Market voices: Developing the region Jorge Camejo, Executive Director, Hollywood CRA Jeremy Earle, Interim City Manager, City of Hallandale Beach Jean McIntyre, President & CEO, Greater Pompano Beach Chamber of Commerce

Jorge Camejo

Executive Director Hollywood CRA

The A1A project took significantly longer than anticipated. It was spearheaded by the Department of Transportation and we ran into quality control issues that caused delays. But we have now completed the first part of the contract and we will soon be moving to the next phase of the project, which will include underground work and sidestreet development to continue redeveloping Hollywood Beach Broadwalk. We are also looking at a design concept to incorporate a bike path south of Hollywood Boulevard up to Hollywood Beach and improve the aesthetic with additional trees, lights and other installations.

We have a Community Redevelopment Agency through which we are investing millions of dollars in our local community. For July-August 2020, the agency’s board approved a $20 million loan for infrastructure — LED streetlights, new sidewalks, 3,000 new canopy trees, to name a few of the improvements toward sustainability. We are also injecting $40 million worth of utility revenue bonds that we are going to use to fix our pipes. On the economic development side, we have planned to spend millions of dollars on business investment over the next few years. Jeremy Earle

Interim City Manager City of Hallandale Beach

Jean McIntyre

President & CEO Greater Pompano Beach Chamber of Commerce

Pompano is aware of its unique small-town charm. If it does not move forward, it will become stagnant. There will always be redevelopment in Florida given its geographic location, and as long as that change is thoughtful and it takes into account local residents there should be no problem driving positive economic growth. The area has lost 65,000 jobs compared to last year, so we need to figure out how to get those people back into work. We have big challenges ahead. The recent increase that was approved for the minimum wage could have a positive impact in this regard.

Considering tourism is big in South Florida and cities are looking to maintain their destination status, Pompano Beach is well-positioned to be the city to look at for investment. Pompano is “popping” because we have the most land available for development in Broward County. As real estate values continue to rise, Pompano Beach’s land values remain competitive if not below market. Development will happen so we will continue to implement smart growth strategies to counteract the negative impacts that come with new development. Nguyen Tran

Director Pompano Beach CRA

( ) the colder Northern states to the sunnier climates in the South and mid-Atlantic.

According to US Census data from 2019, about 34% of Broward County’s population is white alone, while approximately 30% is Black or African American alone and 31% identifies as Hispanic or Latino. But demographics have been slowly changing across South Florida. In Coral Springs, the majority of the population is no longer white, with Hispanic, Black and others accounting for 58% of the population. The Latino population has increased exponentially since 1990, when it totaled only 7% of Corals Springs’ population, and this mirrors a statewide trend. The largest cross-section of the population in Fort Lauderdale is 50 to 59, and the median age of the city is 42. There are over 123,000 households with an average of 2.5 people per household.

Global factors Greater Fort Lauderdale’s population growth positions the county to attract new companies to the region but to take advantage of the opportunity, Broward needs to promote highly skilled, highly paid jobs, particularly in STEM careers. In 2011, the Broward County business, civic and academic community signed up to the Six Pillars methodology, which promotes critical factors that will foster job creation. The pillars are talent supply and education, innovation and economic development, infrastructure and growth leadership, business climate and competitiveness, civic and governance systems and quality of life. In 2019, Version 2.0 was launched, mapping out a county plan for the next five years. This version focuses on 10 main issues, including affordable housing, development of a community brand, entrepreneurship, prosperity, target industry

The City of Fort Lauderdale is working to build a better connected, more secure and convenient cycling infrastructure.

After substantial population growth in 2020, Broward plans to extend its transportation infrastructure with the construction of new projects throughout the county.

clusters, homelessness, talent, social justice, resilience and transportation.

The goal of the six pillars is to strengthen the positioning of Fort Lauderdale but the city is already an international hub with one of the world’s major global shipping ports. In 2020, a Project Partnership Agreement was approved by the Broward Board of Commissioners to move ahead with the Port Everglades Navigation Improvements Project, which involved the U.S. Army Corps widening the navigation channel from 42 feet to up to 50 feet. This widening will allow the next generation of ever-growing cruise and cargo ships to dock at the port, including 12,500 Twenty Foot Equivalent Unit (TEU)capacity Neo-Panamax vessels. Although Port Everglades already handles some of the vessels, they must be lightly loaded to navigate the canal. When completed in 2029, the project is estimated to create 1,500 permanent jobs due to its additional cargo capacity.

Port Everglades is also positioned as the thirdlargest cruise ship port worldwide but this has been impacted in the last year as a result of the pandemic. Research from the Legislature’s Office of Economic & Demographic Research said that international tourists are not projected to come to Florida in the first half of 2021 as the effects of the pandemic linger. Tourism grew in the third quarter of 2020 but numbers were still far off from 2019 statistics and domestic tourists tend not to spend as much as international tourists. This is one reason why some counties in South Florida that depend on tourism urged hospitality professionals be added to the vaccine priority list at the outset of the campaign.

Broward County also has a strong foundation in exports. Port Everglades is the top container port in the state and 11th busiest container cargo port in the world. From 2014 to 2018, the county’s exports increased 22.5% in value to over $7.7 billion in 2018. An estimated $153 billion of goods passed through Florida’s airports and seaports in 2019, according to Enterprise Florida. The international trade war started by then-President Donald Trump on entering office impacted both imports and exports. The American Action Forum estimates that as of September, U.S. and retaliatory tariffs had impacted over $460 billion of products and cost consumers $57 billion annually.

International business International business is a key driver of the economy of Greater Fort Lauderdale. More than 1,450 multinational companies from 59 countries have offices in South Florida, which serves as the bridge to Latin America for many. Some major international companies with ( )