Investors Give South Florida Cities a Makeover

By Alexandra Tarallo

One of the recent trends in South Florida real estate is upgrading buildings and offices in order to attract new businesses, raise leasing profits, and at the same time keep costs as low as possible. As land becomes less available and prices soar, so have construction prices. In the past years real estate firms such as Applefield Waxman have purchased old office buildings and spent more than $1 million in improvements and state-of-the-art upgrades expecting to attract doctors and other professionals.

Many buildings in downtown Fort Lauderdale have experienced a similar make-over such as the Wachovia Tower, a 332,000 square-foot landmark of the city’s skyline.

Boca Raton’s old IBM building was purchased by JP Morgan Chase who spent $16 million in renovations such as mahogany trim, marble floors, generators, and wi-fi Internet access focusing on the notion that many high paid workers expect to work in luxuriously appointed, high-tech offices that continue to operate even if, South Florida where to be hit by a major storm. This is a great asset, as we are well aware of after experiencing the challenges that last year’s storms brought to out workforce, especially Wilma, an unexpectedly strong storm that put the brakes on most businesses, and the nation’s economy.

North Miami Beach has been quick to jump on the band wagon. Leasing agent Neil Merin expects renovations to attract “well heeled workers” coming to fill positions offered by companies such as Scripps Florida as well as many other biotech firms. The plan is to move away from the concept that many of our cities are “little backwoods suburban vacation hot spots for retirees.”