Boca Islands / The Neighborhood

The Neighborhood

A quiet enclave of canal-front homes in southeast Boca Raton.

Boca Islands sits between Cypress Way and the Intracoastal Waterway, just west of Royal Palm Yacht & Country Club. It is one of the few waterfront neighborhoods in Boca Raton where daily life happens on foot.

Where it is

Between the club and the water.

The neighborhood occupies a series of streets on protected, deep-water canals in the southeast quadrant of Boca Raton. Royal Palm Yacht & Country Club is immediately to the east; The Boca Raton, Camino Real and the shops along Federal Highway are a few minutes away; the Intracoastal Waterway and the beaches lie beyond.

There is no homeowners' association, no gate and no through traffic. The streets are residential, the lots are generous by east Boca standards, and the houses face the water rather than the road. At the center of the neighborhood, across the street from 252 SW 14th Place, is Boca Isles Park, a City-owned pocket park with playgrounds, picnic tables and walking paths.

What distinguishes Boca Islands from the better-known waterfront pockets of northeast Boca is the neighborhood around it. The Fresh Market and Walgreens are a five-minute walk. Publix and restaurants along Camino Real and Federal Highway are less than a ten-minute walk. The Boca Raton and its Beach Club, the public beach at South Beach Park and Mizner Park are each a short bicycle ride.

Getting around

Walking, cycling and driving times.

On footminutes

  1. Boca Isles ParkCity pocket park, across the street from 2521
  2. The Fresh Market5
  3. Walgreens5
  4. Publix<10
  5. Restaurants and cafésAlong Camino Real and Federal Highway<10

By bicycleminutes

  1. The Boca RatonResort, golf, marina and spa10
  2. Boca Raton Beach ClubOceanfront, members and guests15
  3. South Beach ParkPublic beach and pavilion15
  4. Mizner Park and downtown15

By carminutes

  1. Brightline, Boca Raton station10
  2. Boca Raton AirportPrivate aviation15
  3. Downtown West Palm BeachVia I-9535
  4. Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale airports30

Times are approximate, measured from 252 SW 14th Place at an unhurried pace and in typical traffic. Buyers are encouraged to confirm any distance that matters to them.

The water

Protected, deep-water canals.

The canals in Boca Islands are sheltered from the wake and traffic of the Intracoastal Waterway, which makes for calm water at the dock and quiet evenings on the loggia. Each of the new residences has a private dock with a motorized lift.

The canals reach the Intracoastal beneath fixed bridges. They are well suited to center-consoles, sport boats and cruisers with modest air draft. A buyer whose first priority is a large sport-fisherman or motor yacht with unrestricted ocean access will be better served elsewhere, and we say so plainly. Buyers with a specific vessel in mind should confirm bridge clearance and draft before contracting.

No association

What no HOA means in practice.

Boca Islands has no homeowners' association. There are no association dues, no architectural review board and no rental restrictions beyond those imposed by the City of Boca Raton. Owners deal directly with the city on permits and improvements, as they would anywhere in the city's older neighborhoods.

For a buyer accustomed to the gated communities west of the Intracoastal, this is a different proposition: fewer rules, no gatehouse, and a neighborhood whose character is set by the people who live in it rather than by a declaration of covenants.

The Boca Raton, seen from the putting green
The Boca Raton. Photograph by Carol M. Highsmith, Library of Congress.

Ten minutes by bicycle

The resort that made Boca Raton.

The Boca Raton has anchored the town's social life since Addison Mizner opened the Cloister Inn in 1926. Its golf, tennis, marina, spa and dining are a ten-minute bicycle ride from Boca Islands, and the Boca Raton Beach Club, the resort's oceanfront outpost on the barrier island, is five minutes farther.

Royal Palm Yacht & Country Club, immediately east of the neighborhood, is Boca Raton's other private club, with a Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course and a marina on the Intracoastal. Membership in either club is by application and is not a condition of living in Boca Islands.

Schools and services

Everyday practicalities.

Boca Islands is served by the Boca Raton public schools of the School District of Palm Beach County; assignments should be confirmed with the district for any specific address. Several of South Florida's best-regarded independent schools are within a short drive, including Saint Andrew's School and Pine Crest School's Boca Raton campus.

Boca Raton Regional Hospital, part of Baptist Health, is in the center of the city. The Boca Raton Brightline station, with service to West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Miami and Orlando, is about ten minutes by car, and Boca Raton Airport, for private aviation, about fifteen.

Showings, floor plans and neighborhood tours.

Brokers are welcome and compensated. Private showings can be arranged on short notice, including for buyers visiting West Palm Beach for the day.

Request a showing 301.602.1172

Explore

Boca Isles ParkThe City-owned pocket park across the street from 252 SW 14th Place: playgrounds, picnic tables, grills and walking paths.The Residences252 SW 14th Place, complete and offered at $6,000,000, and the second residence at 1175 SW 4th Avenue, a slightly larger waterfront residence, will be completed in Late Fall 2026.Compared with Palm BeachHow Boca Islands stands against Palm Beach and the waterfront pockets of northeast Boca.Relocating to South FloridaFor executives moving to new offices in West Palm Beach or Boca Raton.Questions and answersHOA, docks and bridges, schools, taxes, commute, and how to arrange a visit.