{"id":10184,"date":"2025-10-18T19:53:27","date_gmt":"2025-10-18T19:53:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/10184\/"},"modified":"2025-10-18T19:53:27","modified_gmt":"2025-10-18T19:53:27","slug":"fort-lauderdale-on-the-rise-new-report-shows-how-tech-and-finance-combine-to-fuel-economic-strength","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/10184\/","title":{"rendered":"Fort Lauderdale on the rise: New report shows how tech and finance combine to fuel economic strength"},"content":{"rendered":"

A district that encompasses less than 1 percent of the land mass of Broward County accounts for a third of the county\u2019s economic output and a quarter of all jobs. That would be the 2.2-square mile Downtown Fort Lauderdale, the county\u2019s leading economic engine supporting 224,000 jobs and driving a $43 billion annual economic impact. <\/p>\n

Fort Lauderdale\u2019s downtown is on the rise, including as a hub of tech and innovation. The urban core\u2019s total economic impact has grown 20% since 2022, surpassing county, state and national benchmarks, and has surged 44% since 2019, explains an economic impact report<\/a> released today by the Fort Lauderdale Downtown Development Authority<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Yet, tech is not alone. Fort Lauderdale\u2019s position at the center of the tri-county area \u2014 what South Florida\u2019s leaders have dubbed \u201cWall Street of the South\u201d \u2014 is powered by growing finance and professional service sectors. About half of the 224,000 downtown jobs are in high-value industries including finance, technology, heathcare and professional services, and that\u2019s a higher share than Sunbelt peer cities like West Palm Beach, Austin or Nashville, the report noted. What\u2019s more, over a third of the workforces in Austin and Nashville are public-sector employees, compared to just 7% for Fort Lauderdale. And while Austin and Nashville have seen office vacancy rates rise by 21% and 62% respectively, both Fort Lauderdale and West Palm have experienced declines, the report said.<\/p>\n

Transformational developments now in the works could continue to fuel growth in Downtown Fort Lauderdale for years to come. FAT Village, a community for entrepreneurs and creators, is an example. The first phase of Hines and Urban Street Development\u2019s T3 project in that neighborhood could be completed by 2027, providing 180,000 square feet of office space in a mixed-use campus designed for professionals in tech and the creative industries, the report said.<\/p>\n

\u201cT3 FAT Village comes at the perfect time to capitalize on downtown Fort Lauderdale\u2019s already growing momentum in tech and innovation. Designed as a hub for forward-thinking companies, FAT Village blends cutting-edge technology with the neighborhood\u2019s distinctive cultural identity,\u201d said Gonzalo Cortabarria, managing director at Hines.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe sustainable, timber-built six-story Class AA T3 office building incorporates smart building systems, energy-efficient design, and flexible, tech-enabled workspaces that are specifically designed to support collaboration and productivity,\u201d he continued. \u201cBeyond the office, a curated mix of dining, retail, and art creates a vibrant environment for those who live, work, or visit Fort Lauderdale.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Napster Corp. (known as Infinate Reality before it acquired Napster), an immersive media company based in Boca Raton,\u00a0is planning a 60-acre global headquarters<\/a> in Fort Lauderdale\u2019s business core, with a 100,000-squre foot corporate campus anchoring a next-generation technology and entertainment district, scheduled to open next year. The HQ will accommodate up to 1,000 employees.<\/p>\n

One other key finding in the report is that Fort Lauderdale\u2019s downtown hosts a larger share of early- to mid-career talent (44%) than either West Palm Beach (36%) or Miami (32%). More close-in housing options and lower rents for Class A office space than in Miami and West Palm may be fueling this trend. Downtown has been attracting young families<\/a>, too.<\/p>\n

\u201cFort Lauderdale is growing in all the right ways. It is smart, creative, and full of opportunity,\u201d said Jenni Morejon, president and CEO of the Fort Lauderdale DDA. <\/p>\n

\u201cFrom FAT Village, our first large-scale creative and tech-focused development, to Napster Corp\u2019s 60-acre headquarters for next-gen media and AI\/AR experiences, you can see innovation happening everywhere you look,\u201d Morejon continued. \u201cAll of this is centered by a walkable, lively downtown that generates billions in economic impact, supports thousands of jobs, and continues to attract top-tier talent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Find the Fort Lauderdale DDA\u2019s economic impact report here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"A rendering showing Hines\u2019 mixed-use development plans for Fort Lauderdale\u2019s FAT Village.
Photos provided by the Fort Lauderdale DDA. <\/p>\n

READ MORE IN REFRESH MIAMI:<\/p>\n

\"Nancy<\/a> I am a writer and editor with extensive media experience and a passion for journalism and serving the community. Most of my career has been spent with the Miami Herald in business news, and my expertise is writing about tech and entrepreneurs. I love hosting this blog for Refresh Miami and we aim to be the go-to site for South Florida startup and tech news, features and views. Have news? Contact me at [email\u00a0protected]<\/a>. Thanks for reading! \"Nancy<\/a>Latest posts by Nancy Dahlberg (see all<\/a>) \t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A district that encompasses less than 1 percent of the land mass of Broward County accounts for a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":10185,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[249,251,250],"class_list":["post-10184","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fort-lauderdale","tag-fort-lauderdale","tag-fort-lauderdale-headlines","tag-fort-lauderdale-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10184","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10184"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10184\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10185"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10184"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10184"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10184"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}