MIAMI—Broward County is undergoing a rapid transformation from as far South as Hallandale to as far north as Oakland Park, with Downtown Fort Lauderdale leading the way. Vacant lots and rundown buildings are being replaced with high-rise condos and mixed-use developments, and new neighborhoods like Flagler Village are starting to emerge in the urban core.

GlobeSt.com sat down with Adam Bedzow, a managing principal of Ceiba Groupe, to find out what makes him bullish on Broward County in part one of this exclusive interview. Stay tuned for part two, in which he will discuss some of the trends making Fort Lauderdale's commercial real estate market hot.

“The two main factors that we look at are demographics and job growth,” Bedzow tells GlobeSt.com. “Our company builds residential developments for people who live and work in our communities. For the most part, we don't cater to foreign investors so it is very important that we build in areas near employment hubs.”