Sunday, June 28, 2015

The Beauty And Business Of Boca Raton

By Jony Mozen


A short distance from Miami sits a smaller city, a city which lists over eighty four thousand residents. Although, those actually residing within the boundaries of Boca Raton only count for a small percentage of those counted during the 2013 census.

As the city has now been built as a center of business, the daytime population increases dramatically. Due to Miami being only a few miles away, it is quite popular with tourists and locals. Whether a short drive to beaches, museums and nightlife in Miami, or simply living the simple life at home, the area has a lot to offer.

Although, as the area also houses a well known hotel, resort and club, originally known as the Ritz-Carlton hotel, and the only 5 rated hotel in Florida, it is definitely worth a visit. While this may be the only five star property, there are also several other lodging options available. As such, whether traveling on a shoe-string or high dollar budget, there is often something for everyone.

The first business to grace the presence of this small city was that of IBM. IBM built its first business complex here in 1926. IBM together with another corporation secretly purchased land, then built what would become a quite historic business park. While now considered part of this small city, it originally the complex sat on the outskirts until the area was later annexed.

The complex initially brought a lot of workers to the area. As the first developer of personal computers, engineering and research and development were key positions at the company. Sadly, while much of the complex still exists, other areas have fallen on hard times. Though, the conference table and office where Bill Gates first signed a deal with IBM related to the MS-DOS operating system still remains as a relic to the time.

Regardless, the old IBM complex still houses the conference table where Bill Gates signed the historic deal with IBM to create the MS-DOS operating system, one of the original operating systems for personal computers. While decay took over a lot of the eastern areas of the city, including downtown and the old shopping mall in the 1980s, the Town Center west of the city and Mizner Park still remain strong attractions.

Since the closure of the original mall, the downtown area has been built up with a new outdoor shopping center, several restaurants and improvements to the park including an outdoor amphitheater. The site also features a park which lies between the two main thoroughfares, now known as Plaza Real. A number of tourists have suggested the area is akin to shopping centers found in the Mediterranean.

The redevelopment and redesign of the shopping center along with a park setting, and other new buildings have worked to revitalize the city. Though, when it comes to housing, whether as a rental or purchase, it can often be difficult to find properties which are either acceptable or affordable by middle class America.




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