A subsidiary of sugar producer Florida Crystals Corp. wants to build two apartment buildings in Boca Raton to breathe life into a blighted downtown area.

Camino Square would rise northwest of Camino Real and the Florida East Coast Railway tracks on the site of a closed retail center where Winn-Dixie once operated.

Florida Crystals's FCI Residential would build on the east half of the 9-acre property, and the owner, New York-based real estate investment trust Kimco Realty Corp., would build a new retail structure on the west half, said Juan Porro, FCI Residential managing director in West Palm Beach. FCI Residential has a contract to buy its portion of the site from Kimco, Porro said.

FCI believes residents of the apartment buildings will build the retail business, and then the two new projects will foster the redevelopment of nearby properties through “a domino effect,” Porro said.

“It's a property that needs redevelopment. … I think once we start, the retail people, which is Kimco, will have a better opportunity to get interest from good retailers,” he said. “Once we go up, there will be interest from the retailers, and then across the street something will be torn down (for something) … brand new.”

Camino Square would have 350 units in two eight-story buildings, each with its own garage. There would be one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments with rents ranging from $1,600 to $3,000 a month depending on the floor plan and location in the building, Porro said.

The apartments would be boutique and luxury. Some of the features would be floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors, Porro said.

Camino Square “has all the amenities that any luxury apartment project has in Boca Raton or better,” he said.

The property is in the downtown Boca Raton Community Redevelopment Agency, an area the city deemed blighted and in need of an overhaul.

While Porro said Camino Square would help with that, not everyone is on board with the project — and for different reasons.

Some residents have raised concerns about additional traffic and a greater strain on public services like schools and utilities, according to a Sun Sentinel article.

The developer has said it would work to improve traffic signal synchronization and add a left-turn lane from Southwest Third Avenue to Camino Real. In addition, Porro said the developer is building a project less dense than what's allowed by not seeking the maximum building height.

The project is not a done deal. It still has to be considered by municipal boards and then the City Council.

It already has been in front of the Community Appearance Board, an advisory board of architects and other industry professionals.

The initial proposal presented to the board showed the back of the buildings and garages as fairly plain and facing the train tracks and Dixie Highway, an important thoroughfare in the area, said Mark Jacobsen, board chairman.

“It was sort of turning its back to the city,” he said.

The plan was revised to add architectural elements to create a facade on the back of the buildings, Jacobsen said.

The board is to review the project again before heading to the Planning & Zoning Board.

FCI Residential might be able to deliver the apartments in 2020, Porro said. By then, demand for multifamily should be higher based on expectations for job growth in the area.

“Boca Raton is one of the most important employment centers in the county of Palm Beach,” Porro said. “The job growth will outpace the supply that right now is forecast in the next three or four years.”

FCI Residential develops, owns and manages 15 projects in Florida, including Atlantico at Kendall at 16824 SW 137th Ave. west of Palmetto Bay; Siena at Tuscany at 8061 Red Jasper Lane west of Delray Beach; and Atlantico at Miramar at 12121 SW 43rd St. in Miramar. It would own and manage Camino Square as well.