A Fort Lauderdale developer is turning up the heat on Boynton Beach officials, urging them to speed up incentive payments for a marquee downtown housing deal or risk slowing the project down. The push centers on The Pierce, a mixed-income apartment and retail complex planned for the city’s core.
The ask
According to the South Florida Business Journal, Affiliated Development has asked the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency to revise the tax-increment revenue funding agreement tied to The Pierce so some incentives are paid out on a faster schedule. The developer argues that getting those funds earlier is critical to securing construction financing and keeping the build on track.
What The Pierce would include
The Pierce is planned for 115 N. Federal Highway and is slated to deliver about 300 apartments, roughly 17,000 square feet of ground-floor retail and a multi-level garage that would include public parking. CRA documents state that about half the apartments, around 150 units, are designated as workforce housing at 80% to 120% of area median income for an initial 15-year period. The Boynton Beach CRA lists a $7,000,000 tax-increment funding agreement for the project and an acquisition cost of $7,605,000.
Financing and timeline
The development already has site-plan approvals and is in permit review. Affiliated has told officials that shifting the incentive timeline would help the company lock in its construction loan. Industry coverage shows Affiliated staying busy in the region and advancing other Boynton Beach projects while it lines up permits and financing; recent context comes from Commercial Observer and Florida YIMBY.
Delays and legal background
The Pierce’s schedule has already been shaped by earlier disputes and contract changes that temporarily slowed pieces of the work, according to CRA board materials. A January 2024 meeting packet describes litigation involving certain right-of-way abandonments and notes prior amendments to the development agreements that adjusted deadlines. Those details appear in CRA board documents.
Downtown at a crossroads
The incentive fight lands at a moment when multiple large projects are reshaping downtown Boynton Beach and testing how aggressively the city wants to chase growth and how much it is willing to spend to grease the skids. Recent coverage from Hoodline highlights nearby construction and how Town Square and other proposals are changing expectations for the corridor; its Town Square apartment mega-project story offers local context.
What comes next
Any change to The Pierce’s tax-increment agreement still has to clear the CRA board. If commissioners agree to speed up the incentive schedule, the shift could help Affiliated finalize its financing and start vertical construction sooner, according to the South Florida Business Journal. For now, the CRA board and the city commission remain the key decision-makers on whether the money moves faster.
