The name Tom Crocker is once again back in the spotlight, as he has offered the City of Boca Raton a proposal for a "spine" connecting Royal Palm Plaza and Mizner Park. Crocker's plan calls for assembly and redevelopment of two city blocks to complete the long discussed pedestrian oriented spine. Redevelopment of the property will stretch north to south from N.E. 2nd Street to Palmetto Park Road and east to west from Mizner Boulevard to Federal Highway. Crocker's idea is to place offices, shops, restaurants, residences and a hotel along the spine.

Crocker is well known as the developer of Mizner Park. Having been at the official capping ceremony at Mizner Park in 1989, I can attest to the fact that the changes wrought by Mizner Park have been monumental and beneficial. The stores and restaurants have brought life to the area. The Museum of Art brings culture and the bandshell hosts a multitude of outstanding concerts. The proposed reopening of Liberties bookstore will continue to bring people downtown.

The negative however has been that the costs of Mizner Park to the taxpayer far exceeded the original expectations. Because of numerous unforeseen factors, it was only in 2005 that Mizner Park began to break even. The question really is what Crocker's new proposal will cost and whether the benefits will outweigh the expenses. This is an issue that the City Council is grappling with and one that all of us as concerned citizens need to monitor.

In the meantime, change is already taking place in the area. Plaza Real South from Palmetto Park Boulevard to the Royal Palm Plaza already embodies Crocker's idea. New apartment buildings and new restaurants from Nicks to Moquilla to Chops have filled in the streets and with them have come trendy shops. Although it would be nice to have a unified plan for redevelopment, the recent development of these blocks makes you wonder if market forces will eventually accomplish the Crocker plan without Tom Crocker.

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