(Crystal Proenza is associate editor of Real Estate Florida.)

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL-A deal worth $1.8 billion has been struck between the US Department of Transportation, a Spanish developer and a dozen international banks to fund infrastructure improvements along Interstate 595 in Broward County. The financing, which is the first public-private partnership based on availability payments to close in the US, will be used to extend a section of the highway, improve a Turnpike Interchange with Interstates 75 and 95, add express lanes and implement a bus service within the corridor, according to law firm Simpson Thacher, which represented the lending banks.

Local experts say the I-595 Corridor Roadway Improvements Project is a positive for South Florida's commercial real estate sector, which would enjoy short-term and long-term benefits as construction takes place over the next five years and after. With an expected 30,000 support jobs and 8,000 construction jobs generated, the office market especially could see a boost.

"The key to the effect on the commercial real estate business in deals like this lies in the details," says Stephen Nostrand, executive vice president with Coral Gables-based Colliers Abood Wood-Fay. "The details of the individual deals frame the actual impact of the project on our business," he explains, referencing the placement of the created jobs and noting that some foreign companies bring a sizeable workforce from their own countries. No doubt though, he adds, the infrastructure work is a positive for jobs, office space, retail consumption and housing.