Memorial Park Boca Raton Master Plan: The Holiday-Season Dates

Downtown Boca's holiday calendar has an unusual guest this year. At the Holiday Tree Lighting on Saturday, Nov. 21, a city information table on the future of Memorial Park will be set up beside the holiday market and the stage. Then on Dec. 10, the design charrette for that same park opens in Mizner Park on the evening of the holiday Night Market at Sanborn Square.

The City lists community events as one of its input channels, and two of its outreach tables sit inside the downtown holiday lineup. The time to shape what happens to the roughly 17 acres of city-owned land around City Hall runs from the Nov. 19 virtual session to the last charrette day on Dec. 12. That land is the same ground the One Boca proposal sought to redevelop.

What the Study Area Holds Today

The City's facilities directory lists Memorial Park at 150 Crawford Boulevard. Its amenities include:

10 lighted tennis courts
two lighted baseball and softball fields
two lighted football and soccer fields
a lighted basketball and volleyball court
a skate park and space for skateboarding and rollerblading
shuffleboard, a playground and picnic tables

The master plan's study area extends past the park itself. In its Nov. 3 coverage, the Boca Post reported that the council resolution describes about 17 acres of city-owned land. That land includes Memorial Park, City Hall, the Community Center, the Tennis Center, the Singing Pines building complex and the public spaces around them. The City's kickoff release says the work will look at existing conditions, open and recreational space, veterans memorials, pedestrian connections and community needs.

According to Boca Magazine, the playground and basketball court near the Community Center draw an after-school crowd. That gives the plan a daily audience as well as a civic one.

How This Plan Grew Out of One Boca

This master plan is the City's second recent attempt to decide the future of the downtown government campus. The first was a public-private partnership with Terra and Frisbie Group, and it ended at the ballot box. Here is the sequence as local outlets reported it.

When	What happened
February 2025	The initial partnership plan for the roughly 30-acre campus included more than 1,100 apartments, offices, a hotel and retail, per the Sun Sentinel
September 2025	The developers' revision cut the plan to 704 homes, dropped the hotel, added green space and proposed a veteran memorial and at least eight downtown tennis courts
September 2025	Save Boca reported about 7,700 signatures for a charter amendment requiring a referendum on leasing or selling public land, per Boca Magazine
November 2025	A court ruling kept Save Boca's proposed ordinance and charter amendment off the January ballot, per Boca Magazine
January 2026	The council approved a master partnership agreement and a 7.8-acre lease, with the deal conditioned on a voter referendum
March 10, 2026	About 74% of voters opposed One Boca in early results, and the project will not move forward, per WFLX
April 2026	The council created a nine-member Downtown Civic Engagement Task Force to collect input on Memorial Park's future, per WFLX
September 2026	The council approved a $519,925 master-plan contract with Chen Moore and Associates on a 3-0 vote
Nov. 2, 2026	The City launched the six-month Memorial Park master plan

In WFLX's April report, Mayor Andy Thomson said one of the biggest concerns about the government campus was that it "wasn't resident driven." He described the task force as a way to make decisions of that significance resident driven. The Boca Post reported that at a July 28 council meeting, speakers asked the council to define the project before hiring a consultant. When the contract came up in September, some speakers questioned the price and others urged approval.

The City is careful about where things stand. Its release says no final design, park layout or master plan has been approved. The Boca Post reported that the City says no outcomes have been predetermined and that final recommendations go to the City Council.

Two Calendars in One Month

Since one of the City's input channels is "participation in community events," the planning dates and the holiday dates belong in one schedule. Here is how they line up for the rest of the season, with holiday times and ticket prices as listed by the City and in TAPinto Boca Raton's roundup of the 2026 holiday lineup.

Date	Event	Where	Memorial Park connection
Thu., Nov. 19, 6:30–8:30 p.m.	Public input session	Virtual	Third and final listed session
Sat., Nov. 21, 6–10 p.m.	Holiday Tree Lighting, free	Mizner Park Amphitheater	City information table, 6–8 p.m.
Wed., Dec. 2, 7:30–9 p.m.	54th Holiday Street Parade, "Boca by the Beach"	Downtown	None listed
Sat., Dec. 5	Holiday POPS with The Symphonia, $25–$60	Mizner Park Amphitheater	None listed
Thu., Dec. 10, 5–8 p.m.	Charrette introduction	The Studio at Mizner Park	Opening session
Thu., Dec. 10, 6–9 p.m.	Holiday-themed Night Market	Sanborn Square	Same evening
Fri., Dec. 11, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.	Design charrette	The Studio at Mizner Park	Full working day
Sat., Dec. 12, 9 a.m.–5 p.m.	Design charrette	The Studio at Mizner Park	Final day
Sun., Dec. 13, 5–6 p.m.	Tuba Christmas, free	Mizner Park Amphitheater	None listed

The first two in-person sessions were set for Nov. 14 in the Royal Palm Room at the Boca Raton Community Center and Nov. 17 on the second-floor mezzanine of Spanish River Library. That leaves the Thursday, Nov. 19 virtual session, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., as the last scheduled input meeting before the charrette. Connection details are on the City's Memorial Park page.

Saturday's Tree Lighting, With a Planning Table

The Holiday Tree Lighting is free and begins at 6 p.m. Mayor Thomson lights the City's tree at 7:30 p.m., and Mizner Park's display of 50,000 LED lights on 75 palm trees switches on at the same moment. The evening also has live music, a craft station, a holiday market and food and drinks for purchase. Selfie photos with Santa run from 6 to 10 p.m. at the art museum.

Some practical details shape the night. Plaza Real East and West, the interior roads inside Mizner Park, close to cars at 5 p.m. Outside chairs are not allowed, though chairs can be rented on site, and each guest may bring one unopened bottle of water.

The Memorial Park information table runs from 6 to 8 p.m. That covers the early stage set and the 7:30 lighting, so you can stop by before or after the ceremony. The City set up the outreach tables for residents who could not attend a public input session. An earlier table ran at the Nov. 5 Night Market.

December 10 Is the Overlap Night

The charrette is where ideas become drawings. The Boca Post reported that this is the phase where Chen Moore develops design concepts. According to the staff memo on the contract, it will produce up to two conceptual alternatives for City Hall, the Community Center, the Tennis Center and Singing Pines.

The charrette opens Thursday, Dec. 10, with a 5 to 8 p.m. introduction at The Studio at Mizner Park, 201 W. Plaza Real. That same night, the season's last Night Market fills Sanborn Square at 72 N. Federal Highway from 6 to 9 p.m., according to TAPinto. The City describes that market as holiday-themed, with baked goods and sweet treats, local artists and makers, and music. The City also offers free rides to and from the market on BocaConnect, its shuttle service, which you can book through the Circuit app.

The two longer working sessions follow on Friday, Dec. 11, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday, Dec. 12, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The City lists every charrette session as open to the public. Tuba Christmas follows at Mizner Park Amphitheater on Sunday, Dec. 13, from 5 to 6 p.m. It is free, guests may bring chairs and blankets, and on-site chairs rent for $5 cash.

Input That Doesn't Depend on a Date

Holiday plans fill up, so the City also posted an online survey in English and Spanish. The release lists small-group discussions and stakeholder meetings as further input channels. Questions can go to [email protected].

The veterans memorials are one thread to watch. The master plan includes them in its evaluation. In April, the council voted to replace a plaque installed at the park in March, and City Manager Mark Sohaney said the council wants the new plaque to better reflect the park's history, including the original 1947 council that established it. As of WFLX's April report, the resolution called for a public dedication ceremony when the new plaque is installed, with no timeline set.

Recreation is the other thread. The same April meeting included discussion of future softball field improvements and the need for tennis courts. Those are the same facilities that fill the park's amenity list today.

The planning runs six months from the Nov. 2 kickoff, and its recommendations go to the City Council for consideration.

At ISABELA, we follow downtown Boca's civic decisions closely, because changes to places like Memorial Park shape how the neighborhood around them is lived in. If you'd like to talk through what the Memorial Park process could mean for your corner of downtown, in English, Spanish or Portuguese, Schedule a Consultation.