Orlando is setting a new bar for corporate relocation. While Texas has been the lone star at attracting corporations looking to relocate to new markets—usually from California and New York—Orlando has started attracting its fair share of major office users. Affordability, access to talent and economic growth are the top three reasons that Orlando is becoming the poster city for corporate relocation.
Disney, KPMG, Sonesta International Hotels Corporation and InnovaCare Health Inc. are among the most recent companies to announce plans to expand or move to the city. Disney, which has already had a presence in Orlando, said that it will move 2,000 high-wage jobs from California to Orlando. The planned relocation is one of the largest announcements this year. KPGM also plans to expand existing operations in the city by moving its Capabilities Center to the market from the Northeast.
Other companies plan to enter Orlando anew. Sonesta International Hotels Corporation, which is the eight largest hotel chain in the US, plans to open a corporate office in Orlando. The firm is based in the Northeast. InnovaCare Health Inc. is moving its headquarters office to Orlando. The move will bring 60 new high-wage jobs to the market that will pay four-times the average wage in the city.
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The corporate relocations have had a significant impact on the stability of the office market. KPMG's occupancy of 767,000 square feet in the first quarter of 2020 pushed net absorption for the year into the black at 366,043 square feet. Without that lease, absorption would be negative 400,957 square feet.
Orlando is among the top growth cities in the US. According to the Orlando Economic Partnership, the city has an affordable cost of living compared to both other cities in Florida and the nation. The cost of living is 5.1% below the national average. Housing costs are also significantly less with home prices that are more than 12% less than the national average.
The market also has a mature and capable talent pool thanks largely to inward migration. Over the last five years, Orlando's tech talent pool has increased 30%. Plus, the region has 35 colleges and universities with about 550,000 students. No other area in the US comes close to the number of students, according to the city's economic partnership.
Orlando is also benefitting from a local economic boom as well. In 2019, the city was the most visited in the US with 75,000 visitors. The city has already attracted significant tourists as the pandemic recedes.
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Kelsi Maree Borland
