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Broward County Gearing Up For Development Surge

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Get ready to witness a dramatic spurt in new development in Broward County, if dozens of high-rise apartment towers, hundreds of single-family homes and a few mega commercial projects are given the green light.

The recent surge in development proposals could change the county’s landscape — and prove there’s no such thing as “built out.”

Among the many projects in the pipeline, according to county records:

  • Downtown High-Rises: Downtown Fort Lauderdale is undergoing another burst of vertical growth. The Manor at Flagler Village, a 382-unit tower with some retail space, is under construction on the southwest corner of Federal Highway and Northeast Sixth Street. Adjacent to it is Edge at Flagler Village, under construction with 331 units. They are two of 12 major residential towers — including one hotel — that are proposed or already under construction downtown. Together they total a whopping 4,067 units and could nearly double downtown’s 8,200 population.
  • Sheridan Station: Developers have revived this project in Hollywood, between Interstate 95 and the CSX Railroad tracks, south of Sheridan Street. The complex features a hotel, transportation facility, commercial and office space, and 1,050 high-rise and mid-rise residential units.
  • Pine Island Marketplace: On a cow-grazing pasture on the southeast corner of Stirling Road and Pine Island Road, a developer plans a commercial complex anchored by a Walmart. It will be near the new Monterra community, a 1,600-home development on a former dairy farm in Cooper City.
  • City Center: A massive commercial-office-residential-hotel complex is finally underway in Pembroke Pines, where the city is selling its land west of Palm Avenue, between Pines Boulevard and Washington Street. The Pembroke Pines City Center ultimately will include 1,365 residential units, including 350 hotel rooms, plus 120,000 square feet of office space and 265,000 square feet of commercial. The apartments are among 1,365 rentals under construction or recently built. At a former golf course in Pembroke Pines, another 500 single-family homes are envisioned.
  • The Wedge: On a horse farm recently annexed into Broward County’s Parkland, a new, 538-home development is planned, for people 55 and older. The vast acreage is south of Loxahatchee Road and west of a proposed leg of Nob Hill Road.
  • Woodmont: Within the Woodmont Country Club community in Tamarac, one of the golf courses will be replaced with single-family homes. The resulting new development, south of Southgate Boulevard, between University Drive and Pine Island Road, will add 152 single-family homes, retain some golf courses, and add 28,000 square feet of commercial space.
  • Naugles Nursery Inc.: On former nursery land in Davie, a 240-unit residential project is planned, primarily aimed at teachers and college students from nearby colleges.
  • Mid-Rise Homes: A former mobile home park in Wilton Manors will be transformed into Wilton Twenty-Fourth Street Residences, a 179-unit mid-rise planned south of Northeast 24th Street between Northeast 13th Avenue and the FEC railroad.
  • Riverbend Marketplace: On vacant land formerly home to used-car lots, mobile homes and adult-oriented strip shops, a Walmart Supercenter and commercial complex are coming to Fort Lauderdale, on the south side of Broward Boulevard west of Interstate 95, across from the Broward Sheriff’s Office headquarters.
  • Multifamily Near Tri-Rail: On a vacant piece of land on the northwest corner of Northwest 33rd Street and North Andrews Avenue Extension in Pompano Beach, near a Tri-Rail station, developers plan 108 multi-family residential units.
  • Coral Ridge Golf Course: Another golf course will be replaced with 37 homes in Fort Lauderdale. The former American Golfers Club in the Coral Ridge community of Fort Lauderdale, east of Federal Highway and north of Northeast 37th Drive, has been closed for years.
  • Charter School: On vacant land just south of Griffin Road and east of Southwest 208th Avenue in Pembroke Pines, Franklin Academy, a 43-acre charter school campus, is proposed.

The uptick is striking.

“This year we’re definitely seeing more proposals,” said Barbara Blake Boy, executive director of the Broward Planning Council, a county advisory board.

In 2013, the number of residential units for which developers sought approvals jumped 218 percent at the Broward County Planning Council, one of the earliest stages in the process.

This year, approvals are again on the increase. Developers have submitted plans to add 1,970 homes in seven projects in Pompano Beach, Miramar, Plantation, Pembroke Pines and Lauderdale Lakes. That’s nearly as high as the total for all of 2013.

“Is there a higher level of proposed development activity than there’s been in the last few years? The answer to that is absolutely yes,” Stiles Corp. President Doug Eagon said.

Eagon said the South Florida housing market is more robust than elsewhere in the country right now, with heavy demand for rental apartments coming from millennials who’ve finally gotten jobs, and from baby boomers downsizing after their kids move out.

“There’s been a pretty dramatic increase in activity,” Executive Director Jim DiPietro said at the Broward Board of Rules and Appeals, which has seen a spike in building permit revenue. “You can see the way we started to claw out of the recession.”

The dramatic development surge might seem counterintuitive to those who’ve scanned the horizon and seen that nearly every square inch is paved and built upon (except for the two-thirds of the county that’s in the Florida Everglades).

In fact, Broward County was considered largely built out in 2005, according to the county’s recently released population planning report. But that doesn’t mean it’s game over for developers.

“When people say, ‘Well, we’re out of land,’” Eagon said, “the reality is we’re very close to being out of vacant land, but the redevelopment potential is still very good.”

The county’s vote is typically the first step, a general approval spelling out what type of development and how much of it can take place on the land. Many more projects that already had those approvals are under construction now.

In the cities, towns and neighborhoods where the construction trucks are headed, residents may be hesitant to embrace more growth. Developers will have to show that their projects won’t overburden local roads and schools, among other things.

Broward County Commissioner Tim Ryan said improving public transportation and ensuring that some of the new housing is affordable to the working class will be critical in this wave of development.

“You want to try to change the mindset, I think, in the coming decade,” Ryan said, “to get more people onto mass transit.”

Regardless, he said, people are coming. Population estimates for Broward show the flow to the south will continue, driving demand for more housing.

“They keep having winters like they just did,” Broward planning section manager Martin Berger said, “and they’re going to keep coming.”

 

Source:  SunSentinel

 

Downtown Fort Lauderdale Broward’s Best Performing Market

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Commercial Florida Realty Services’ George Sacks has recently completed year-end office market studies for Broward and Palm Beach office market studies.

Among the studies’ highlights:

  • Downtown Fort Lauderdale showed Broward’s best performance, gaining 175,520 square feet through year-end 2013 – a rapid change from the submarket’s slight negative absorption at mid-2013. Although Cypress Creek’s approximately 7.2 million square feet of office submarket ended the year with an overall 20.32% vacancy rate, its Class A component lost just 4115 SF and had a relatively healthy 15.34% vacancy rate.  The Cypress Creek Class B market was harder hit.

 

CLICK HERE FOR THE COMPLETE BROWARD OFFICE MARKET STUDY

  • Boca Raton was Palm Beach County’s top leasing market for the year, with a gain of 272,132 SF for the year and asking direct lease rates of $18.72 per SF by year-end 2013, compared with $17.47 at the end of 2012.  Re investment sales, per the study, “The investment sales activity in Boca Raton and Palm Beach County in general, is representative of a national trend for investors’ and owner/users’ increasing interest in seeking properties outside of the traditional major metro markets such as Miami.  This trend is likely to continue throughout 2014.”

 

CLICK HERE FOR THE COMPLETE PALM BEACH OFFICE MARKET STUDY

 

 

110 Tower Renovation Gaining Plenty Of Attention

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110 Tower, the LEED Gold certified class A office building in Downtown Fort Lauderdale’s Central Business District has recently closed 40,000 square feet of new office and lease deals with tenants including Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard + Smith, Fort Lauderdale Executive Office Suites, The Broward Safety Council, and Cole, Scott & Kissane, P.A., which has recently expanded.

Subway is also now open on the ground floor. And Trial Copy, a litigation consulting firm specializing in electronic data discovery, computer forensics custom trial graphics, and heavy litigation copy service, is now occupying space in the lobby level.

“We have seen a strong increase in leasing activity due to the completion of the building’s renovations, the progress of the new courthouse, the WAVE, which will stop directly in front of 110 Tower, and the improvements to the 6th Street areas,” stated Laurel Oswald (pictured above), a member of Cushman & Wakefield’s office leasing team for 110 Tower. “Downtown is experiencing tremendous growth in terms of new residential and other infrastructure projects. This has positioned it as a multinational hub of commercial and pedestrian business and 110 Tower is at its core.”

110 Tower was the first option for tenants seeking a LEED Gold-certified building within a multi-tenant high-rise office tower in Downtown Fort Lauderdale. Ownership won the U.S. Green Building Council of South Florida’s GalaVerde Award as Florida’s Best in LEED for Existing Building, as well as BOMA’s regional TOBY Award for Best Renovated Building.

Ownership recently completed a comprehensive $15 million interior and exterior renovation. That renovation included ground-floor retail, lobby and interior common area upgrades, primary mechanical systems enhancements, and installing a unique exterior lighting system.

 

Source:  GlobeSt.

 

 

Stiles Grows Team With Addition Of Lee Wheeler

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Local commercial real estate veteran Lee Wheeler has joined Stiles Realty.

Wheeler, a 34-year real estate professional, joined the company on February 3rd as senior advisor, reporting to Stiles Realty President Paul Marko. He will be based out of Stiles’ headquarters in Fort Lauderdale. This strategic hire comes at a time when Stiles Realty looks to build on the momentum it is creating in core markets throughout Florida, where it has recently expanded its team.

Wheeler specializes in investment sales, land brokerage and build-to-suit commercial properties. Over the course of his career, he has completed more than $2.5 billion in sales transactions ranging from urban office sites to large planned development communities. In this new role, Wheeler will focus on growing the firm’s footprint across Florida while leveraging Stiles’ diverse range of services.

“Lee is highly trusted in our industry with a tremendous track record of completing large transactions and establishing lasting client relationships,” said Marko. “His strength and experience in the build-to-suit and land arena is synergistic with Stiles’ multi-faceted business platform, which includes development, construction management, architecture, and property management.”

Throughout his career, Wheeler has represented major institutional owners and developers including Equitable Life, General Electric, The St. Joe Company, Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association, Duke REIT, Codina/Flagler Development and the MacArthur Foundation.

Stiles Realty offers a full-service real estate brokerage platform focused on industrial, office and retail properties. Additionally, Stiles Realty launched its Investment Sales division in late 2012, with a focus on high-profile quality office and retail opportunities below $12 million.

“Stiles is a very strong company that has established a stellar reputation over its decades of success in Florida,” Wheeler said. “I am excited as I see the potential for significant growth in Stiles Realty on top of that foundation. I feel confident that my broad and varied outlook gives me the insight into how we can meet the evolving needs of our diverse clients while achieving the goals of Stiles Realty,” Wheelersaid.

Prior to joining Stiles, Mr. Wheeler served as a principal and broker for Miami Land Company, where he focused on land acquisitions for development companies, site entitlements, zoning and government approvals. He spent ten years with the Codina Group where he focused on land and investment sales. Mr. Wheeler held an eight-year assignment with the MacArthur Foundation, where he was responsible for the disposition of more than 60,000 acres of commercial land, 10,000 apartment units, and over one million square feet of office, industrial and retail properties.

“Lee brings to our company a valuable skillset that adds depth and versatility to our growing team,” commented Marko. “I have known him for many years and am grateful to have him aboard as we continue to grow our business and look toward the future.”

 

John Geisen Joins Colliers As Executive VP

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Colliers International South Florida is pleased to announce that John Geisen has joined the company as Executive Vice President based out of the Colliers International Palm Beach office at 224 Datura Street in West Palm Beach.

Geisen is a past president of both the South Florida and Florida statewide chapters of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP), and served on NAIOP’s national board.

“John is a respected leader and deal maker,” saysStephen Nostrand, CEO of Colliers International South Florida. “His depth of knowledge and the relationships that he has nurtured say so much about his reputation. When John and I worked together at Flagler, he was my mentor and now we have the incredible opportunity to have him as part of our growing Palm Beach, Martin and St. Lucie county business. We sincerely welcome one of the giants in our business.”  

Previously, Geisen was president of the brokerage division of Flagler Development Group, responsible for the leasing and management of 23 million square feet of office, industrial and retail space throughout Florida. Previously he was Senior Vice President/Senior Managing Director withCBRE. During his 20 years with that firm, he expanded their offices in Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade counties and was responsible for overseeing activities in the tri-county market.

“Colliers has all the right ingredients, from its national and international platform, as well as its entrepreneurial spirit; an international company with a strong local presence,” saysGeisen. “I’ve watched as Colliers has grown from an excellent network to an international powerhouse. While the firm’s growth has been incredible, there are still tremendous opportunities in the northern South Florida markets that I look forward to capitalizing on.”

A member of the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County, Geisen is also active with the Broward Alliance and the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC). He is a past president of the Executive Association of Palm Beach County.

 

George Sacks, S&K Worldwide Team Up On Broward Project

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Commercial Florida Realty Services and real estate investment group S&K Worldwide Realty see demand for Broward corporate relocation and expansion office space turning upward faster than expected.

“The re-energized economy has more companies looking to relocate or expand in Broward, but their need for ample office space is colliding with market realities, especially along the I-95 corridor,” said George Sacks, Commercial Florida Realty managing partner.

Southlake PlazaTo offer users seeking signage and space along I-95 expanded options, S&K Worldwide Realty has partnered with Sacks’ firm to bring to market several contiguous spaces of 10,000 to 20,000 square feet at Southlake Plaza in Newport Center business park, Deerfield Beach.  Prospective tenants can choose to lease just the space they need, or buy either of two multi-tenant buildings, occupy a portion and gain built-in cash flow from existing credit tenants such as JPMorgan Chase and AT&T.

At one of Southlake Plaza’s two-story buildings, 1400 Newport Center Drive, for example, the partnership is marketing a 20,000-square-foot full floor in the same building where JPMorgan Chase signed a 12-year lease in 2013.  “Broward’s suburban office rents along I-95 have stabilized and begun rising,” Sacks explained.  “Companies see higher space costs ahead, whether they lease or buy.  A business that occupies its own building with credit tenants carrying some of the load, can substantially limit risk, lock in costs and locate in higher profile space,” he said.

“Growing companies need to look at the balance sheet impact of leasing, buying or constructing a single-user building,” Sacks added.  “Broward’s office inventory is not yet low enough to trigger new construction, and developable land along I-95 is rare and costly.”  More relocating and expanding firms, he said, are considering buying a multi-tenant building.

Southlake Plaza weathered the recession with strong tenancy, thanks in part to its location within the 119-acre Newport Center business park, Sacks said.  Most of the park’s buildings are owned, not leased, and corporate neighbors in the park include the University of Miami Sylvester at Deerfield Beach cancer center, MAPEI Americas, Staples’ back office operations, as well as two hotels.

According to S&K Worldwide Realty President Dirk Kuczurba, “We purchased Southlake Plaza many years ago, recognizing the opportunity to build long-term value in a property with an ideal location.”  S&K and its related companies and partnerships own, develop and manage commercial and industrial real estate throughout Europe and the U.S., and have invested more than $650 million in Florida land, office, industrial and retail facilities.