shipping containers

West Palm Beach’s next apartment complex will be made of shipping containers, piled three stories high.

Arts on Broadway rendering

The $9 million project, Arts on Broadway, promises 52 apartments, 27 of them workforce housing, for people near or below the area’s median income. Rents are expected to range from about $900 to $1,400.

At Broadway and 28th Street, the apartments will be a couple of blocks from trendy Northwood Road.

“The project includes artists among its target market and will offer shared studio space.” said developer Craig Vanderlaan, executive director and co-founder of nonprofit Crisis Housing Solutions. “Singles and young families also are potential tenants. We want to help the artist community here in Northwood. We also want to help the workers in that area, if they work in shops or restaurants or local hospitals, or if they’re teachers or in law enforcement. One problem is that folks that live there can’t afford to live there in decent housing. If we can create affordable housing in that community, we can really improve the lives of a lot of people.”

Vanderlaan said his firm got wind of the shipping container concept from family friends in The Netherlands. They’re common there, in Britain and elsewhere. But housing made of insulated, reconfigured containers has been gaining currency in the U.S. in recent years, as well.

“Using metal containers as dwellings in hot South Florida won’t be a problem,” Vanderlaan said. “The concept is employed for U.S. military in Afghanistan, where temperatures soar to 125 degrees. Arts on Broadway is believed to be the first multifamily container project in Palm Beach County.”

The project will include one- and two-bedroom units, ranging from 640 to 960 square feet.

“It’s basically the same size that a standard apartment would be,” Vanderlaan said.

The project is taking advantage of the fact that it is located in a designated Opportunity Zone, which allows investors tax advantages. The city is assisting with financing. On Monday, November 18, the city commission is scheduled to vote on an additional $300,000 in gap financing. The city owned part of the North End site.

“We’ve been wanting to do something with that property,” said Assistant City Administrator Armando Fana, formerly West Palm’s housing director. “That Broadway corridor is a target area for us and there has hardly been any redevelopment in the Broadway Corridor. If all goes well, construction should begin in summer 2020 and would be completed a year later.”

What if someone mistakes your home for a real shipping container and you wake up at sea? Fana, as ever, was upbeat.

“Then you get a free cruise,” Fana said.

 

Source: Palm Beach Post

CRE Florida Partners  Managing Partner Michael Rauch and Tom Robertson represented the seller in the sale of a 15,268-square-foot office/showroom/warehouse facility located at 1432 E. Newport Center Drive in Deerfield Beach.

The building traded at $2,800,000, or $183 per square foot, marking the highest negotiated price for an industrial asset in Newport Center, a large, master-planned professional business park located 5 minutes from Interstate I-95, just south of SW 10th Street, with easy access to the Sawgrass Expressway.  The park features two hotels, a daycare center, and is home to many notable businesses including JPMorgan Chase, UM Sylvester, Quest Diagnostics, Sandvik Corporation, HYLA USA, and the Mapei Corporation.

“This Class A asset is the firm’s fourth sale within Newport Center, which included an exclusive investment assignment owned by the General Electric Company,” commented Robertson. “As industrial building users continue to expand their businesses the demand for this asset type will remain strong.”

CRE Rauch, Robertson & Co. is seeking leasing and investment sales professionals for its growing commercial real estate expansion in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties. Multiple positions are available within these and other Florida markets that offer a unique ground floor career opportunity to work closely with the firm’s Founders Tom Robertson and Michael Rauch to move their vision for the CRE Florida Partners brand forward. Commission and benefits are commensurate with experience. A Florida Real Estate License and Commercial Real Estate experience are required. Only qualified candidates should apply by forwarding resumes to mail@crefloridapartners.com.

 

 

There is a wave of investors who are currently selling their New York-based properties to invest in the South Florida area. Why?

Mainly because of the recent rent control law and its negative impact on returns on investments. It has been estimated, for example, apartment property values dropped 20%-30% as soon as the laws went into effect. Some investors are now mainly focused on getting their money out of New York and are looking to invest in properties that will produce better yields—specifically in non-regulated rent control markets, such as South Florida.

Why South Florida?

“There is zero incentive for New York multifamily investors to purchase a building and spend money on renovations if they can’t raise rents in these rent-controlled environments. Florida has always been a market with attractive yields. This is why most NY investors are choosing South Florida,” says Rafael Fermoselle, managing partner of Eleventrust Real Estate. “They either have their New York properties under contract to be sold, have already sold them, are in 1031 exchanges, or in some cases looking for diversification.”

Investors are selling their assets in New York and reinvesting in deals that yield more and ideally, are located under one roof. However, since Miami’s inventory is compressed with a lot of smaller multifamily properties and it’s difficult to find buildings with high unit counts under one roof, investors are turning to multifamily portfolios that are comprised of 4 – 8 buildings totaling 50-120 units. Although not all under one roof, investors are finding the 100+ units they are seeking with room to add value.

“Investors are working closely with Eleventrust because we have the inventory other brokerages don’t, plus, many of the deals they are transacting are happening off market, which many investors prefer,” explains Fermoselle.

Opportunity Zones

Opportunity Zones are another big reason why this new wave of investors are looking to South Florida. Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach are among the best places to invest in Opportunity Zones. There are about 123 Opportunity Zones in South Florida, including 67 in Miami-Dade, 30 in Broward and 26 in Palm Beach counties.

“Almost 16% of South Florida’s commercial assets are located in Opportunity Zones, one of the highest rates in the nation,” Fermoselle tells GlobeSt.com.

Tax Savings

New York investors looking to move to Florida also benefits from the state not having an income tax for Florida residents. New York state tax rates range from 4% to 8.82%. Additionally, the effective real estate property tax rate for Florida residents is approximately 0.98%, compared to 1.68% in New York.

New York investors will also save on capital gains tax in Florida where the top marginal tax rate on capital gains in Florida is 25% and top marginal tax rates on capital gains in New York is 33.82%.

“We currently have 4 successful deals with New York investors including multifamily properties with 9-18 units,” says Fermoselle. “We also have properties located in emerging neighborhoods that are garnering interest from east coast investors.”

 

Source: GlobeSt.

Warehouse giant Prologis is purchasing its rival Liberty Property Trust for $12.6 billion, creating a massive new player in the industrial real estate business.

Prologis aims to use the acquisition to bolster its presence in the United States amid a boom in e-commerce, according to Reuters. The company cited markets including New Jersey, Southern California and Chicago as places where the Liberty acquisition would help it establish a stronger foothold.

The deal will likely close during the first quarter of next year and help the firms save about $120 million. Prologis also plans to sell about $3.5 billion worth of its assets.

 

Source:  The Real Deal

 

Panelists spoke at the RealInsight’s Florida Commercial Real Estate Summit at the Hyatt Regency Miami on Wednesday, October 16, highlighting the potential for distribution centers, hotels, shopping malls, technology hub and sports stadiums in Florida’s major cities.

Despite years of continuous activity, Florida’s industrial and multifamily sectors still have room for growth,  said Crocker Partners Managing Partner Angelo Bianco, Mitchell Property Realty President Ed Mitchell and Merrimac Ventures President and CEO Dev Motwani.

“Industrial is where we get our stuff,” said Mitchell.

His company recently bought industrial warehouses in Fort Lauderdale and Tampa, and is soon closing on one in Miami.

“Capital lenders are all over you. It’s nice. Everybody wants to do industrial now,” Mitchell said when asked how capital partners influence his acquisition strategies. “But land costs present a challenge. It costs more to get land in Miami than to build.”

The average land acquisition price per square foot costs $60 to $70 a square foot.

In Boca Raton, Crocker is creating a campus with a food court and STEAM lab maker space, hoping to draw a tech company.

“The idea is to make the workplace like a hotel.” Bianco credited WeWork for the concept. “Their loss is our gain,” referring to the company’s recent woes.

The retail category drew little enthusiasm from panelists, especially at this time when national chains are flailing.

“The spaces are of interest only when there is a big box that you can tear down and add multifamily,” said Motwani. “Multifamily developments continue to generate strong returns, especially in the luxury market.”

As for why affordable projects don’t draw greater interests, Motwani pointed to the financial realities.

“Concrete costs what it costs. Land costs what it costs,” said Motwani. “From a financing perspective, it makes sense to get luxury condos done, not affordable housing.”

But municipalities can encourage affordable housing development through incentives, including fee relief, parking ratios and adding density bonuses, agreed Motwani and Bianco.

 

Source: Miami Herald

With two well-situated Opportunity Zones, zoning changes and a robust street improvement program, the City of Hollywood is attracting major commercial real estate developers and investors.

“Our strategic location and public investments – coupled with the tax benefits of the federal Opportunity Zone program – have set the stage for new developments that benefit our community,” said Herb Conde-Parlato, economic development manager, City of Hollywood. “We are now reviewing three new projects that could add vitality to our local economy by creating new jobs, while offering a wider array of housing, dining and shopping options to our residents.”

Those Opportunity Zone projects include:

  • Parc Place, the former “Bread Building” at 1745 Van Buren Street just south of Young Circle Park. Redevelopment stalled about a decade ago, but has been revived by developer BTI, said Conde-Parlato. Plans call for a 25-story tower mixed-use luxury apartment complex development in one phase. The project consists of 433 new apartments, 560 parking spaces and 17,000 square feet of commercial retail space. “This development would bring residential and retail vitality to our city and contribute to the walkability of our downtown core.”
  • Soleste, a residential-retail project at 2001 Hollywood Boulevard in the downtown area. Miami-based Estate Investment Group is planning the development, which would include 350 apartments, 30,000 square feet of retail space and 497 parking spaces.
  • A new hotel and restaurant at 2801 Greene Street in the South Florida Design and Commerce Center, a 150-acre mixed-use business park along Interstate 95. This $35 million investment would include 242 rooms and 162 parking spaces.

“We have many other new retail, office, multifamily and industrial real estate projects in the pipeline, but not all are seeking tax benefits under the Opportunity Zone program,” said Conde-Parlato.

Established by the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, Opportunity Zones are designed to spur economic growth by reducing capital gains taxes on qualifying investments in designated geographic areas. The City of Hollywood moved quickly to capitalize on two large-scale Opportunity Zone designations, one in the downtown that includes all of Young Circle and the area between two major corridors, Federal Highway and Dixie Highway, and another on both sides of I-95 between Sheridan Street and Stirling Road.

By creating Opportunity Zone funds, investors can acquire and improve properties in these areas, while deferring any taxes on capital gains until Dec. 31, 2026. If the investment is held for five years, the original capital gains taxes are reduced by 10 percent; after seven years that deduction increases to 15 percent.

“Those opportunity fund investments must be entitled before year-end 2019 in order to take advantage of the 15 percent deduction,” said Raelin Storey, director of communications, marketing and economic development for the City of Hollywood. “That’s one reason why our city is seeing an upswing in development activity in the past few months. The City of Hollywood was ahead of the curve in marketing its Opportunity Zones, drawing a wave of interest among property owners, developers and investors. The tax advantages have helped make new projects more feasible, since the funds can be included in the development team’s capital structure. It’s an innovative approach to creating new business and real estate opportunities. Now, the city is working with the real estate investment community to bring forward well-designed projects that meet the standards of the city’s commercial and mixed-use zoning codes.”

Looking ahead, the city’s Opportunity Zones hold a potentially even bigger benefit for long-term investors – a permanent tax break.

“If you sell your investment after holding it for 10 years or longer, you would not have to pay any capital gains on the increased value of the property,” said Storey. “That’s really the ultimate advantage to investing in our Opportunity Zones.”

 

Source: SFBJ

brightline train

Brightline station is coming to Boca Raton. It’s not official. But it’s obvious.

On Tuesday, September 24th, the city council members heard details from Virgin Trains USA executives about the company’s revised offer.

“Brightline has moved a lot,” said Jeremy Rodger.

And he’s correct. Gone is the company’s demand that the city donate two pieces of land in addition to the parcels for the station and a parking garage next to the downtown library. Virgin Trains now wants only first dibs on an option from the city for those properties. Gone is the demand that the city build a pedestrian walkover. Virgin Trains now will help the city seek federal or state money for the project. Gone is the demand that the city pay for a shuttle.

Most notably, gone is the demand that the city pay the entire cost of the parking garage. Company officials said that Virgin Trains USA would pay for the 58 spaces for library patrons that construction would displace.  The city would pay based on the 342 spaces for train passengers. There is no estimate for the cost of the 400-space garage, but current industry figures cite a price of about $20,000 per space.

Mayor Scott Singer noted that the council only was telling City Manager Leif Ahnell to proceed further with negotiations. But the council members’ comments revealed what the outcome will be.

— Andy Thomson: Virgin Trains has “heard us loud and clear on our concerns.” The company has acted in “good faith” and been “responsive and forthcoming.”

— Andrea O’Rourke: “We have to move forward.”

— Rodgers: “A lot of good can come from this.”

— Mayor Scott Singer: The new offer “feels more like a partnership.”

— Monica Mayotte: “This will be a very good addition to our city.”

Virgin Trains felt confident enough to prepare a statement before the meeting and hand it out afterward: “This marks another significant step in expanding Virgin Trains to Boca Raton.”

Not that everyone’s happy. Residents of Library Commons, which is north of the library, packed the chambers Tuesday to complain about the size of the garage and how near it will be to their community. Company officials say they will work Library Commons residents on lighting and setbacks.

Though the library still would have 181 overall parking spaces, members of the Friends of the Library expressed concern about patrons getting from the garage to the library. Virgin Trains said passengers and patrons would use separate entrances and that the company would provide security in the garage.

One major question, however, remains: What might Virgin Trains—or a developer partner—do with that city land if the company acquires it?

Boca Raton had designated land east of the library for a train station. That decision envisioned commuter service—station and parking only.

Optioning the land, however, could put added development next to the library and Library Commons. Jose Gonzalez is executive vice president for real estate development of Virgin Trains’ parent company. He told council members that the possibilities include residential, office or a hotel. Those possibilities worry the Friends of the Library, who already weren’t too keen on the garage.

 “The station isn’t the end of the story.” one speaker said,

Gonzalez said the idea of building on that city land “might go nowhere.” But officials in West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale tout the stations’ role in spurring development. Gonzalez wants Virgin to have an “exclusive conversation” about the properties and “preserve our optionality.” Delaying that decision delays the potentially more controversial aspect of the station.

Virgin Trains wants a vote from the council next month. The company would like to open the station by the end of next year. At this point, there’s no reason to think that won’t happen.

 

Source: Boca Magazine

brewery

Boynton Beach‘s brewery district, like any area defined by a particular characteristic, is bound by its cluster of brewing companies.

The city joins a tiny club of municipalities in South Florida that have such an amenity. North Miami Beach made one in 2018 to entice new or established brewers via incentives even though it has no breweries yet.

Beer tourism has become a draw for cities. A survey commissioned by the Brewers Association in 2016 found that individuals went to 2.1 breweries on average in the past 12 months while visiting a city for a beer event. Travelocity even created a “beer tourism index” to show where “beercations” (vacations for the sole purpose of visiting breweries) are most popular, but South Florida doesn’t make the list.

Such districts tend to give an economic boost to their host cities, according to David Scott, Boynton Beach‘s director for economic development and strategy. But he adds that areas must already have the “organic” appeal before a city designates such a district.

The brewing companies Copperpoint, NOBO, and Due South existed before the creation of the district. Boynton Beach‘s brewery district doesn’t have geographic boundaries but is located in the industrial area of the city just west of I-95 or where breweries are normally permitted. There’s also Non-Prophet Brewing Company, which brews kombucha.

Scott uses Miami‘s arts neighborhood of Wynwood, home to at least four breweries and another the way, as an example of that kind of magnetism. With development experience in Atlanta and Baltimore, Scott immediately recognized the potential for his city.

“When we approach planning from that perspective, we look to create those destinations, or what I call experience centers,” Scott says. “Here we have an experience with a brewery district. We like to say that we’re progressive.”

The city lends a hand with encouraging breweries to grow by offering money known as community development block grants to help with construction. Only one brewery, Copperpoint Brewing Company, took advantage of such a grant, according to Boynton Beach special projects coordinator John Durgan.

These funds are separate from the city’s interior buildout and rent reimbursement grants, Durgan says, adding they’re not just for breweries. Other South Florida cities, such as Fort Lauderdale and North Miami, have awarded grant money to breweries.

Copperpoint‘s owner and head brewer, Matt Cox, says brewery and city officials sat through several roundtable meetings to create the district — which the city never really advertised.

Encompassing breweries in a special district and all within a relatively walkable distance from one other increases visibility from a tourist standpoint, Cox says. Visibility, and getting to the district without driving, is made even easier with a Tri-Rail station nearby. The existence of a brewery district could also be an ideal place for beer crawls. Cox calls it a “win” for everyone.

“You could drive down the road and not know we’re even here,” Cox says. “It kind of works well in numbers and creates a destination-type thing.”

 

Source: Miami New Times

West Palm Beach

Cash me out now?

Some West Palm Beach investors and business owners are selling real estate holdings to buyers hot on the downtown, including to businesses and investors coming to the city or expanding their presence here.

“Exterior of Glidden Spina building in West Palm Beach. (PHOTO CREDIT: Rob Woodham of Glidden Spina)

A prime example is Glidden Spina + Partners Architecture Interior Design Inc. In 2014, the firm paid $1.4 million for an old, empty building, the former Hopkins Marine Hardware store at 207 6th St.

After rehabbing the space, the firm sold the building for a whopping $6.8 million two months ago. The unnamed buyer is a company that plans a family office there, a part of town branded the Flagler Financial District.

Meanwhile, longtime West Palm Beach investor Jonathan Gladstone in recent months quietly sold two properties on Clematis Street for more than $6 million. A longtime local real estate investor, Gladstone said he’s starting to see the economy flash warning signs — even as outside investors continue to clamor for a piece of Florida real estate. In addition to his belief that the real estate market may be at its peak, Gladstone also is concerned about the stock market’s recent volatility and uncertainty over tariffs.

“I’ve been here for 35 years. It’s time for me to change things up,” Gladstone said of his Clematis Street divestments.

However, Gladstone said he still owns 114 Clematis Street in West Palm Beach, where Pizza Girls just signed another five-year lease.

With the continued influx of wealthy residents and investors fleeing high-tax states, not everyone is bearish on West Palm Beach. In fact, other property owners think there’s still plenty of room for new deals.

Up for sale is the longtime home of Pioneer Linens, the upscale home furnishings store at 210 Clematis Street. The family that runs the store also owns the building has the property listed for sale for $7 million. The price includes a prime, store-owned parking lot across the street at 209 Clematis Street.

In addition to the vast downstairs retail space, the 15,383-square-foot Pioneer Linens building, constructed in 1925, has upstairs storage space, too. Pioneer Linens building is a family-owned retailer from the prior century still doing business downtown, a rarity nowadays.

In a recent telephone interview, owner Penny Murphy didn’t want to talk much about the listing, but she said the store isn’t shutting down. The listing more is a testing of the market’s appetite for the property, at a time when Murphy is fairly fed up with the constant construction and disruption along Clematis Street.

Lately, the city has been working to turn the eastern end of Clematis Street into the same curb-less look done with the 300 block, in a bid to make the street more pedestrian friendly.

If the building sells for the price Murphy wants, she indicated a Pioneer Linens store would stay in business downtown, but she wasn’t specific. Given the sales activity in downtown lately, it’s possible Murphy could get her price.

Take the Glidden Spina building, which wasn’t even listed for sale. After buying the rundown building, Keith Spina spent $700,000 to design a cool, funky space that features a coffee bar and pool table. The property’s location is just steps from Flagler Drive and the waterfront.

Kelly Smallridge, president of the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County, said she was contacted by a broker representing the owner of a family office from the Northeast. The family office was looking around for space downtown but was keen for any other buildings that were available. Spina was open to a visit, Smallridge said.

Smallridge recalled that when Spina first bought the 6th Street marine supply store, he was ribbed about building out the firm in a 1950s-era building on a side street that no one even knows about. But who’s laughing now? The family office officials took one look at the Glidden Spina space, and that was that.

“They sent someone over who said, ’We’d love to have your building — and everything in it, ” Spina said.

As for Gladstone, the sale of the 537 and 539 Clematis building, now home to MedMen marijuana dispensary, caps years of frustration with the street. He tried for years to find a suitable retail tenant for the space, first bringing in Habatat Galleries and later Footwear & More shoe store.

Recently, the city changed zoning rules downtown to allow for non-retail uses on Clematis. That allowed him to lease the property to MedMen. Last month, a California-based real entity linked to a real estate investment trust bought the building.

The changed zoning rules also are giving a new use for the former Mac Fabrics building, which Gladstone recently sold an investment group. The 426 and 428 Clematis Street building will be the new West Palm Beach headquarters of Suffolk Construction,which built The Bristol luxury condominium on Flagler Drive.

Jeffrey Attanasio, Suffolk vice president of operations, said the company is looking forward to having a visible presence downtown and being part of the urban core.

“We’re very excited about it,”Attanasio said. “The 9,000 square foot space, which features tall ceilings, is being designed to allow for collaboration among the office’s 40 employees.”

He expects the offices to be completed by year-end. Suffolk’s new Clematis Street office will be convenient to the Virgin Trains/Brightline station, which employees already use to go to and from the Miami office.

“In addition, employees now working in the company’s Phillips Point office space are excited about being closer to lunch, art and entertainment options,” Attanasio said.

Suffolk isn’t the only company seeking to expand its presence downtown. Big Time Restaurant Group just bought another office next to its existing suite of offices at 400 Clematis Street.

“The restaurant company, which owns Rocco’s Tacos, City Cellar, Grease, Louie Bossi’s and Elisabetta’s, among other eateries, needs more space as it continues to expand operations,” said Big Time partner Todd Herbst.

Big Time’s second-floor offices are above the CVS on the southwest corner of Clematis Street and Dixie Highway. In October, Big Time will close on the purchase of a $1.1 million office that features 3,000 square space, substantially adding to its existing 5,000 square foot operation.

“With 17 restaurants, we need more space to put more people in human resources and accounts payable,” Herbst said.

Once the deal closes, Big Time plans to punch through the wall to create the bigger office complex.

As for Spina, he’s busy designing his new office space. He just leased 8,000 square feet in a ground-floor space part of Flagler Banyan Square, the mixed-use project being along Flagler Drive. The space is in ground-floor retail in the Oversea apartment complex on Olive Avenue. In addition to the apartments, Flagler Banyan Square will feature a hotel dubbed The Ben, plus a separate building that will house another Big Time-branded Italian restaurant.

Spina said he’s under the gun to get the space built out by a Dec. 1 move-in date. But he’s philosophical about the move.

“The city always is seeking to bring new business to the downtown,” Spina said. “And the story of his architecture building is one example of how it can be done.”

As a result, he’s bullish on the downtown’s prospects.

“I bought an old building, invested in it and brought 30 people to work there everyday,” Spina said. “Now we’ve got a company bringing 20 people and we’re going to expand into a new building. ”

 

Source: Palm Beach Post

With ‘almost nothing’ left to develop in Wellington, developers could set their sights on existing properties — and already are.

Take a look at the most recent applications for development in Wellington and you might notice a trend. Instead of eyeing open property for development, builders are pitching new uses for already-occupied land. It’s a redevelopment trend that residents can expect to see more of as the village largely is built-out, officials say.

Redevelopment is not a new concept for Wellington. In the Wellington Country Plaza on the corner of Forest Hill Boulevard and Wellington Trace, a former Blockbuster was transformed into a Starbucks and BurgerFi. Up the road at the corner of Wellington Trace and Greenview Shores Boulevard, a former Kentucky Fried Chicken drive-through restaurant was repurposed into a Taco Bell. And at the corner of State Road 7 and Forest Hill Boulevard, a small retail outparcel was torn down to make way for a Chase bank.

“Residents should get used to seeing properties transform,” Planning, Zoning and Building Director Bob Basehart said. “The available undeveloped land in the village is down to almost nothing.”

One of the largest undeveloped sites in Wellington is the K-Park property on the southwest corner of Stribling Way and State Road 7. The village-owned piece of land has been the subject of development speculation in the past, but right now is part of a land-bank effort with no plans in the foreseeable future, officials have said.

“Another 65 acres of open land is just north of Wellington Regional Medical Center. But plans are in the works to create a mixed-use hub there with residential, retail, assisted-living and more,” Basehart said.

So where can residents expect to see more redevelopment? Basehart pointed to four key areas.

The Mall at Wellington Green

While the mall has not submitted any formal applications, a recent Palm Beach Post public records request revealed the mall’s owner, Starwood Realty, is considering redeveloping the former Nordstrom anchor space and part of the surrounding parking lot. The project could include residential, retail, restaurants and outdoor recreation space, the records show.

Defunct Golf Courses

Neighbors in 2017 fought potential redevelopment on golf courses at Polo West and Palm Beach Polo and Country Club. The golf courses’ owners, a pair of companies controlled by developer Glenn Straub, had applied to change the uses allowed on the properties. The changes could have paved the way for development, opponents argued. Since then, several concepts have pitched for each club’s golf courses, including residential neighborhoods, equestrian properties and in one case a tennis ranch. None have made it past the concept phase.

Older Commercial Properties

Residents already can see redevelopment efforts on older commercial properties in Wellington. While not seeing a change in use, the McDonald’s at Greenview Shores and Wellington Trace is getting a significant facelift, including a lobby renovation and small expansion and a second drive-through order lane.

Along the State Road 7 corridor, the owner of the former Romano’s Macaroni Grill in front of Whole Foods has proposed tearing down the building to construct something larger that would house two smaller restaurants and a retail store.

Older Residential Properties

With more multifamily homes in Wellington passing the 40-year-old mark, Basehart said residents should expect to see some redevelopment happen here as well. In some places, property owners already have built larger or more modern homes after tearing down aging structures.

 

Source: Palm Beach Post

Development is catching up with Dania Beach, a once-sleepy city between Fort Lauderdale to the north and Miami to the south.

Antique shops and mom-and-pop restaurants have been joined in recent years by a new casino and the under-construction $800M mixed-use project Dania Pointe. Coming soon: a total redevelopment of the city center.

The Dania Beach City Commission just voted to move forward with a proposal from Virginia-based REIT Armada Hoffler Properties and Boca Raton-based Capital Group to build a modern municipal building, plus five apartment buildings, two office buildings and a hotel.

The milestone came after an eight-month bid process that started when the commission entered into an agreement in December with the Dania Beach Community Redevelopment Agency and Colliers International South Florida for real estate services. They sought bids for a public-private partnership for a mixed-use development on 6.42 acres of city-owned land valued at $12.3M at 100 West Dania Beach Blvd., currently home to City Hall, a fire station, two historic buildings and a 440-space parking garage.

Three bidders submitted proposals. An evaluation committee gave the highest rank to the partnership between Armada Hoffler Properties and Capital Group. Dania Beach’s five commissioners voted unanimously to begin negotiations with the pair of developers.

According to Armada Hoffler‘s proposal, they would develop The First at Dania Beach — “a Catalyst for Entrepreneurs, Artists and for a Cultural Renaissance.” The project is estimated to cost $634.2M.

Armada Hoffler would redevelop the property in three phases, building five 14-story apartment buildings, two nine-story office buildings and a 150-room hotel. City Hall would be demolished and rebuilt, housing new city offices, a library, a women’s club and the chamber of commerce all in one building. A parking garage would be expanded by two stories, and two historic buildings would be relocated.

Armada Hoffler would lease the government buildings back to the city for 20 to 30 years and ultimately turn them back over to the city. The city would give the developers a lease for $1 a year. The REIT would also purchase some land needed for private development.

Armada Hoffler proposed that the yearly lease rate for the municipal building and parking garage improvements “be between $1.03M and $1.33M depending on the final terms and conditions … The annual lease rates for the Fire Station is expected to be $151K and $180K.”

At last night’s city commission meeting, Kevin Greiner, a development planner with the FIU Metropolitan Center who sat on the evaluation committee, called it “a potentially transformative project for Dania Beach” and said that “the financial deal proposed to the city is excellent for the city … the economics are extremely exceptional from the city’s perspective.”

Planners had spent months getting input from a community charrette and developer focus group, he said. Housing would be 100% for middle income earners, and the project would include performance space and an option to eventually connect to Tri-Rail Rail’s Coastal Link, he said.

One resident complained that citizens hadn’t been well-informed about the proposal. “It smells fishy to me. I’m not sure who on the board is colluding,” the man said, insisting that current residents didn’t want an influx of thousands of new residents and cars. Commissioner Chickie Brandemarte worried about impacts on water resources, traffic and schools. Already, Dania Beach‘s population has grown 8.1% since 2010.

Various speakers stressed that the site was just a first step and that the particulars could be tweaked and decided upon in the coming months and years. Ultimately, the commission approved a resolution allowing the city manager to establish a negotiating team to move forward and negotiate with Armada Hoffler and Capital Group.

 

Source: Bisnow

While there are increased worries about a recession at the national level, the economy remains in excellent shape in Florida.

There are some signs of concern of course–including recent estimates that the state government will bring in around $867 million less in revenue than expected over the next two years–but mostly things are looking up in the Sunshine State.

Last month, unemployment in Florida slipped from 3.4 percent to 3.3 percent, well below the national average of 3.7 percent. Jobs continue to grow at a 2.8 percent rate in Florida, above the national average of 1.8 percent.

Tourism also continues to boom in Florida with Gov. Ron DeSantis announcing last week that a record-high 68.9 million tourists visited the state in the first half of the year.

The Florida Realtors just announced that single-family home sales were up 10.4 percent last month when compared to July 2018.

Now, this could all head south of course. Florida’s economy continues to rely heavily on tourism and real estate, two industries that often take major hits in an economic downturn–as the Sunshine State can attest from the damage it took during the Great Recession.  Continued trade tensions with China could impact logistics and agriculture.

Thanks in large part to efforts from former Governor and now U.S. Sen. Rick Scott and current Governor Ron DeSantis, Florida continues to have a strong business and tax climate which continues to attract new residents and businesses. Even as the nation experiences increased worries about a downturn, for the moment at least, the economy remains in good shape in Florida.

 

Source: Florida Daily