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<\/p>\nDespite all three major South Florida cities growing in population, having international airports that bring foot traffic and attracting local and out-of-state developers, Fort Lauderdale’s part in the\u00a0development boom has been relatively quiet compared to its neighbors.<\/p>\n
But now, the city\u00a0is starting to catch up.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n Bisnow\/Chloe Gallivan\n <\/p>\n
\n City of Fort Lauderdale’s Dean Trantalis, Related Group’s Nick P\u00e9rez, Tate Capital’s Jimmy Tate and Greenberg Traurig’s Dan McCawley\n <\/p>\n
The Broward County city is\u00a0seeing a wave of new development and population growth as it eases out of its reputation\u00a0of being the “middle child” of South Florida, industry professionals said at\u00a0Bisnow’s\u00a0Broward State of the Market, which took place at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel in Hollywood last week.<\/p>\n
“It\u2019s really the hole in the donut,” GFO Investments’ Russell Galbut said onstage at the event. “Miami has been and is on fire, and so is Palm Beach, and what happened is it just seems like Fort Lauderdale was overlooked.\u201d<\/p>\n
The area has more than 10,668 units under construction, which will add 8.3% to the current inventory, according to the Miami Realtors Association<\/a>.<\/p>\n More are planned to come.<\/p>\n The largest and most controversial as of late is the redevelopment of the 1980s-era Galleria Mall. A development team led by Galbut\u00a0plans nine high-rise towers<\/a> with more than 3,000 apartments and a 170-key hotel.<\/p>\n The developers are leveraging the Live Local Act \u2014 state legislation that incentivizes developers with tax credits and density bonuses as long as 40% of\u00a0a project is dedicated to housing priced for households making between 80% and 120% of the area median income.<\/p>\n Galbut showed new renderings of the\u00a0project last week<\/a>\u00a0and said\u00a0it will turn the mall, which hasn’t broken 70% occupancy since 2023, into a new gathering spot for residents.<\/p>\n “It will become that urban core, which it should have been 40 years ago, or 30 years ago, and was denied that,” Galbut said.<\/p>\n \n Bisnow\/Chloe Gallivan\n <\/p>\n \n Metropica Development Co.’s Erick Collazo, Straticon Construction’s Jeff Hardin, Cymbal DLT’s Asi Cymbal, Edens’ Nicole Shiman, Hotwire Communications’ Ryan Loftus and GFO Investments’ and Crescent Heights’ Russell Galbut\n <\/p>\n The city is also home to the international boat show, which draws more than 100,000 attendees and generates $1.8B for the local economy, according to its website. The event takes place at Pier Sixty-Six, which is also going through redevelopment.<\/p>\n Tavistock Development Co., the owner and developer of the 32-acre development, has already redeveloped and opened a 323-key historic hotel on the property. The site also features 92 condos and a marina.<\/p>\n The developer is\u00a0entering into Phase 2<\/a>, where\u00a0it plans to build 339 residential units, 17K SF of restaurant space, 25K SF of retail, 14K SF of grocery space and 30K SF of offices on 8 acres.<\/p>\n “Pier Sixty-Six is so important because it literally is defining the echoes of what’s being built in Broward County, because Broward County does move so differently,” Tavistock Senior Vice President Chris Gandolfo\u00a0said. “It’s not like Miami, it’s not like West Palm Beach.”<\/p>\n Even the city is looking to refresh its space. Officials are going\u00a0back and forth<\/a>\u00a0on whether to build a new city hall that could cost the city $724M over the next 30 years.<\/p>\n But amid new interest, city officials are cautious not to get ahead of themselves.<\/p>\n “We hope that Fort Lauderdale can grow in a more organic way, incrementally in a way that will slowly absorb the population without overwhelming the infrastructure that currently is in place,” Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis said.<\/p>\n \n Bisnow\/Chloe Gallivan\n <\/p>\n \n Blanca Commercial Real Estate’s Christina Jolley, Urban Street Development’s Alan Hooper, Fort Lauderdale DDA’s Jenni Morejon, Hines’ Alan Kennedy and Bilzin Sumberg’s Andrew Schein\n <\/p>\n Fort Lauderdale grew by 6,000 residents between 2020 and 2025, a 4% jump, according to the U.S. Census Bureau<\/a>.<\/p>\n Miami’s\u00a0population grew by 10% to 487,000 residents between 2020 and 2025, according to the U.S. Census Bureau<\/a>. Miami has also been riding the high of attracting more CEOs to the region\u00a0who are\u00a0bringing their companies<\/a> with them\u00a0amid wealth taxes in other states.<\/p>\n But developers may have overcorrected. The city still has 14,300 apartment units under construction \u2014 more than 6% of its existing inventory \u2014 the highest ratio of any major market, according to CoStar data<\/a>. Multifamily was the only sector in the city where transactions fell<\/a> amid the overdevelopment.\u00a0<\/p>\n But even with the overdevelopment, which is dragging rents, what is available\u00a0is still so\u00a0unaffordable its starting to<\/a>\u00a0squeeze out the middle class.<\/p>\n It’s a predicament Fort Lauderdale wants to avoid.<\/p>\n \n Bisnow\/Chloe Gallivan\n <\/p>\n \n Starlife Group’s Arman Shahbazyan, Austin Fox Architecture’s Austin Fox, BH Group’s Isaac Toledano, Tavistock’s Chris Gandolfo, One Sotheby’s International Realty’s Jennifer Leong and Florida Rock Holdings’ Mark Levy\n <\/p>\n “[In] Brickell, there’s so many new development projects that are happening there, and they’re begging and praying that someone’s going to show up and occupy those places,” Trantalis said.<\/p>\n West Palm Beach, on the other hand, landed a pioneer. Stephen Ross, CEO of development firm Related Ross and owner of the Miami Dolphins,\u00a0pledged $10B<\/a> to transform West Palm Beach into the “Wall Street of the South.”<\/p>\n Among many things, Ross has 1M SF of office space under construction and has attracted major tenants\u00a0like ServiceNow for 200K SF<\/a> and the Wells Fargo Wealth & Investment Management headquarters<\/a>.<\/p>\n Fort Lauderdale was often overshadowed by the growth story, often referred to as a spring break destination or a budget hotel tourist spot, but that’s changing as more people come to stay, One Sotheby’s International Realty Managing Director of Developments Jennifer Leong said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n