Infrastructure Project Positive for CRE

(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.