Greater Fort Lauderdale 2021 An in-depth review of the key issues facing Broward County’s economy, featuring the exclusive insights of prominent industry leaders
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City of Fort Lauderdale: The City of Fort Lauderdale is on the move with a 21st century vision and international presence. The city has attracted the attention of major players like Elon Musk, David Beckham, the Kushner Companies and the Tavistock Group. Public and private sector efforts are solidifying the city as a prominent economic force in the South Florida region.
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Heart of the region: The City of Fort Lauderdale is fast developing beyond its reputation as a premier beach destination Fort Lauderdale is more than the sum of its well-known parts. Beaches, art, culture and events provide the public face of its popular international tourism segment, but the city is also the heart of a thriving, high-growth region. In addition to a sought-after lifestyle, Fort Lauderdale is developing quickly on the back of its educated workforce and easy access to national and international markets. A number of factors are behind the city’s emergence as a business destination in addition to its tourism backbone. It is a strategically located gem at the center of the South Florida region. Sitting in close proximity to two major ports, the cruise and cargo industries strengthen its position as an international hub and help make Fort Lauderdale the bridge between the Americas. Catching the eye of Elon Musk’s Boring Company, the city is looking to build a tunnel from the heart of Downtown to the beach. This tunnel project may lead to other futuristic projects, making the city a truly innovative community. An immense office space portfolio also makes the city a cheaper alternative to Miami for businesses, while its residential offering is also more affordable than many of its neighbors. Like most cities in South Florida, it has a business-friendly climate and low tax rate but also brings to the table a 40
| Invest: Greater Fort Lauderdale 2021 | CITY OF FORT LAUDERDALE
young population, thriving entertainment scene with community events, parks, urban centers and recreation spaces perfect for families. With renovations complete, AutoNation and Inter Miami CF, co-owned by David Beckham, announced the renaming of Lockhart to DRV PINK Stadium. The stadium seats 18,000 and has been used as a vaccination location. Inter Miami hosted its first full-capacity game in late May 2021. Landscape The City of Fort Lauderdale was originally a frontier stockade and trading post. After its incorporation in 1911, the city began to grow rapidly, climbing from fewer than 100 residents in 1900 to more than 2,000 by 1920. A ferry was opened to cross the New River and a railroad route was constructed, providing the catalyst for the city’s growth. The population grew particularly during World War II due to the presence of its Naval Air Station, which was used for training. After the war, serving veterans moved back to Fort Lauderdale, explaining the significant population growth in the 1950s and 1960s. Growth was continuous through to the 1980s and, after a brief decline, regained momentum by 2000. ( )
CITY OF FORT LAUDERDALE INTERVIEW
Looking forward Fort Lauderdale is in a strong position after forging ahead during the pandemic, but it’s not resting on its laurels
Dean Trantalis Mayor – City of Fort Lauderdale How is Fort Lauderdale positioned for a rebound? When COVID-19 came into our community, we did not stop the other things we were doing. Infrastructure projects that had been launched continued to move ahead, we did not miss a step. It was even helpful because with few people on the streets and fewer cars, we were able to allow our contractors to carry out drilling and installations when a busier time would have impeded such fast-paced progress. Our infrastructure projects are ahead of schedule and under budget. We are looking for ways to work with the business sector to gauge how we can improve our norms and standards because we do not think that COVID-19 will be the last pandemic we experience in our lifetimes. Shame on us if we should be so unprepared. Our area has had hurricanes for several years now. We know how to anticipate and prepare for them. Today, South Florida has the strongest building codes in the country and the greatest weather forecast capacity nationwide. The same work needs to be done on the pandemic front. Infrastructure is important. What is the role of impact fees in development? Funding our infrastructure needs requires different sources, we cannot just rely on borrowing money through bond issues. We raised the impact fees after 15 years of remaining at the same level because we came to realize the city had significant needs and that developers are able to absorb the impact of these fees and still ensure profits. Profit margins here in South Florida are much larger compared to pre-COVID New York City. The development community is extremely happy with what we are doing in terms of putting up pump stations and replacing old, worn-out pipes, creating a framework for growth. It becomes an imperative for a municipality that looks to continue to encourage growth to maintain a sound and strong infrastructure system. These needs go well beyond
sewers and freshwater pipes to include sidewalks, street lighting and traffic infrastructure in close coordination with the county and adjacent municipalities to figure out solutions for managing traffic. How do you balance economic growth and development with a safe environment for visitors and inhabitants? We realized throughout this pandemic that there needs to be a balance between saving people’s lives and protecting livelihoods. That balance proved to be an experiment because no one has really had experience with dealing with such a pandemic, especially in a community such as ours that has extremely transient factors, with millions of visitors coming here every year, meaning diseases can spread much easier as a result. Fort Lauderdale took a leading role in dealing with the pandemic. www.capitalanalyticsassociates.com
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CITY OF FORT LAUDERDALE OVERVIEW
Jenni Morejon President & CEO – Fort Lauderdale Downtown Development Authority Downtown Fort Lauderdale is still a comparably young city that has emerged in just the past couple decades. It’s a place to not only work, but to live too. Virtually no residential units existed in Downtown until the late 1990s, and over the past 20 years, about 20,000 residential units have been built or approved, complimenting a strong base of commercial office space and cultural amenities. This growth in residential units has made it possible for Downtown Fort Lauderdale to become an attractive destination with a population of over 17,000 residents. Our approach has always been to encourage more residential development to create competition that would produce market-based affordable rents.
The city’s FY2021 operating budget is $847.5 million, which is a $15.2 million increase on FY2020 despite a reduction in revenues caused by the pandemic. However, property remains strong, bolstering the city’s coffers. The median value of owner-occupied housing units from 2015 to 2019 was $334,000 and this number strengthened in 2020. The Broward County Property Appraiser’s 2020 estimate of the city’s table property value increased by 6.32% to $41.2 billion from $38.8 billion, which is expected to yield approximately $8.2 million in additional property tax revenue in FY2021. The millage rate remained low at 4.1193 for the 14th consecutive year. The Economy biggest priority areas in 2021 Like many Florida cities, Fort are homelessness and housing, Lauderdale’s economy is boosted infrastructure, the Downtown by the tourism industry, which Master Plan, waterway quality, was impacted by the COVID-19 transportation and traffic and pandemic. But the city is also wellresiliency. diversified, which helped it remain Positive credit ratings over the resilient throughout the crisis. past year also suggest that Fort Strong marine, manufacturing, Lauderdale’s strong and diverse healthcare, educational and economic standing will help its professional services sectors are Chris Lagerbloom growth prospects as the COVID among the key segments of the City of Fort Lauderdale vaccine rollout gains momentum local economy. Manufacturing and the pandemic subsides. Ratings agency Standard provides 10.4% of jobs in the city, while construction contributes 6.2%. Healthcare and social assistance & Poor’s (S&P) assigned its AAA rating to both the employs 12.8% and professional services accounts for city’s special obligation refunding bonds and General 6.7% of jobs. Total employment in the city is climbing Obligation bonds. S&P attributed the city’s ratings to a again after the pandemic. In January 2021, 808,500 very strong economy, budgetary flexibility, management, people in the Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach-Deerfield and liquidity. Moody’s Investors Service rated the 2020 Beach Metropolitan Division were employed compared special obligation refunding bonds Aa2 with a positive outlook. ( ) to a low of 737,600 in April 2020. ( ) With an estimated 2020 population of 189,321, Fort Lauderdale is the 10th-largest city in Florida and the biggest in Broward County. The city’s diversity is one of its greatest assets. More than 21% of the population is foreign born, primarily from Latin America. The city also has one of the largest percentages of Haitian residents in the country. As of the most recent American Community Survey (ACS), the city’s racial composition was 46.6% white, 32% Black or African American and 17.8% Hispanic. The city has a median household income of $52,315.
Our fiscal discipline and vigilance have been instrumental in building a strong financial foundation.
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CITY OF FORT LAUDERDALE INTERVIEW
Strong recovery Decisions made early in the pandemic have positioned the city to emerge stronger
Chris Lagerbloom City Manager – City of Fort Lauderdale What are your expectations for Fort Lauderdale’s economic turnaround toward 2022? We will have a strong recovery because of decisions we made early on. Our organization has maintained a AAA bond rating through the balance of the pandemic. That has been huge in our demonstration to others that we have a sound and balanced budget and we have been ultra-conservative in making assumptions in a year that we were just toward having 25% of our dollars in reserve in the general fund, should we need it. We were at 24.8% going into the fiscal year. Even amid the crisis, we were still able to get there. Our property values have stayed strong. Some of that is because of the lack of volume, while another critical factor is the desire to be in South Florida. There is a nice pipeline of people out of the Northeast who are finding their way to Florida. Fort Lauderdale is looking attractive. Our emergence will be strong. How has the city transformed its thinking in terms of its top priorities? We’ve had to reflect on the decline in tax revenues and how we deliver services, what is important versus what is not. As a city, we run an $850 million all-funds budget. People are most familiar with the general fund, because that is where their taxes go. About $340 million of our total budget comes from the general fund. We are forecasting that we will have to reduce spending by $20 million. The general fund portion not attributed to personnel costs amounts to $26 million. The reality is that you do not get that $20 million cut without deciding which positions are important and which are not in the short term. We froze about 150 general fund positions. We will look at them on an as-needed basis and we will have to make a case for restaffing them. It is a whole lot easier to hold vacant spots vacant than it is to decide that we need to go through massive layoffs, so we took that approach. We’re preparing for several years of flat
to declining budget performance. We will have to be creative with our budget for some time. How did the city help residents keep their spirits up in the past year? One of the things that we committed to in 2020 was a set of fundamental values that we were not going to let go of whether we had a pandemic or not. Our Fourth of July celebration last year, for example, was not something we were just going to let go; it’s known for having one of the largest fireworks displays in South Florida. While we did not have it at the beach and we did not have a big crowd, we still found a spot in each of the commission districts to launch fireworks on the Fourth of July. We encouraged people to view them from the comfort of their own home. www.capitalanalyticsassociates.com
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Market voices: Commissioner’s corner
Heather Moraitis
Vice Mayor City of Fort Lauderdale
We have a tri-rail mobility hub coming to the district at Cypress Creek. The MPO will provide about $3 million of funding to connect that station to the area and local businesses. Construction should begin in 2022. Our executive airport is one of our economic drivers in the area and is located in an Enterprise Zone. This offers a great transportation option and serves as a hub for our businesses in the area. The executive airport and all the surrounding tenants pay around $4 million in taxes each year, making it the city’s second-largest taxpayer. It just implemented a master plan with the goal to invest $55 million in the next 25 years.
One of our major concerns is sea level rise. We’re addressing the issue head-on through essential projects to tackle our vulnerability throughout the city. We are also continuously concerned about affordable housing. To have positive growth and ensure businesses can find employees, we need to make sure that people can also afford to live here, especially now with the crunch that we see and the skyrocketing of the median values of homes. That is going to be a major consideration.
Steven Glassman
Commissioner City of Fort Lauderdale
Robert McKinzie
Commissioner City of Fort Lauderdale
We have championed numerous high-profile projects including the development of a new $15 million L.A. Lee YMCA/Mizell Center, Brics ‘N Stics – co-working space, Smitty’s Wings Restaurant, and construction of new single-family homes within the northwest corridor of the city. Further fostering community engagement, the city has hosted family-friendly special events and entertainment including a series of free concerts at Carter, Provident, and Riverland Parks.
In the middle of the urban core of Fort Lauderdale sits Stranahan House, which was the trading post for Fort Lauderdale at its inception. It’s now surrounded by Downtown growth and development. That is the juxtaposition we think of when thinking about growth. They can exist together and they can add to one another. That is the spirit behind the revitalization of other areas of the city such as Sistrunk. We can bring and celebrate the history and the importance of that community and build upon that by saying that is the foundation from which we will continue to move forward, emphasizing the racial equality that we are striving for, as well as fair policing and equal opportunity. Part of that is not just coming in and replacing, but lifting it all up. Broward College is providing awesome remote-learning opportunities in that area and lifting folks up.
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Ben Sorensen
Commissioner City of Fort Lauderdale
CITY OF FORT LAUDERDALE OVERVIEW
DRV PNK Stadium is an 18,000-seat stadium and serves as the home pitch of Inter Miami CF.
( ) In a statement accompanying the city’s budget presentation, City Manager Chris Lagerbloom said, “The ratings and opinions of Wall Street’s leading credit rating institutions signaled strong confidence in the financial management of the City of Fort Lauderdale. Our fiscal discipline and vigilance have been instrumental in building a strong financial foundation and positioning Fort Lauderdale for a bright future. This success does not happen by chance – it is the direct result of innovation, long term planning, hard work, and continuous process improvement.” The COVID-19 impact The city has a total of $1.4 billion in community investment projected over the next five years. The city recently decided to reconsider the future of the parking garages next to the main library, which are underutilized and occupy prime real estate in the Downtown area. The city is also engaged in a new initiative with Miami, Broward County and Boca Raton to promote the Downtown area for the relocation of tech business as another step to the goal of further diversifying the economy. To help the community financially, the city also launched various initiatives, including the COVID-19 rental assistance program and utility disconnections due to non-payment were suspended from March 13, 2020 across the city. Free business assistance was also rolled out across local companies with the South Florida Emergency Response Program, the SBA Economic Injury
Loan program, and the Florida Short Time Compensation Program. A reemployment assistance program was also set up throughout the state to help those impacted by the pandemic. In addressing the virus itself, the City of Fort Lauderdale rolled out multiple testing and vaccination sites, including providing free drive-through testing. The city first converted the COVID-19 testing site at Holiday Park to handle vaccinations and then moved it to Snyder Park so even more people could be accommodated. The city’s new DRV PNK Stadium at Lockhart Park also became a vaccine administration site. By April 2021, the vaccine rollout was ramping up and many hotels, beaches and businesses had reopened for visitors, although safety measures, such as mask requirements and distancing, remained in place. These latest developments are providing optimism that the recovery from the pandemic could come sooner than expected. “I’m incredibly proud of the way our city responded to COVID-19,” Mayor Trantalis said. “We took quick action early to stop the spread as we learned more about the best ways to slow transmission – often leading the region and nation in our decision-making. We then did our utmost to dampen the economic impact by developing the safest protocols possible for people to go about many of their daily activities. With our comprehensive vaccination effort, we hope to lead the way out of COVID as well.” www.capitalanalyticsassociates.com
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Rufus James Airport Manager Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport
How are you working with the public or private sector to promote Fort Lauderdale? Our mission is to attract business to the area, help those businesses prosper and be a benefit to the community. We’re one of only a few general aviation airports in South Florida that offers U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) services for aircraft as well as the local boater program for boat operators. In 2015, a state-of-the-art facility was constructed, which significantly enhanced airport operations, optimized speed and efficiency, and dramatically improved service delivery, all of which greatly benefit the corporate and recreational travelers who arrive from around the globe. The CBP facility is equipped with global entry kiosks and passport control kiosks for passenger processing similar to what is found at the international airports. We were also able to extend CBP operating hours until midnight to accommodate business aircraft and air ambulance flights operating from foreign countries, including Latin America. What were some of your highlights and takeaways from the past year? We were going into the first quarter having exceeded the previous year monthly operations. One of the things an airport looks at to determine its performance is the number of airplane landings and takeoffs. By the middle of March, we thought we would not even beat 2019’s number, but thankfully we managed and experienced an 8% increase for March 2020 operations. In April, we experienced a 38% decrease in operations during the pandemic, but despite an increase in operations for May 2020, that increase was still 19% less than the previous year. In June, traffic certainly returned, and we experienced an increase of 26% more operations than June of 2019. Overall, the calendar year operations (2019 versus 2020) ended practically even with a very minimal deficit of .02 fewer operations (44 less takeoffs and landings), which is remarkable from a global perspective. International travel was the missing piece from our operations count. 46
| Invest: Greater Fort Lauderdale 2021 | CITY OF FORT LAUDERDALE
The New River Bridge is 55 feet above the South Fork of the New River in Fort Lauderdale.
Capital projects The city of Fort Lauderdale has a total of $1.4 billion in community investment projected over the next five years. The city recently decided to reconsider the future of the parking garages next to the main library, which are underutilized and occupy prime real estate in the Downtown area. “Our downtown is really transforming into a cosmopolitan area that will be a gem of the world,” Mayor Trantalis said. “People can truly live, work and play in one spot. You can step out of your residence and walk to a grocery, one of an amazing array of restaurants or an incredible slate of entertainment offerings. It’s only going to get better in the coming years.” Among the key challenges for the city are transportation and pedestrian traffic. Specifically, the city’s beaches and infrastructure along the Downtown and Las Olas corridor are choke points for pedestrian traffic. The Penny Transportation surtax created an opportunity for transportation improvements in the city. Through neighborhood advocacy and collaboration with the Public Works Department, the Broward County Commission approved funding for the first cycle of municipal-request projects totaling $10.6 million. The Brightline station is another initiative in the spotlight. The station should be the hub of a service within Broward, connecting it to the international airport and communities to the north and south and beyond to Palm Beach and Miami. But a choke point exists with the commuter rail at the crossing at the New River and increased rail traffic over this bridge would negatively impact the maritime industry. For various reasons, the bridge connection would not be
CITY OF FORT LAUDERDALE OVERVIEW
Michael Weymouth President – The Las Olas Company
We have a very limited portfolio, with 140,000 square feet of retail and around 140,000 square feet of office space. We don’t venture outside of our sandbox but we are doing some redevelopment work internally. We demolished a building in November that was one of the more tired ones in our portfolio of properties. We will replace it with something that is more in keeping with the current retail demands. All of our assets have been upgraded so as to ensure that they have impact glass, warranted roof and newer air conditioners. We do not like to have any dark spaces, so we collaborated with a group of artists called Zero Empty Spaces to create installations across Las Olas where they can show off their creativity.
ideal, thus shifting the conversation to a future tunnel connection. In order to be more of a micro mobility-friendly city, plans are in the works to develop a framework for micro mobility devices, such as electric scooters and bicycles, to operate within the city while ensuring public safety. The city began construction on the first Fort Lauderdale Mobility Hub that will improve mobility and connect people to various transportation choices such as Brightline, regional express and local bus service by Broward County, shuttle service to TriRail, and the Community Shuttle. Recent infrastructure improvements include wide sidewalks, shade trees, pedestrian lighting, dedicated bicycle facilities and crosswalks, which support mixed-use development. The city has also initiated the planning process for the iconic LauderTrail project, a continuous and comprehensive network with seven miles of connected urban trail facilities for practical and recreational use that will promote a multimodal connectivity and a healthy lifestyle. The trail is expected to connect 17 neighborhoods, 26 parks, 11 K-12 schools, seven entertainment districts, 14 government services, three higher education centers, over 30 cultural centers, 30% of city jobs, and 30% of city residents. To preserve and expand green space, a $200 million park bond initiative was overwhelmingly approved by voters in March 2019. The bond will bring significant upgrades and improvements to numerous parks such as the construction of a signature community center at Carter Park and Bass Park, new outdoor fitness equipment at Dottie Mancini Park, sports lighting upgrades at Florence C. Hardy Park, walking
Of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s 77 mandated milestones, 55 are complete trail improvements at Hortt Park, the installation of playground equipment and a pavilion at Lauderdale Manors Entrance, an improved restroom/concession area and upgraded athletic fields at Mills Pond Park, and new playground equipment at Palm Aire Village Park. Finally, the city began design on the Breakers Avenue streetscape project that will create an iconic corridor that not only provides mobility but is also a safe, accessible, attractive, climate-resilient public space serving neighbors and visitors in Fort Lauderdale Beach. Some proposed improvements include streetscape elements such as pedestrian lighting, trees, landscape, shared-use street design and underground water and sewer utility upgrades. Public works After the shock of multiple sewer main breaks between December 2019 and February 2020, the city took the www.capitalanalyticsassociates.com
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CITY OF FORT LAUDERDALE OVERVIEW
The acquatic center will be home to major swimming and diving competitions opportunity to evaluate, repair and upgrade its entire infrastructure system to include water, wastewater, stormwater, waterways, and transportation. The city has been aggressive in completing the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s mandated projects. Out of the required 77 milestones, 55 are complete with 32 ahead of schedule. The list includes a record-setting $65 million project of 7.5 miles of new redundant force main, which will be the lifeline of the city’s wastewater system. Upon completion of the redundant line, the city plans to rehabilitate the existing 54-inch sewer main, which will create full redundancy, enhance reliability, and improve service to neighbors. Fort Lauderdale has also started replacing its aging distribution network, further stressed by the saline-high groundwater. As an integral part of this replacement and upgrade, the city is creating a hydraulic model of its water distribution system, which will help analyze operational conditions, including flow, pressure, pipe size, valve locations and system capacity. During the last five years, the city has completed 35 stormwater projects of various sizes and complexities.
Implementation of its $200 million major initiative, covering seven neighborhoods that experience the worst flooding, is being finalized. Edgewood and River Oaks communities will be the first to see the improvements with construction beginning in May 2021. Economic development Attracting and retaining businesses remains a major focus for the city of Fort Lauderdale and steps, such as hiring a new economic development manager, have been taken to ensure its place as a destination for both domestic and international businesses. “Fort Lauderdale has a lot to offer business looking to relocate – far beyond just our beautiful weather,” Mayor Trantalis said. “We have a talented, multicultural workforce backed by a great university system for skillbuilding. We have a favorable tax climate for business and a dynamic downtown that’s attractive to companies and their employees. We also have the structural underpinnings to support everything from high-tech start-ups to financial services giants.” The economic arm of the city is planning to be more aggressive when it comes to applying for grants that will be used to retain businesses and engage venture capital firms to help the community reinvest in itself. These funds will also be used to stimulate and assist smaller businesses, which are the staples of communities that are at risk due to the pandemic. In addition to more aggressive business attraction efforts, the economic development arm is also looking to promote existing businesses and entice new ones to come to the city within the hospitality, arts, entertainment, and nightlife segments. In the interest of attracting international incubators to Fort Lauderdale, the city is partnering with Broward County to bring the World Trade Center (WTC) franchise to Downtown. This initiative is aimed at allowing the
Bill Rubin Founder & Chairman – Rubin, Turnbull & Associates I am optimistic that the Biden administration will have a good impact on the economics of Broward County. Several of the members of Broward’s Congressional delegation have an excellent working relationship with President Biden, and many members of his administration. These relationships should benefit Broward County as it navigates through the federal bureaucracy. Finally, the strength of the Republican Party in Florida will help bring a focus from both sides of the aisle for Florida.
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CITY OF FORT CONSTRUCTION LAUDERDALE OVERVIEW
Dan Lindblade President & CEO Greater Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce
The City of Fort Lauderdale is known as the ‘Yachting Capital of the World’.
international community to interact and retain local talent, grow small businesses, provide seed funding for startups, and make the city the hub for startup, innovation, and technology. The city’s arrangement with the Florida Panthers hockey team is moving forward, with plans to renovate War Memorial Auditorium. The Panthers are making a $65 million-dollar investment to add rinks for ice skating and hockey and to restore the existing interior for concerts and family-friendly programming. As part of the deal, the Panthers will also run the auditorium, saving the city on operational expenses that had become a serious drain on its budget. Work on updating the aquatic center also continues. From rebuilding the pools to improved locker rooms, the aquatic center will be a place for the community to enjoy recreational aquatics and home to major swimming and diving competitions. Key sectors Aviation Fort Lauderdale’s aviation is a multibillion-dollar sector with companies across the supply chain including airlines, general aviation, airports, airframe and engine manufacturers, component parts suppliers, maintenance and MRO businesses. Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) and Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport (FXE) are the two major drivers of the aviation industry. FLL has a total economic impact of $37.5 billion, while FXE’s impact is $2.1 billion. Global logistics Due to its privileged location within 1,000 miles of
How do you see the local business community emerging from the current landscape? Coming out of the 2009-10 recession, hospitality was the first one back in the market and driving the recovery. This time around, it will likely be the last one. This time, construction and real estate are the industries that are driving us through this storm. Residential and commercial real estate has been hot. Healthcare has also been a critical driver, boosted by the federal resources injected into it. Despite elective surgeries and medical tourism being on pause, the healthcare industry has kept a significant number of people employed, dramatically helping the economy during this pandemic. As 2021 progresses, we should be on the right track, but it will prove a slow walk. What strategies are you implementing to attract more business to Fort Lauderdale? Our strategy for attracting new business remains unchanged. It is rooted in our employees and talent pool, which is the primary currency that businesses look at. We must continue raising awareness over the latest developments in that specific area. Florida Atlantic University, the innovative hub we are developing together with Max Planck and everything going on in Palm Beach and Martin counties are integral parts of those efforts. What are the chamber’s near-term priorities? Our Racial Equity Agenda is going to be a big issue for us. We need to move that forward and are already in motion on that topic. We need to have the tough conversations because they work as eye-openers within the business community. Uncomfortable conversations will help address the attitudes, behaviors and poor awareness people have on racism as well as social service programs and their inherent stigmas. Engaging in education is another high priority that remains top of mind, ensuring we have everyone back learning in a safe environment, with implemented protocols. www.capitalanalyticsassociates.com
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CITY OF FORT LAUDERDALE OVERVIEW
Tam English CEO – Housing Authority of Fort Lauderdale
The majority of our funding comes from low-income housing tax credits that are specifically designed to fund our work. The remaining third of our funding comes from commercial mortgages. The interest rates have been low recently and we’re refinancing a couple of our mortgages at less than half the original interest rate that was set 10 years ago. We have never had big issues with financing and we’ve always been able to find ways to structure our projects.
Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and many other Caribbean basin nations, Fort Lauderdale is a logistics hub between the Americas. More than 5,300 people are employed in the transportation and warehousing sector and international business supports one in every six jobs in the state of Florida. Marine Known as the Yachting Capital of the World, the city is a major yachting center and tourist destination with more than 12.8 million tourists annually pre-COVID. The Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show attracts over 100,000 visitors and has an economic impact of $1.3 billion. The city is also home to Port Everglades, the thirdbusiest cruise homeport in the world with 3.8 million passengers per year and one of the largest container ports in the United States, moving over 750,000 TEUs annually. The port generates $30.4 billion for the local economy and pays $1.1 billion in state and local taxes. Life sciences Fort Lauderdale boasts more than 1,400 health technologists and technicians, as well as a further 400 people employed in life, social and physical sciences. Fed by a large talent pool from prestigious local universities, healthcare companies are lining up to set up base in the city. Notable players include global pharmaceutical Allergan, medical technology company Stryker and generics pharmaceutical company Teva. Education The Broward County Public School District is the sixthlargest fully accredited school district in the country, serving 271,517 students in pre-K through grade 12. Fort Lauderdale offers outstanding opportunities for higher 50
| Invest: Greater Fort Lauderdale 2021 | CITY OF FORT LAUDERDALE
education, with access to great schools like Florida Atlantic University (FAU Fort Lauderdale), Keiser University and Broward College. Looking ahead Moving beyond the pandemic, city officials are promoting a safe, healthy, and economically stable reopening of businesses and return to normalcy. Addressing affordable housing, several new projects are in various stages of work to expand housing to low- and moderate-income individuals. As economic development grows, so does the city’s need to protect its growing community. The city plans on breaking ground this summer on a new police station that will be completed by 2023 and the city manager is on track to select a new police chief. Looking to the future, Fort Lauderdale has all the hallmarks of a growing city. The authorities are moving toward the goal of diversifying the economy and continuing to provide the community with a great place to live. Helping with these initiatives are the Broward College Entrepreneurship Experience, which offers mentorships to fledgling businesses, and the Alan B. Levan | NSU Broward Center of Innovation. Together, these efforts are solidifying the city as a prominent economic force in the South Florida region, making it a place to live, work, play and invest.
Capital Analytics would like to thank the City of Fort Lauderdale for its contributions in compiling this chapter. To learn more, visit their website at: www.fortlauderdale.gov