What is BRIC? Boca Raton Innovation Campus, on the former site of IBM
Developer: Crocker Partners LLC, a Boca Raton-based real estate company
Website: workatbric.com (check out the events page)
Address: 4920 Conference Way North, Boca Raton
Home to: 36 companies and organizations so far, and counting
Coming soon: $28 million renovation of Amenity Corridor
In the ‘70s and ‘80s, IBM’s research & development campus in Boca Raton bustled with innovation.
The huge office building housed several firsts, most notably as the place where the world first personal computer was invented by Philip “Don” Estridge and his IBM team and introduced to the world in 1981.
It was also home to the first smartphone, Simon, and it was said to be the place where Bill Gates made his notorious licensing deal, licensing his operating system to IBM instead of selling it to them so he could license it to others and become Microsoft. The building itself, featuring a Y-shaped design by architect Marcel Breuer, was considered an engineering marvel for its day when it opened in 1970 and was designed to withstand a Cat-5.
That’s what made the purchase of the office complex in 2018 so special, said Giana Pacinelli, marketing director of Crocker Partners, a commercial real estate company headquartered in Boca Raton. Last April, Crocker purchased the 1.7 million square foot property, which had been expanded over the years and had changed hands a couple of times since IBM sold the property in 1996. It’s now called BRIC, the Boca Raton Innovation Campus.
Crocker has big plans for BRIC as it welcomes today’s new wave of technology innovators.
“Our goal is to take that past and bring it into the future so the campus continues to be a place where innovation happens,” said Pacinelli, adding that the giant office park is now home to 36 companies and organizations, including corporate and regional headquarters.
“We want to make it a destination, not just for the organizations that work on the campus but a destination for the entire community to enjoy, which is why we are partnering with Palm Beach Tech. We are hosting a lot of programming on campus. We have a program board of 11 community leaders that helps us put together programs. We partner with TedX Boca Raton to do speaking events on campus.”
Over the next year or so, BRIC’s Amenity Corridor will undergo a $28 million renovation. The renovated section will include a STEAM Lab equipped with 3D printers, laser cutters and other equipment. Tenants can rent it out and BRIC will also house programming there for local organizations and schools. Hungry? There will be a food hall with seven restaurants open to the public and a 1,200-seat dining hall that can also serve as a presentation hall. Also planned is a wellness center with an onsite nurse, two coffee shops and a co-working space. “It’s exciting times for us,” Pacinelli said.
Already, there are inviting outdoor spaces to work or relax, with miles of walking and bike paths, a conference center that can seat up to 400 where events are now held and a fitness center tenants can use. With the renovation will come special studios for yoga, pilates and the like.
Health-tech company Modernizing Medicine relocated its headquarters – and its more than 800 employees – to BRIC in January. BRIC is also home to MobileHelp, MDVIP, Transunion, BlueGreen Vacations and Shoes for Crews, among others. “We are the largest single office facility in the state. … We’ve been moving very quickly,” said Pacinelli.
“Boca Raton has been Crocker’s home for years. We helped build Mizner Park and Crocker Center – we’ve been around for over 35 years. We want to make this a special place where we can bring technology companies and jobs and really just revitalize the area. The property, when IBM housed it, was a very closed off, very secretive space, but now we want to open it up to the community.”
