South Florida’s office market is doing better than most sectors of the U.S., experts have told the Business Journal.
The pace of office deals has slowed, and some companies have even opted to move into smaller spaces that embrace the concept of hybrid working. At the same time, firms have bucked the trend and leased out even more space for their executives and workers.
Here’s a look at 10 of the most significant office transactions in South Florida through May.
Office Depot
Office Depot headquarters in Boca Raton in 2019.
In April, OPD Corporation (Nasdaq: ODP), the parent company of Office Depot, sold its 28.9-acre headquarters property at 6600 N. Military Trail in Boca Raton to South Florida real estate investment firms Pebb Enterprises and BH Group for $104 million.
As part that deal, Office Depot secured 285,000 square feet of office space in that complex in a two-year lease deal. That is a pullback from the 650,000 square feet of office that the corporation occupied prior to the deal.
Pebb and BH Group plan to lease out space to other companies within Office Depot’s old complex, plus add retail and residential.
Kaseya
Fred Voccola, CEO of Kaseya at the Kaseya offices at 701 Brickell.
In February, IT management and software security company Kaseya announced in February that it would be moving its headquarters from 701 Brickell to the Wells Fargo Center at 333 S.E. 2nd Ave in Downtown Miami where it would lease 101,871 square feet of office.
The company, headed by CEO Fred Voccola, also stated that it would hire 3,400 people over the next 10 years at that office, with an average salary of $107,000.
A couple months later, Kaseya secured the naming rights at the Miami Heat arena.
Bacardi USA
Plaza Coral Gables
Bermuda-based liquor company Bacardi Limited inked a deal to relocate the headquarters of its U.S. subsidiary to 100,000 square feet of office in the newly built Plaza Coral Gables South Tower, sources told the Business Journal.
The new offices are less than 1,600 feet away from Bacardi USA’s present 15-story headquarters building at 2701 S. Le Jeune Road where the company occupied about 230,000 square feet of office.
Banesco USA
Inside Banesco USA’s new headquarters building in Doral.
South Florida bank Banesco USA boosted the size of its headquarters after it moved into a 60,000-square-foot building at 3155 N.W. 77th Ave. Its previous HQ was an 18,000-square-foot space in Coral Gables.
Calixto García-Vélez said the new office was closer to where its 200 employees worked. This wasn’t a lease deal, however. Banesco USA acquired the four-story building in December 2020 for $11.95 million.
International Money Express
The Miami-based money transfer corporation International Money Expresss, also known as Intermex (Nasdaq: IMXI), secured 40,298 square feet of space in the One Datran Center at 9100 S. Dadeland Blvd. in the Kendall area in January.
Mike Gallentine, vice president of investor relations for Intermex, said his company outgrew its 32,216-square-foot office at 9480 S. Dixie Highway, less than a half mile away.
Intermex should be in its new office later this year or early next year, Gallentine added.
Ryder
A rendering of Ryder Colonnade with new building signage
In May, Ryder (NYSE: R) secured 40,000 square feet of office as the fleet management company’s new corporate home within the Colonnade office tower at 2333 Ponce de Leon Blvd. in Coral Gables. About 800 employees will be based out of that office, many of whom will usually work remotely. When the company moves into the 11-story tower, it will be renamed Ryder Colonnade.
In March, Ryder sold its 250,000-square-foot office complex in Medley for $42.1 million to Chicago-based Bridge Industrial. Bridge intends to demolish Ryder’s old office and replace it with 330,000 square feet of industrial.
Schonfeld Strategic Advisors
The New York-based global hedge fund with $32 billion in assets under management opted to add another 18,000 square feet to its Miami office space within The Dorsey at 280 N.W. 29th St. in Wynwood.
The additional office increased the size of its office space within the mixed-use complex to 37,000 square feet.
Industrious
Mayfair in the Grove in the summer of 2022.
The New York-based coworking company closed on a partnership deal with landlord Whalou Properties that would enable them to occupy 23,460 square feet of office at Mayfair in the Grove, a three-story commercial building at 3390 Mary Street in Miami’s Coral Gables neighborhood.
The new location, which is slated to open in early 2024, will be Industrious’ ninth location in South Florida.
Quest Workspaces
Alhambra Towers at 121 Alhambra Plaza in Coral Gables
Miami-based coworking company Quest secured 22,522 square feet of office space on the 10th floor of Alhambra Towers, a 16-story commercial building at 121 Alhambra Plaza in Coral Gables.
When it opens later this year, it will be Quest’s 13th location in South Florida.
Inspyr Solutions
The Radice Corporate Center I building in Fort Lauderdale
A company with two headquarters, Inspyr Solution, a tech staffing and consulting company, more than doubled the size of its Fort Lauderdale corporate office from 8,500 to 18,000 square feet in the Radice Corporate Center I building at 600 Corporate Drive.
