The city government of Dania Beach started soliciting proposals from developers to build a new city hall and a commercial complex.

Dania Beach city hall project site (PHOTO CREDIT: Colliers International | Sun-Sentinel)

The development would unfold at 100 West Dania Beach Boulevard, a 6.42-acre site where the existing city hall is located. May 30 is the deadline for developers to submit proposals to redevelop the site, which has been appraised at $12.31 million. The city wants a developer to clear the site by demolishing the existing 29,000-square-foot city hall and relocating a fire station and two historic buildings to other locations in the city.

Dania Beach formally issued a request for proposals on March 15, three days after city commissioners approved the planned project. According to the city’s request for proposals, the 6.42-acre site is big enough for about 1.4 million square feet of new building space and more than 950 residential units.

Existing parking capacity at the Dania Beach site could be expanded from 440 spaces to 660 spaces by adding two floors, according to Colliers International South Florida, which is advising the city government on the project.

“A 1.25-acre site next to the existing city hall property is privately owned and has a $3.5 million asking price,” Bradley Arendt, a broker with Colliers, told the Sun-Sentinel. “So a developer who acquired the privately-owned site and won the bidding to build a new city hall could assemble 7.5 acres for potential development.”

 

Source: The Real Deal

Interstate Industrial Park

A three-building portfolio of industrial property within an Opportunity Zone in Riviera Beach sold for $11.7 million, or $73 per square foot.

When the sale closed, the buildings were 98 percent leased to tenants including the City of Riviera Beach, Saf-Glas and Palm Beach Laundry. Interstate Industrial Park Holdings, LLC, led by Harry Spitzer, bought the three-building portfolio from The Silverman Group of Palm Beach.

The 160,302-square-foot portfolio includes buildings at 6555 and 6557 Garden Road and 3541 M.L.K. Jr. Boulevard in Riviera Beach. The one-story building at 6555 Garden Road was developed in 1987 on a three-acre site. Two one-story buildings at 6557 Garden Road and 3541 M.L.K. Jr. were developed in 1968 on a two-acre site.

Located equidistant to the Interstate 95 interchanges at 45th Street and West Blue Heron Boulevard, the industrial buildings are within the Census Tract 13.02 Opportunity Zone. Investors in Opportunity Zones can defer payment of federal taxes on capital gains.

“The fact that the assets are located in an Opportunity Zone, potentially affording tax advantages, drove further interest from potential buyers,” Scott O’Donnell of brokerage firm Cushman & Wakefield said in a prepared statement.

Cushman & Wakefield’s Capital Markets Team, along with Robert Smith and Kirk Nelson, negotiated the sale of the three buildings on behalf of The Silverman Group. Adam Robbins of ARC Equities, LLC, represented Interstate Industrial Park Holdings, LLC.

 

Source: The Real Deal

cash

The Miami Herald CEO Roundtable, a weekly feature in the Miami Herald Business Monday, ask South Florida CEOs a question each week.

This week’s question is: Should the State of Florida and local governments be offering tax breaks and incentives to lure businesses?

Here are answers from some prominent South Florida CEOs:

  • Dr. Edward Abraham, executive vice president for Health Affairs of the University of Miami and CEO of UHealth – the UM Health System

Because these incentives are offered by other states and local governments, we will need to do so as well. It will be important, however, to ensure that the incentives offered are appropriate and that the true economic benefits of the business being located here are clear and compelling.

  • Jim Angleton, CEO for Aegis FinServ Corp.

Absolutely, and more: Tax Opportunity Zones, Empowerment Zones, CRA, and play up LatAm Hub. We need to focus upon technology, cyber, AI tax incentives, real community services and favorable talent pool.

  • Wael Barsoum, M.D., CEO and president of Cleveland Clinic Florida

Florida is a relatively low tax state, but we tend to have higher local taxes. Tax incentives are one way to help level the playing field.

  • Agostinho Alfonso Macedo, president and CEO of Ocean Bank

Tax incentives to lure new business have become part and parcel of the arsenal that economic development agencies such as the Beacon Council use to attract new businesses. They are needed and should be maintained.

  • Bill Diggs, president, The Mourning Family Foundation

Of course we should. It is more a matter of what those incentives should include. One area that we must do a better job with is our film and motion picture industry opportunities. With the attraction of Florida and Miami weather, we should have a more robust film industry.

  • Brett Beveridge, CEO and founder of The Revenue Optimization Companies (T-ROC)

I am a believer in offering reasonable incentives including tax breaks to attract new businesses and/or entice the expansion of current operations in South Florida for several reasons. First, although South Florida does have a thriving small business and start-up community, we don’t have many large corporations that employ thousands upon thousands of people. Second, and as a defensive measure, in order for us to keep the few large businesses we have and those that are growing rapidly and making decisions on where to locate, we need to be competitive. And third, we want to entice and encourage growth of our current businesses that might not have invested otherwise. All three of these constituencies will add employees that will live and work in South Florida. They will pay property and sales taxes, more jobs will be created, and we will be able to improve our long-term infrastructure. That said, we have to negotiate long-term and rock-solid agreements that guarantee those benefits will actually happen in exchange for the incentives that we provide.

  • Chelsea Wilkerson, CEO of Girl Scouts Tropical Florida

Yes, the state of Florida and local governments should be able to offer tax breaks and incentives to lure business when those benefits are thoughtfully and clearly measured. These types of incentives have become a standard recruitment and negotiation tool. If we do not use them, we are less competitive and will miss opportunities. However, tax breaks should be used among a mix of incentives — each with its own return on investment and parameters for use.

  • Dorcas L. Wilcox, CEO of Miami Bridge Youth & Family Services

As a state that is dependent on tourism, Florida should offer all it can to recruit legitimate, profitable businesses that will provide jobs and promote traditional family values.

  • Gregory Adam Haile, president of Broward College

A 2017 report from the Pew Charitable Trust estimates that state and local governments spend at least $45 billion a year on tax breaks and other incentives to lure or keep job-producing businesses and plants in their jurisdictions, but that this does not always yield the necessary returns. Careful evaluation and monitoring are needed to ensure that the incentives are achieving their intended goals. While incentives have their benefits, it takes more to attract businesses. The state must also invest in other necessary resources and services critical not only for business establishment but their competitiveness and profitability. These include ensuring it can offer an educated and diverse pool of labor, affordable housing, and services such as transportation access that will attract residents.

  • Jorge Gonzalez, president and CEO, City National Bank

Yes. We need to drive investment that creates employment in sectors that will solidify our future.

  • Louis Hernandez Jr., CEO, of Black Dragon Capital

Tax breaks and incentives are instrumental for state and local economic developers to lure jobs to a region. The benefits will outweigh spending, but the burden should be on the governments to ensure costly incentives aren’t a waste of taxpayer dollars. Florida’s lack of a personal income tax and a relatively low corporate income tax rate help to create an exceptional business climate.

  • Paul Singerman, co-chair of Berger Singerman

I think that the state of Florida and local governments should be smart about tax breaks and incentives to lure business. To be sure, I do not think that Florida or local governments should adopt a per se rule against tax breaks and incentives to lure business. Florida and local governments should take these opportunities up whenever possible and evaluate each on its own merits. Relevant questions include: Is this business good for our citizens? Is this an industry that enhances our communities? Are there significant environmental issues that would be implicated by the business of a prospective new entrant to our markets? If tax breaks and incentives are offered, is there a sound return on investment thatthe state and local governments could enjoy?

  • James “Jimmy” Tate, co-owner and president of TKA-Evolution Apparel and of Tate Capital; co-founder of Tate Development Corp.

I do believe in incentive programs as long as they are properly monitored and the people responsible for making these determinations follow a strict formula which eliminates biases or the possibility of personal gain. There should be a cost/benefit analysis performed on all such proposals and if the analysis shows the transaction is accretive to the city, county or state, then you do the deal. If it is not accretive, then you walk.

  • Rashad D. Thomas, vice president of business connect and community outreach for the Miami Super Bowl Host Committee

In order to compete with the other leading cities in the nation, it is necessary. Miami-Dade currently offers several tax credits and business incentives to attract new businesses, such as the Urban Jobs Tax Credit. This program provides up to $1,000 tax credit per job for new businesses with a minimum of 20 new jobs and for existing businesses with a minimum of 10 new jobs, which are regular and full-time (36 hours or more per week). The State of Florida has lost several projects because of its inability to create a film tax break. It has been reported that the $296 million allocated in state tax incentives, intended to last until 2016, had been spent by 2014, with “Ballers” and “Bloodline.” They were the last two major projects that received state funds. Two years later, the program was shut down. Florida is now currently the only Southeastern state without a program to attract film and television productions. While neighboring states like Georgia, Louisiana, and Alabama continue to benefit from the expanding industry.

  • Manny Angelo Varas, president and CEO of MV Construction Group

I believe the city should create tax incentives to lure businesses based on employment and taxable revenue generated.

 

Source: Miami Herald

Lauderdale-by-the-Sea

A beachside hotel building near the entrance of Lauderdale-by-the-Sea is in for a big comeback after sitting dormant for seven years.

The five-story, 183-room hotel building — once home to a Holiday Inn — is being bought by developers who plan to add a “state-of-the-art hotel.”

The deal is among a growing lineup of new properties across Broward County, as many beachside communities add tourist and business hotels to beef up their commercial centers.

A joint venture of Concord Wilshire Capital LLC and TLG Investment Partners LLC said they signed a purchase-and-sale agreement to acquire the now-idle site along with the former Villa Caprice beachfront site nearby. The prices were not disclosed.

The former Holiday Inn is in the 4100 block of El Mar Drive, bound by State Road A1A to the west and El Mar Drive to the east. There’s also a second property, the former beachfront Villa Caprice Hotel, a 24-room, two-story bungalow-style hotel, across the street on El Mar Drive. It’s been out of service for nearly three years.

“The two sites will be redeveloped in collaboration with the town of Lauderdale-by-the-Sea,” said Nate Sirang, president of Concord Wilshire. “The developers intend to create a modern new hotel with a major flag brand and popular restaurant concepts. The deal is expected to close in 120 days.”

Sirang did not identify the brand or the concepts, and said there are no specific plans on the drawing board yet.

Who’s Behind The Upgrades?

Concord Wilshire, based in Marietta, Ga., develops and acquires residential, resort and mixed-use real estate properties across the U.S., including Las Vegas, Phoenix, and South and Central Florida.

TLG is a Fort Lauderdale-based real estate investment firm headed by Leland Pillsbury and Christopher Nieberding. They invest in recreation, residential and commercial properties.

The Lauderdale-by-the-Sea acquisitions come at an opportune time for the town and for the broader Broward County marketplace, as new hotels are cropping up all over the county, especially in Fort Lauderdale, Pompano Beach, Dania Beach and Hollywood.

Lauderdale-by-the-Sea spent millions overhauling its east-west business district from the Intracoastal Waterway to the beach on East Commercial Boulevard, making it more friendly to pedestrians and bicyclists. The town widened sidewalks, upgraded bus stops, improved traffic flows to and from businesses and created safer crosswalks for pedestrians to change sides of the boulevard. And the town emerged as a popular venue for Friday nights out, with live bands playing at the epicenter of its downtown on Commercial Boulevard east of A1A.

Other New Hotels Across Region

Elsewhere around the county, a new Hampton Inn opened for business on U.S. 1 in Pompano Beach.

In Dania Beach, the 143-room Morrison Hotel, 104-room Comfort Suites Downtown Dania and 142-room Wyndham Garde were among those opening inside the last two years.

The Dalmar Hotel and Fairfield Inn were completed in downtown Fort Lauderdale last year, the first new hotels to be delivered since 2012, according to the city’s Downtown Development Authority.

Two Marriott hotels are rising at the Dania Pointe commercial project east of I-95 and south of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

 

Source: SunSentinel