Office tenants are increasingly choosing South Florida, despite the region losing out on the bid for Amazon’s second headquarters.
Steven Hurwitz of Colliers International South Florida said that making it onto Amazon’s shortlist underscores a growing interest for office space in South Florida. “The biggest change down here has been the influx of tenants from other markets,” Hurwitz said.
A limited supply of new office space is creating a landlord-friendly market, he added.
World Fuel Services expands at Doral Costa Office Park
World Fuel Services Corporation’s 133,000-square-foot lease renewal and expansion of its headquarters in Doral marked the largest office lease deal this year.
It joins a tenant roster at Triarch Capital’s Doral Costa Office Park that includes Allstate Insurance Company, HSBC Bank and International Data Corporation.
The publicly traded, Florida-based fuel company was represented by CBRE’s Shay Pope and Gil Hutzler. Robinson Commercial Real Estate’s Walter Robinson represented the landlord, Triarch Capital Group.
In 2016, Triarch paid nearly $74 million for the 280,000-square-foot, 18-acre office park at 9800 and 9850 Northwest 41st Street and 4090 Northwest 97th Avenue.
AutoNation renews lease in downtown Fort Lauderdale
In March, AutoNation inked a 105,000 square-feet lease renewal of its corporate headquarters at 200 Las Olas Circle, a 204,000-square-foot, mixed-use office building in downtown Fort Lauderdale.
The auto retailer added 12 years to its lease, with an option to extend for an additional eight years. Stiles Corporation developed and owns the 16-story office building at 200 Southwest First Avenue. It was built in 2007.
AutoNation has 23 dealerships and 10 collision centers across South Florida. Its lease renewal comes at a time when downtown Fort Lauderdale is experiencing major growth. CBRE’s Christian Lee said in a statement that he’s seen a 20 percent increase in office rent in the area since 2014.
City National Bank inks deal at Miami Tower
In October, City National Bank of Florida took over signage rights at the Miami Tower, along with fresh new lease terms.
The bank’s move into the iconic downtown Miami tower at 100 Southeast Second Street comes after it completed its acquisition of TotalBank in June 2018, which made it Florida’s third largest bank by assets. It is also an active real estate lender.
City National Bank signed a long-term lease renewal and a 57,000-square-foot expansion for a total footprint of 105,000 square feet at the 47-story building.
Sumitomo Corp. of Americas purchased the 619,000-square-foot tower in 2016 for $220M.
Aetna relocates HQ to new $350M Plantation Walk
Health insurance giant Aetna is moving out of its Sunrise office and into Art Falcone’s $350 million planned Plantation Walk development.
Aetna will be the project’s first office tenant. The move comes less than a year after CVS Health announced it would acquire Aetna for $69 billion. Aetna plans to move into an 85,000-square-foot office space this month. The 160,000-square-foot building will be home to Aetna’s Medicare, Medicaid and Aetna International divisions.
The office building is 92 percent leased. Encore Capital Management’s Plantation Walk project at 321 North University Drive will feature 700 luxury rental apartments and 200,000 square feet of retail.
SR Technology moves to Sawgrass Technology Park
Following a national campaign to find a new location for its headquarters, software company SR Technology announced in October that it chose Sunrise as its new home. The company is leasing 77,235 square feet of space at Sawgrass Technology Park on West Sunrise Boulevard.
SRT has offices in Davie, as well as Maryland, Texas and Dubai. The company specializes in design, engineering, and research and development for wireless communications.
Nearby, developer Joseph Kavana is building the $1.5 billion Metropica project that will consist of a hotel, 2,250 residences, 485,000 square feet of retail space and 650,000 square feet of office space.
The top 5 South Florida office leases in 2018
| NAME | Rutherford Place | PRICE RANGE | From $1,250,000 to $2,995,000 |
| ADDRESS | 305 Second Avenue | SIZE RANGE | From 908 Sq Ft to 1,809 Sq Ft |
| TYPE | Conversion | AVG PPSF | $1,494 |
| TOTAL UNITS | 126 | TAX ABATEMENT | No |
| DEVELOPER | Rutherford Palace LLC | AVG COMMON CHARGE | $0.59/sf |
| BROKER | Cantor Pecorella | FINISHED BY | 2013 |
Source: TRD analysis of brokerage data, as prepared by Colliers International, news clippings and market reports.