A stretch of North Federal Highway in downtown Boynton Beach has become a job site. Ocean One, an eight-story building with 371 rental apartments, is now listed as under construction by its developer, Hyperion Group, on land at 114 and 222 N. Federal Highway, near City Hall and Centennial Park on Ocean Avenue.

For anyone who drives Federal Highway through downtown, the site has been easy to overlook. Palm Beach County property records still classify both parcels, about 3.5 acres combined, as vacant commercial land. That label is about to age quickly.

What is going up

Hyperion's own project list describes Ocean One plainly: Boynton Beach, eight stories, 371 units, rentals, under construction. That is a large residential building by downtown Boynton standards, and it lands directly on Federal Highway, the main north-south road through the area.

The two parcels are held by BB1 Owner LLC, the ownership entity on the county roll, and both sit inside Boynton Beach city limits. The larger parcel, at 114 N. Federal, accounts for about 3 acres; the smaller one at 222 N. Federal adds roughly half an acre.

Hyperion's news page also points to the financing that made the start possible: a $108 million construction loan, with Silverstein Properties and Winter Properties as partners on the deal.

Who is building it

Hyperion Group describes itself as an investor, developer and operator of residential and mixed-use real estate, with offices in New York, Miami and West Palm Beach. Palm Beach County residents have already seen its work. The firm built Lumaire, the 23-story, 457-unit rental tower in downtown West Palm Beach, which it lists as complete. In Miami, its earlier projects include the Blue and MarinaBlue condominium towers.

The company says it has completed more than 1,500 residential units in South Florida, with roughly 700 more under development between South Florida and the New York area. Its CEO, Robert Vecsler, previously spent six years as president of residential development at Silverstein Properties in New York, which helps explain that firm's role in Ocean One.

Why downtown Boynton cares

The city has been explicit about what it wants downtown to become. Its economic development page describes a surge in residential construction and a push for mixed-use projects that let people live, work and spend time in the same few blocks without needing a car for every errand. The goal it states is a vibrant downtown core that works as a destination, not just a pass-through.

Ocean One is one of the first big pieces of that picture to move from rendering to construction. Hundreds of new households within walking distance of Ocean Avenue changes the math for the businesses already there. The restaurants, the shops along Federal Highway and the events the city runs downtown all depend on people being nearby on a weeknight, not just on weekends.

The city already gives those future residents a reason to walk over. First Friday @ 5 fills Centennial Park and Amphitheater, at 120 E. Ocean Ave., with food trucks and live music on the first Friday of each month. Those events were designed for a neighborhood with more people living in it, and that neighborhood is now under construction.

What to expect while it rises

An eight-story building on a 3.5-acre site is a multi-year project, and residents along this part of Federal Highway should expect the usual signs of a large build: construction fencing, crane work as the structure goes vertical and trucks moving in and out during the workday. The upside is visible progress. A site that has held no building will change from month to month, and drivers on Federal will watch the downtown skyline fill in.

Ocean One will not be the only change in the area. The city's development page also showcases renderings of The Pierce, another project it is promoting. Taken together, they point to a downtown that looks very different within a few years.

The bottom line for residents

For years, downtown Boynton Beach has had the bones of a real town center: a City Hall on Ocean Avenue, a park and amphitheater and a regular events calendar. What it has lacked is enough people living right there to keep those blocks busy every day. Ocean One adds 371 homes to that equation, on land residents have been driving past without a second look. Watching it go up is the first real sign that the downtown the city has been describing is starting to arrive.