Next Hot Retail Market: Broward County

PLANTATION, FL—With the International Council of Shopping Centers scheduled to hold a conference next month in Orlando, Globest.com felt it was time to take a hard look at some of the prevailing retail trends in South Florida, how retailers are dealing with issues surrounding e-commerce, and where opportunities for new investment exist.

Who better to provide insight on those topics than Robert Granda, a veteran of the retail sector and a director of retail investment sales with commercial real estate services firm Franklin Street. Granda, who works out of the firm’s office in Plantation, FL, focuses on the acquisition and disposition of multi-tenant and single-tenant retail properties and provides advisory services to both private and institutional clients throughout South Florida. Prior to joining Franklin Street, he served as associate director for the national retail group at Marcus & Millichap and earlier served as the firm’s sales manager for its Miami office providing support and oversight to more than 40 agents and $750 million in closed transactions.

 Globest.com: What major trends are affecting the retail market in South Florida?

 Granda: The main economic trends that retailers continue to battle both locally and nationally, are the e-commerce factor and the changing behavior of consumers as millennials become a larger percentage of retailers’ revenue. This generation is single-handedly changing the landscape of retail because of their preference for e-commerce shopping over brick-and-mortar, as well as their desire for experiential retail.

Millennials want their shopping experience to provide a personal story that goes far beyond just buying a physical product. Mixed-use projects that provide a “live-work-play” environment continue to play a major part as to where retailers open new locations. Retail has become a larger part of the overall experience the consumer expects while visiting these new mega-developments like Miami’s Brickell City Center.

Globest.com: How are social causes impacting retailers?

Granda: We are seeing more retailers and brands such as Starbucks, Whole Foods and Target push various social causes in which part of their revenues are used to fund social initiatives or philanthropic efforts. Millennials wish to align themselves with the causes and values that are most dear to them by supporting socially responsible brands. They are willing to spend more on products and services that serve a greater public good over other those that are not driving social change.

 Globest.com: What new local retail projects are you most excited about?

 Granda: One of the most exciting new projects is Dania Pointe, a 102-acre, mixed-use lifestyle development being built in Dania Beach. It will feature almost 1 million square feet of retail and restaurants, in addition to Class A office space, hotels and luxury apartments.

The shops at Dania Pointe will benefit from the millions of tourists flooding the Greater Fort Lauderdale area. And locals will be shopping as well—the Florida consumer has rebounded strongly since the recession officially ended in June 2009. Population growth, the tourism boom, and the recovering housing market have all contributed to retail growth in South Florida. The retail vacancy rate in Broward County has been trending downward, falling to 3.8% in Q1 2018, and well-positioned retail space is in high demand.

Another major project on the horizon is the American Dream Miami, a $4-billion retail and entertainment complex proposed for construction in Northwest Miami-Dade County. Covering 174 acres, this recently-approved 6.2 million-square-foot development would host America’s biggest mall, a theme park, 2,000 hotel rooms, an indoor ski slope, a water park, movie theater, performing arts center and more. American Dream Miami might have a larger impact on Florida’s economy than any other project since the arrival of Walt Disney World in 1971.

 Globest.com: What submarket is the next hot spot for retail development?

 Granda: As opportunities for development and redevelopment continue to become more and more sparse in Miami-Dade County, builders are setting their sights on Broward County as the next market to shift and cater to the millennial consumer.

There has been an influx of young professionals to the East Fort Lauderdale market, thanks in large part to the popularity of Flagler Village, a fast-growing neighborhood near downtown. Downtown Fort Lauderdale should be one of the next local major submarkets to go through a renaissance; as Miami saw happen in Brickell and Wynwood, for example.

Two new residential towers reaching 42 and 38 stories tall each are also replacing the former Las Olas Riverfront shopping and entertainment complex. The transformative X Las Olas project will include retail and restaurant space and bring in large numbers of the highly-sought-after millennials, which will feed the future vision of Las Olas Boulevard and the Downtown Fort Lauderdale area.