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- 1. GREATER FORT LAUDERDALE: HEADQUARTERS PLUS INFRASTRUCTURE EQUALS SUCCESS BY JANIE MCQUEEN Special Advertising Section Greater Fort Lauderdales many assets include a superb quality of life and growing Central Business District along the Intracoastal Waterway. Photo by Ken Henson info@ArtisanProMedia.com 44 the LEADER | September/October 2014
- 2. That is the formula a determined group of forward-thinking Broward County, Fla. business leaders employed to transform a tired, spring-break romping ground into a promised land of prime commercial real estate (CRE), to the siren song of coastal life and low taxes. A mere six years ago in 2008, during the worst recession most peoplecanremember,theGreaterFortLauderdaleAlliancesfreshly formedCEOCouncilembarkedonanambitiousandastonishingly successfulre-branding and corporate recruiting initiative. Their challenge: to highlight Fort Lauderdales considerable quality-of-life assets while replacing dreary, tourism-dependent microbusinesses with shiny new corporate headquarters. It was a perfect time and place to rebuild, both in terms of infrastructure, vision and commercial real estate, says RobinRonne, Managing Director of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance Initiatives CEO Council. Ronne has helped helm the project from its inception. Our founding and current Chairman Ray Ferreros mantra is to be bold, take actionand make something happen. While the Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance is the official economic development organization for the area, the CEO Council is anentirelyprivatelyfundedassociationofCEOs and senior business leaders formed to reinvent the area as a premier location for corporate and international regional headquarters. Playing on South Floridas fresh air, quality of life and status as the nations fifth best state tax business climate for eight years runningwith no state or local personal income taxes, to bootthe campaigns tagline became Life.LessTaxing. While the world went into reductive mode in the recession, Ronne explains, We used the downtimebycreatingasustainablegroundzero. It was a time that if you didnt take a good self- assessment of your strengths and weaknesses, you would not survive. But we did survive, and prospered. The 150 existing corporate headquarters, which include AutoNation, DHL, Microsoft, Citrix Systems, Embraer and Kaplan Higher Education, provided the baseline for the initiative. Meanwhile, the Council began mapping out available parcels of land from the countys limited real estate, on which new corporate campuses could be built. We had to go for quality over quantity, Ronne says. This meant adding a fourth B to the existing pantheon of beaches, boats and bars: Business. Tourism is important, but it overshadows the business opportunities. Keeping Up With Progress As more and more corporate heavyweights have arrived which in the past year alone include mining and metals giant Nyrstar; stem cell product pioneer Stemtech International; and security systems protector Prolexic Technologiesthe areas infrastructure has been carefully coordinated to grow with it. Broward is now host to unprecedented infrastructure projects that include massive expansions of one of three international airports, new railways, enlarged seaports, and the largest interstate highway project in state history, so the companies can expand earth-, sea- and sky-ward. The long-awaited, $2.3 billion Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport expansion that wrapped up in September 2014 allows Broward County to remain competitive in the air as more companies flock to the area. The overhaul revamped dated service areas and now accommodates more passengers and jets, while preserving the airports reputation for convenience and affordability. Low-cost carriers including JetBlue, Southwest and Spirit have aggressively ramped up their flight offerings, while international carrier Norwegian Air Shuttle has flown in to add service between Florida and Europe, with nonstop flights between Fort Lauderdale and London established over the summer. Meanwhile, Port Everglades is deepening and widening its outer and inner entrance channel to accommodate bigger ships with heavier freight. As the nations leading gateway for trade with Latin America, Port Everglades handles approximately 14 percent of all Latin American trade in the U.S., and 42 percent of Floridas total trade in the region. Deeper channels are required to meet the needs of South Floridas growing consumer population, approximately 110 million residents and visitors per year within 500 miles. On land, the Florida East Coast Railway completed its $73 million, 43-acre Port Everglades Intermodal Container Transfer Facility this summer, while a massive project to expand Interstate595the most expensive road project in Florida history, at $1.79 billionwrapped up in March. The rail yard serves as an ideal point of entry and departure for products to ship around the world; the 351- mile freight rail system lacing Floridas east coast connects to the national railway system in Jacksonville and provides end-to-end intermodal solutions for businesses. The much needed interstate worka result of Floridas first public-private road dealmakes life more drivable for commuters. Featuring reversible express lanes, new entrance and exit ramps, and a safer, less confusing Florida Turnpike Interchange, the expansion eases congestion and, in an innovative touch, even allows drivers to pony up higher tolls for faster commutes. Thanks to yet another juxtaposition of public and private funding, the project wound up taking only five years to complete instead of 15 to 20 years as it would have, had it been approached traditionally. The CEO Councils winning formula of radical infrastructural improvements and practically turn-key recruitment strategies is proving a no-brainer to even dedicated Southern Californians like Ray C. Carter, Jr., President and CEO of the newly arrived Stemtech International. You have to do the right thing for your business, Carter says. Stemtechwasalreadypoisedforamovetokeepupwithitsburgeoning Special Advertising Section Ray C. Carter, Jr. President & CEO Stemtech September/October 2014 | the LEADER 45
- 3. multicultural workforce. Stemtech also sponsors non-profit projects around the world, making easy accessibility to international transportation and a solid base of operations where the company can grow, a must. Nyrstar, which chose Broward County over such diverse locations as Houston, Panama City, Panama and Lima, Peru, brought its new headquarters to downtown Fort Lauderdale, where it instated 25 high-salaried positions. Employing 7,000 people across five continents, Nyrstar manages mining operations in Canada, the U.S., Mexico, Honduras, Chili and Peru. Prolexic Technologies, which provides cloud-based security solutions for protecting electronic data, brought 118 new job opportunities when it chose to relocate and expand from Hollywood, Fla., to downtown Fort Lauderdale. It was crucial that we secured a larger, more efficient office facility to accommodate our rapid expansion and attract the highest quality employees, says ScottHammack, CEO of Prolexic. Were pleased to stay in Florida and bring new jobs to Fort Lauderdale. Not only is Broward County bringing in corporations from around the globe, but longstanding southern Florida companies are electing to remain, thereby enabling the area to retain its jobs as it sources others. American Express, a fixture in South Florida for 40 years, plans to break ground in early 2015 on a new regional headquarters 400,000-sq.-foot facilitywith expansion possibilities in the quickly growing East Broward County city of Sunrise, which will consolidate most of its 3,000 local employees. According to the Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance, American Express considered relocating to North Carolina or Arizona, but quickly decided to stay put after observing the leaps and bounds of the economic climate. The companys decision to stay will keep intact 5,000 jobs statewide. growththe company had already grown to 50 employees and projected to double its ranks. Then, in the fall of 2012, California passed a retroactive tax increase, which ratcheted California to the dubious position as the highest tax jurisdiction in the country, including New York. That, coupled with Californias fiftieth-place ranking in business friendliness, prompted Stemtechs senior management to realize there was no way to go but upor sideways, as it were. We all said, As long as we stay within the Sun Belt, were good, Carter says. Plus, we wanted to be in a place where we had a nice chance to be competitive with others. Initially, the relocation committee focused on Texas (Fort Worth) and Florida (Fort Lauderdale or Palm Beach), but Broward County just stood out, he says. They understood how to support business and appreciate new business coming in. They brought the whole package. From that first meeting, I knew. Fort Lauderdales primary competitors for site selection business are Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas/Fort Worth, New York, Boston, Chicago, New Jersey and Tampa. Yet most of these areas come with a high cost of living, and often-unbearable commutes. It is increasingly easy to see what Fort Lauderdale has that the other locations do not. Hiring For All Levels and Languages With all the corporate transfers comes the underpinning of any thriving society: jobs. Stemtech is interviewing and hiring every day, according to Carter. He notes that with a multi-level-management system, the company is virtually able to employ people anywhere in the world. But the headquarters plans to steadily build its in-office workforce. Carter adds the existing population of Broward County is a boon to business as well, given its diverse multilingual, Special Advertising Section American Express new Sunrise Florida regional headquarters campus rendering 46 the LEADER | September/October 2014
- 4. The CEO Council Initiatives efforts to re-brand Greater Fort Lauderdale as an international corporate headquarters mecca have been honored as one of only eight finalists for CoreNet Globals 2014 H. Bruce Russell Global Innovators Award (GIA). Founded in 2000, the GIA recognizes excellence and innovation in corporate real estate (CRE). It honors the game changers in the CRE professionentities whose work, ideas and best practices elevate the practice of corporate real estate. IthinkitwasarecognitionoftheAllianceintermsofthebranding, Ronne said of the nomination. The whole process there was getting privatesectorleadersCEOstoallcometothetableandsay,Were going to commit to a three-year minimum to contribute $50,000 per year. The CEO Council is composed of the senior business leaders in Greater Fort Lauderdale, including founding and current Chairman RayFerrero,Jr.ofNovaSoutheasternUniversity;WayneHuizenga of Huizenga Holdings, Inc.; Mike Jackson of AutoNation; and Colin Brown of JM Family Enterprises, to name just a few. Indeed, Huizenga, a Fort Lauderdale native and lifelong resident, exemplifies how successful one can be in the area even as one has weathered the ebbs and flows of public perception, a changing business landscape and national economics. Huizenga is the only person in the United States responsible for six companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and to have founded three Fortune 500 companies from scratch. He is known for his solid commitment to his community, serving on numerous humanitarian and neighborhood projects. He even brought baseball the Florida Marlins to South Florida in 1993. And it is Huizengas succinct words that quite likely stick to the minds of site selection representatives as they alight from one of Fort Lauderdales three international airports: Hey, its not what you make. Its what you keep. In Fort Lauderdale, Nova Southeastern University is building a 215,000-sq.ft-Center for Collaborative Research (CCR) and hiring at least 150 positions, including research faculty, technicians and lab assistants. The CCR will include over 60,000 square feet of wet labs, more than any building in Broward County. Meanwhile, Ultimate Software is weighing incentives to expand its Weston campus, which could add 400 new jobs. Broward Countys employment statistics speak directly to the CEO Councils projects success in building on a sturdy foundation. Today, the total number of jobs in Broward County is 1,008,462 compared to 878,000 in January of 2010, Ronne notes. Thats an increase of 129,662 jobs from the worst of the recession. The employment rate has dipped from an all-time high of 9.8 percent in January 2010, to an impressive 5.5 percent as of spring 2014. And it only stands to improve as the new headquarters roll in. And with a rapid influx of staffs and employees comes the inevitable need for more housing. The $1.5 billion, futuristically named Metropicapositioned as a city within a cityis projected to be nearly twice as big as Sunrises Sawgrass Mills. Construction could begin on Metropica, creating the cornerstone of Browards new Western Downtown, in early 2015, and boast more than 2,000 condominiums, 300 townhomes and extensive commercial space and office space for new headquarters. Raising Perception Broward Countys monumental strides have not gone unnoticed by other movers and shakers in the business world. By focusing on quality over quantity, as Ronne says, the Council also significantly raised the public perception of the area, which had been dismally low. Special Advertising Section Work progresses towards a September 2014 completion date on the Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airports $791 million South Runway Project designed to accommodate the largest jets and allow the airport to double its number of takeoffs & landings during peak hours September/October 2014 | the LEADER 47