Sumit Singh, CEO of Chewy, and Plantation Pointe at 7600 and 7700 West Sunrise Boulevard (Chewy, Midtown Capital Partners)
The real estate industry has touted the South Florida office market as a magnet for financial and technology companies from out of state.
Even as vacancy rates topped 10% in the third quarter of this year, landlords opted to raise rents in a bet on those companies leasing space, according to a report from Colliers.
Yet the biggest lease this year came from neither a finance company nor a technology company. Locally owned online pet products retailer Chewy has signed the largest lease for its national headquarters in Plantation. Other tenants who were among the biggest space takers were largely healthcare-related businesses, and one, an HR software company, is in technology.
Here are the best South Florida office leases in 2021:
Chewy opens national headquarters in Plantation Pointe
Chewy, which sells everything from pet food to collars, signed a 221,597 square foot lease for its Plantation Pointe headquarters.
Miami-based Midtown Capital Partners owns the two-building office campus at 7600 and 7700 West Sunrise Boulevard in Plantation. The company bought it in 2017 for $56.6 million.
Chewy is taking over the office from Envision Healthcare and has signed an eight-year lease, according to media reports.
Chewy leaves its Dania Beach headquarters at the Design Center of the Americas at 1855 Griffin Road.
Ryan Cohen and Michael Day founded Chewy in 2011 in Dania Beach. PetSmart bought Chewy in 2017 for nearly $3.4 billion.
Blue Legacy Ventures Leases Miami Worldcenter Hotel Wellness Center
Rendering of the Legacy Hotel & Residences
Blue Legacy Ventures has leased the Legacy Hotel & Residences 10-story medical and wellness center planned for Miami Worldcenter.
The 120,000 square foot lease is the largest ever in downtown Miami, according to a press release from developer Royal Palm Companies.
Blue Legacy Ventures is a joint venture between Adventist Health, owner of Blue Zones, and Legacy Medical Holdings. Blue Zones is known for identifying the healthiest places in the world with the goal of directing research towards improving community well-being.
Royal Palm, led by Dan Kodsi, began construction on the 50-story Legacy Hotel & Residences in August. The 310 condo units will be atop a 219-key hotel, managed and operated by Accor as part of the Morgans Originals portfolio, according to the statement.
Cano Health extends its lease at Flagler Station
Flagler Station (Bridge Commercial Real Estate)
Cano Health, a healthcare provider for seniors, has renewed and extended its lease for its headquarters in Flagler Station in northwest Miami-Dade County.
Cano has expanded its footprint to 115,358 square feet, the entire 1200 building. Previously, Cano occupied 29,834 square feet in another building at Flagler Station.
Bridge Investment Group owns the business park at 9725 Northwest 117th Avenue.
Ultimate Kronos Group renews Weston office lease
Weston Pointe III at 2250 North Commerce Parkway (Google Maps)
Tech company Ultimate Kronos Group arrived in South Florida long before the influx of techies this year, and it’s staying there.
UKG was formed last year by the merger of Ultimate Software and Kronos, two providers of workforce management and human resources software. Scott Scherr founded Ultimate Software in 1990 in Weston; and Mark Ain started Kronos in 1977 in Massachusetts.
Aron Ain, Mark Ain’s brother, now runs UKG.
The company renewed its 97,178 square foot lease at Weston Pointe III at 2250 North Commerce Parkway.
The building is part of a larger office park in Weston.
Gramercy Property Trust sold the four-building campus for $114.8 million in 2016 to New York Life Real Estate Investors, the real estate investment arm of New York Life Insurance.
Envision Healthcare subleases in Fort Lauderdale
Cypress Creek Hall II at 1525 West Cypress Creek Road (Google Maps)
When Chewy took over the Plantation Pointe office from Envision Healthcare, Envision elected to remain in Broward County.
The healthcare and physician hospital company has reduced its workforce, signing an 81,169 square foot sublease at Cypress Creek Concourse II at 1525 West Cypress Creek Road in Fort Lauderdale, according to Cushman & Wakefield.
The property is just north of Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport.
SOURCE: TRD analysis of brokerage data, as provided by Colliers and Cushman & Wakefield, press clippings and market reports.
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