Stephen Ross’ Related Ross is edging toward a deal for the Boca Raton Innovation Campus, the 1.7 million square foot former IBM research hub that sprawls across roughly 123 acres in east Boca Raton. The property has been the focus of redevelopment chatter for years, and a purchase would give Ross a serious foothold in Palm Beach County’s office and life sciences scene. For now, talks are described as early, with no price tag or closing date out in the open.
As reported by Bisnow, Related Ross has confirmed it is in discussions to buy the campus. A company representative said the firm is “excited about the opportunity to expand into Boca Raton at BRiC, an incredible asset with a rich history.” According to the same report, Boca Raton city staff met with Related Ross executives at the end of March to talk through the campus, a sign the conversations have moved past a casual first date. Still, no sale price or timetable has been made public.
What BRiC Looks Like
The campus at 5000 T Rex Ave is described on its official site as a 1.7 million square foot office park set on about 123 acres, featuring three and one story buildings linked by miles of walking and biking paths, plus amenities like a 1,000 seat dining hall and a ballroom, according to the BRiC website. The property originated as IBM’s North American research center and is tied to the invention of the personal computer. Today it is pitched to technology and life sciences tenants, and its proximity to Florida Atlantic University and Boca Raton Executive Airport gives it extra pull for both recruiting and future redevelopment.
Redevelopment Plans Already In Motion
Current owners and partners have been working on a mixed use reboot for the campus for several years. Miami based Terra Group says it has secured rights to build on BRiC’s parking lots and has rolled out a plan that would bring roughly 1,243 residential units, 125,000 square feet of retail, 55,000 square feet of entertainment space, 85,000 square feet of medical offices and a 140 room hotel, according to Terra Group. Local coverage and planning summaries have echoed those figures and the broader goal of shaping a walkable, transit oriented neighborhood around the campus, as noted by Connect CRE.
Why Ross Would Want BRiC
A BRiC buy would line up neatly with a strategy Related Ross has been running in Palm Beach County: collecting large office assets and pairing them with new uses designed to lure institutional tenants. The firm has already submitted planning materials and a letter of intent to the City of Boca Raton for separate downtown redevelopment concepts, showing both its local ambitions and its comfort level with complex public private projects, according to the city’s project filing. That combination of scale, tenant demand and transit access is likely what makes BRiC such an attractive, if complicated, prize.
Deal History And Hurdles
Ownership at BRiC has been shuffled in recent years, and the campus has already drawn heavyweight capital. A 2021 deal involving changes in part ownership was pegged at about $320.2 million, underscoring the site’s institutional heft, per The Real Deal. Any fresh purchase would have to knit together multiple ownership and development rights while syncing with Terra’s existing plans and local permitting requirements. At this point, there is still no public purchase price or closing schedule on the table.
For Boca Raton, the stakes are both economic and political. In March 2026, voters overwhelmingly shot down a separate downtown plan known as One Boca, a reminder that big, long horizon land plays come with intense public scrutiny in the city, according to Boca Post. If Related Ross ultimately seals a deal for BRiC, the company will have to juggle community concerns, transportation and infrastructure pressures while still assembling the tenant mix and amenities needed to make the redevelopment pencil out. We will be watching future filings and official statements from Related Ross and the property’s owners for confirmation and further details.
