals. As a matter of fact, it’s very opportune that we’re in South Florida because we’ve bought some land in Fort Lauderdale and soon we are going to buy some land in Boca Raton and we’re going to build two large buildings in South Florida. We have a major commitment to South Florida or Florida.
I don’t know if you know this or not, but our management company now manages 75 buildings.
Steve Monroe
I knew it was up there; I didn’t know it was that high.
Ken Assiran
Yeah, we have quite a few. I believe we have eight in South Florida, so we’re really making a major investment in the Southeast.
Steve Monroe
Well, the Florida housing market is getting better, the Florida economy is getting better, so it’s probably not a bad place to be as long as too many people don’t follow you in the new development side.
Ken Assiran
Well, I think in South Florida, in Boca Raton and in Fort Lauderdale, it seems like in the markets here, there hasn’t been a lot of new product built here and I think the markets are ready for some new product.

The 32-page pdf from 2012 describing the project is below:
[gview file=”https://westbocanews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/cobblestone-2012.pdf”]