Another new neighborhood will be built amid a big demand for housing in South Florida, this time offering 16 new townhouses and three single-family homes in Boca Raton, just east of Interstate 95 near Yamato Road.

The townhouses will go up along Yamato, just west of Northwest Third Avenue. And the single-family homes will be built along Third Avenue, forming an L-shape at the intersection. Neighbors have raised concerns about traffic and noise.

The area has seen a string of new development, with several apartment buildings having been built in the past few years and a potential massive redevelopment project still being worked out by developers for the Boca Raton Innovation Campus, both just west of the highway.

“We’re excited to finally fill in this spot on Yamato Road,” Jerome ‘Jerry’ Rich, the developer, said at the last City Council meeting.

Rich mentioned how the neighborhood’s location is across the street from a city fire station and just east of I-95. He couldn’t be reached for comment Wednesday.

The townhouses would be within four buildings, with four units each, totaling about 3,600 square feet, according to documents submitted by the developers. The units would feature a garage and then one or two floors above it.

A rendering shows what the planned Yamato Villas community will look like near the intersection of Yamato Road and Northwest Third Avenue, just east of Interstate 95. Boca Raton's city council recently gave unanimous approval to the project.
A rendering shows what the planned Yamato Villas community will look like near the intersection of Yamato Road and Northwest Third Avenue, just east of Interstate 95. Boca Raton’s city council recently gave unanimous approval to the project.

The three single-family houses would be two stories high and 2,400 square feet each.

City Councilwoman Andrea O’Rourke said she liked that the project included different styles of housing. “I love the idea of mixed-use, I love the idea of seeing townhouses being built,” O’Rourke said. “It’s a nice variety that we don’t have enough of in our community.”

In 2017, nearby residents organized to oppose rezoning the land there to allow multifamily housing.

“Change is inevitable, but Yamato Villas wants towering heights in proximity to our homes. No one welcomes townhouses or the noise that will decrease our property values,” one neighbor said at the time. “We want to maintain the quality of life without an intrusive development.”

Those neighbors couldn’t be reached for comment this week.

The land was rezoned in 2018, according to Tori Boone, land development coordinator for the city. Her department recommended the City Council approve the request, which it did unanimously last week.

Austen Erblat can be reached at , 954-599-8709 or on Twitter @AustenErblat.