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Business Florida 2013 - The Regions
Southeast Florida
Fort Lauderdale, Jupiter, Key West, Miami, Palm Beach, Port St. Lucie
QUALITY OF LIFE
Arts reign
Miami’s Design District comprises 18 square blocks of warehouses converted into design showrooms, cafes and art galleries. In Davie, Young at Art Children’s Museum, a longtime favorite of Broward County parents, has opened in a new, 55,000-sq.-ft. facility. In Fort Pierce, the A.E. Backus Museum & Gallery showcases the works of its namesake and other landscape artists, including the Florida Highwaymen, 26 African-Americans who traveled the state painting and selling their Florida scenes.
Shop ‘til you drop
Whether bargain basement or high-end designer, Southeast Florida has the right retail fashion venue. Broward County’s Sawgrass Mills Mall — the nation’s largest outlet mall and a top tourist destination — is adding 180,000 square feet of retail space. Bal Harbour Shops, the 16-acre, two-story luxury shopping mall in North Miami Beach, features the likes of Neiman Marcus, Prada and Chanel.
Education worth celebrating
This region’s 15 colleges and universities include Nova Southeastern University, 7th largest nonprofit private university in the U.S. and home to America’s largest coral reef research center, and Florida Atlantic University, marking its 50th anniversary in 2012 with a new football stadium and a new medical school. Indian River State College, known for its career development curriculum, features the Center for Ocean Science Education Excellence (COSEE) and Laser Technology, Photonics & Optics Institute. Public schools here are boast-worthy, too. In 2011, Miami-Dade — the nation’s 4th largest public school district — was among four finalists for the Broad Prize for Urban Education, which honors urban school district improvements.
NOTABLE ADDITIONS/EXPANSIONS
Latin American access
Electronic manufacturing/technology company Emerson Electric is consolidating operations and relocating its regional headquarters at a single site in Sunrise to take advantage of Southeast Florida’s proximity to Latin America. Other companies relocating to improve their Latin American access:
• Motorcycle giant Harley-Davidson Inc. is moving its Latin America operations out of Milwaukee to create a permanent Latin American HQ in Miami.
• SAB Miller, the company behind Miller, Coors Light and Corona beers, will move its Latin American HQ out of Bogotá, Colombia, and into Miami.
