Ivy Realty, a Greenwich-based real estate operating company, announced that since its purchase of the Heron Bay Corporate Campus in Coral Springs, the firm has leased over 53,685 square feet of office space in the hurricane-resistant, Class-A office building, boosting its occupancy from 48 percent to 86.5% percent.

Ivy Realty purchased the 89,000-square-foot campus in 2011 as part of a trio of commercial real estate investments in South Florida, as the firm eyed a recovery in the region.

The firm has amassed over 453,000 square feet of office space in South Florida in the last  30 months — an impressive statement as to its view of South Florida commercial real estate. The firm’s two other Class-A Office investments in the region are 1 East Broward Boulevard in downtown Fort Lauderdale, a 340,000 square-foot building, and 250 Royal Palm Way in Palm Beach with 24,000 square feet.

Following significant refurbishments, Ivy Realty boosted the occupancy in the signature, high-rise Fort Lauderdale office building by over 21 percent, and after recently finishing refurbishments at its Palm Beach property, that property too is quickly escalating in occupancy. After significant downturns in office values in recent years, the trio of Ivy Realty successes point to capital infusions as playing a critical role in turning mediocre properties into prime properties, helping to spur on the South Florida recovery.

“As we sought to expand our investment horizons beyond the Northeast a few years ago,” said Rusty Warren, Co-CEO of Ivy Realty, “we viewed South Florida as on the cusp of recovery, but it lacked investors that could combine conviction and capital. We have the resources to back our vision and are seeing our quality assets returning to positions of prominence in their respective Class-A office markets.”

The firm’s latest success story, Heron Bay Corporate Campus I and II, are preeminent multi-tenant office buildings located within the northwest Broward submarket. Completed in 2001, their modern Mediterranean design incorporates hurricane-resistant features including impact-resistant windows and generator wiring for tenants requiring uninterrupted operations.
The campus is ideally located by the “main-and-main” commercial intersection of the Sawgrass Expressway and Coral Ridge Drive, which serves prestigious communities surrounding including Heron Bay Golf Club, The Hamptons, and Parkland Golf & Country Club, all of which are affluent communities favored by entrepreneurs and corporate decision makers. The Heron campus’ circular driveway stems from the grand entrance of the Marriott Hotel, adding a high level of convenience for visiting executives.

Ivy Realty’s lease-up in the three-story buildings has included adding Pearl Holdings, a Florida-based personal automobile insurer with over 17,000 square feet; Regus, the world’s largest provider of flexible workspace, which hosts approximately 15,500 square feet of executive suites at the Heron Bay campus; and AOD Software, a long-term care software company providing clinical, operations and financial management solutions to retirement and continuing care communities, which leased approximately 15,300 square feet. These leases are unusually large for the office submarket, which more typically leases spaces of 3,000-5,000 square feet per tenant. Ivy Realty also leased just under 4,000 square feet to Century Link (formerly Qwest Communications), among other new tenants.

Added Anthony DiTommaso, Co-CEO of Ivy Realty, “Heron Bay Corporate Campus appeals to corporate executives for numerous reasons: The location  offers an ideal work-live combination, surrounded by upscale enclaves, golf courses and A-rated schools. It features luxury, modern amenities, and it’s hurricane resistant as well as inland, the latter offering added protection for a business during storm season.”

The buildings, which are located at 11555 and 11575 Heron Bay Boulevard, currently have 12,000 square feet of available space, with footprints allowing for subdivision of tenant spaces into as little as 1,000 square feet. The buildings are Energy-Star efficient, and the exteriors features lush landscaping.

CBRE is handling the leasing of Heron Bay Corporate Campus under the direction of Travis Herring and Deanna Lobinsky