A developer acquired land in Boca Raton with an approved 157,900-square-foot office tower ready to build. They killed it. The pivot to flex-industrial tells you everything about where the market is heading.
Key Takeaways
- Butters Group is replacing a previously approved office tower with two 35,800-square-foot flex-industrial buildings in Boca Raton's Park at Broken Sound.
- The same 11.7-acre site will also include 287 apartments from Ram Real Estate, creating a live-work campus.
- Mutual of America Life Insurance sold the site for $23.75 million and is expected to vacate by spring 2026.
In November 2025, New York-based Mutual of America Life Insurance sold its 11.7-acre Boca Raton campus at 1150 NW Broken Sound Parkway for $23.75 million across two transactions. According to The Real Deal, the buyers were a partnership of Ram Real Estate (4.75 western acres, $16.875 million) and Butters Group (6.8 eastern acres, $6.875 million).
What happened next is the story: Butters had an approved 157,900-square-foot office tower ready to build. They killed it. Instead, they won zoning approval for two 35,800-square-foot flex-industrial buildings targeting pharmaceutical, tech, and R&D tenants.
What is flex-industrial and why does it matter?
Flex-industrial is a hybrid product: typically 50% office space and 50% warehouse, lab, or production space in one building. The target tenants are pharmaceutical R&D operations, software engineering firms, building contractors, and light manufacturing companies that need professional presentation and operational space under the same roof.
Butters is building two buildings at 35,800 square feet each (71,600 square feet total). At least half of each building will be office space. This is not a warehouse play. It is an office-plus product.
Average annual asking rent for office-services industrial in southern Palm Beach County hit $19.94 per square foot in Q1 2026, according to Colliers. That figure is rising while suburban office rents stagnate. The data support the pivot.
Why did Butters scrap the office tower?
Butters Group has won the NAIOP South Florida "Developer of the Year" award six times. They are not experimenting. This is their core competency, and they made a deliberate call: traditional office is not the right product for this location right now.
Boca Raton's suburban office vacancy rate is higher than in core urban areas. Mutual of America itself had already received approval for a 100-foot, 157,900-square-foot office building on this site. They abandoned that plan and sold instead. That reversal by an institutional investor is a significant market signal.
As Larry Mastropieri explained on the Discover South Florida Podcast: "If you want flex industrial, you can go to Pompano, Deerfield, or Fort Lauderdale and usually find more affordable options. But if you need the Boca image, the Boca address, and a higher-end environment, that is a different story. There are users who need that and cannot easily find it right now."
Own commercial property in Boca Raton or Broward? Talk to a real estate agent in Boca Raton who understands how office-to-industrial conversions affect surrounding values. Reach out to The Mastropieri Group or call (561) 544-7000.
What about the 287 apartments?
Ram Real Estate is building 287 apartments on the western 4.75 acres of the same site. The project includes 29 affordable units and 15 workforce housing units.
The combination of 287 apartments plus 71,600 square feet of flex-industrial on the same site is a micro-version of what the best-performing mixed-use developments are doing: live where you work, in a product that matches how companies actually operate today. Similar pivots are happening across the region, including Camino Square in Boca Raton, where retail plans shifted to 400 apartments.
In Boca Raton's supply-constrained rental market, 287 units is a significant housing contribution that is getting almost no coverage relative to the industrial story.
Why is Broken Sound a good fit for this?
The Park at Broken Sound is an established mixed-use business park on the I-95/Yamato Road corridor. It already includes industrial products, office products, and different commercial uses. The Opterra/Holiday Inn conversion (hotel-to-residential) is happening in the same zone.
Mastropieri noted: "Broken Sound Parkway is one of those areas in Boca where you have a lot more flexibility compared to other parts of the city. There are already industrial, office, and commercial products and uses around there. So when a developer proposes something like this, you don't usually see the same level of community pushback."
The proximity to corporate campuses, existing infrastructure, and talent pool make it a logical flex-industrial location.
What does this mean for the broader market?
This is not unique to Boca. The same pivot is happening across South Florida's industrial market. The office tower as a product type is being replaced by mixed-use, flex-industrial, or residential in submarkets where suburban office vacancy remains elevated.
Other Boca Raton office landlords are watching. If Butters leases this up quickly, expect additional office-to-industrial conversions across the Park at Broken Sound and comparable business parks. The conditions driving this pivot (elevated suburban office vacancy, strong flex-industrial demand) apply across Deerfield Beach, Pompano, and Coral Springs as well.
The flex-industrial tenant base brings a specific type of employee: typically skilled, higher-income professionals in pharmaceutical, tech, and R&D. Those employees become residential buyers. The commercial real estate pivot is a residential story too.
What is the timeline?
Mutual of America is expected to vacate by spring 2026. Demolition of the existing 71,000-76,000-square-foot office building (built in 1984) is targeted for July 2026. Construction of the two flex-industrial buildings will follow.
No specific tenants or letters of intent have been announced yet. Butters says demand exists. The proof will be in the lease-up velocity post-construction.
Watch More on This Topic
Watch: Boca Campus Redevelopment Segment ・ Full Episode: DSF Live Ep. 76 ・ Last Week's Recap: Ep. 75
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Butters Group building in Boca Raton?
Butters Group is building two 35,800-square-foot flex-industrial buildings (71,600 square feet total) at 1150 NW Broken Sound Parkway in Boca Raton. The buildings will target pharmaceutical, tech, and R&D tenants who need hybrid office-lab space.
Why did Butters scrap the approved office tower in Boca Raton?
Butters determined that flex-industrial targeting tech and pharmaceutical tenants is more in demand than traditional office space in Boca Raton right now. Suburban office vacancy is elevated, while flex-industrial rents are rising.
What is flex-industrial space?
Flex-industrial is a hybrid product: typically 50% office space and 50% warehouse, lab, or production space in one building. It serves companies that need professional presentation and operational space under the same roof.
How many apartments are being built at this Boca Raton site?
Ram Real Estate is building 287 apartments on the western portion of the same 11.7-acre site. The project includes 29 affordable units and 15 workforce housing units.
When will construction start at 1150 NW Broken Sound Parkway?
Mutual of America Life Insurance is expected to vacate by spring 2026. Demolition of the existing office building is targeted for July 2026. Construction of the flex-industrial buildings and apartments will follow.
Local help for buyers and investors in Boca Raton
If you are buying, selling, or investing in Boca Raton, Deerfield Beach, or anywhere in southern Palm Beach County, understanding how commercial conversions affect surrounding residential values matters. Reach out to The Mastropieri Group, Realtors®.
For practical, hands-on support across Boca Raton, call (561) 544-7000.
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