The name Flagler is part and parcel of Florida’s history.
Henry Flagler had a vision to develop the east coast of Florida. He started in 1892, and by 1894 had introduced the Royal Poinciana Hotel to Palm Beach, followed by the Breakers. As he continued to develop luxury hotels in South Florida, he also constructed bridges and railway lines to pave the way for tourists from the Northeast to visit the Sunshine State.
Today, Florida continues to echo Flagler’s legacy through Flagler College, Flagler Beach, Flagler County, Flagler Museum and now Flagler Development Co. and its various divisions. Of course, Flagler Development has itself evolved and continues morphing to meet the demands of Florida’s cyclical real estate market. Once called Gran Central Corp., Flagler took on its current moniker in 2000. Six years later, it merged with the Codina Group of Coral Gables and, in 2007, Fortress Investment Group acquired Flagler, starting a new chapter in the company’s history, complete with a new president and CEO, Jose M. Hevia.
“With the Fortress acquisition, we restructured the firm as a private REIT and spun off the railroad operation,” says Hevia, who was president and COO of Codina before the merger. “Now, we have a real estate company and a railroad company fulfilling their destinies. Flagler Development has clarity and a tax-friendly structure. We became 100% real estate-focused—and for the past three years we’ve been working to reposition the company while staying true to our historical roots. The biggest challenge was moving from a rail-centric mentality to a real estate company. But we did it.”
To read more, please see the December issue of Real Estate Forum online.
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