Southeast Florida's economic forecast for 2024

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What’s in Store for 2024

MARINE

Katie Hagan
COO/Co-founder, FHG Marine Engineering, Fort Lauderdale

“FHG is a service maintenance company specializing in diesel engines for the superyacht industry, commercial shipping industry and government. We basically do inboard engine overhauls. We’ve built the company as a concierge complete engine service. It’s the most expensive piece of equipment on board and the biggest liability. We do wastewater treatment systems, electrical, hydraulic, generators. A lot of it is supporting OEMs.

It’s been a really strong year. We’re pretty booked out in terms of big, overhaul projects. Our goal is to continue to grow into the commercial shipping sector and continue to grow into the government sector — U.S. Coast Guard vessels and U.S. Navy. Our team is now 12. We’re actively hiring. Growth is constrained by having enough hands on deck. We’re looking for engineers and technicians. The talent is always the struggle for every shipyard in town. It’s really complicated work and it’s very specialized.”

Pier Sixty-Six Revival

The completion of the redevelopment of the iconic Pier Sixty-Six hotel in Fort Lauderdale will provide a read on the health of the Fort Lauderdale lodging market and of high-end new condo sales. Tavistock Development this year opens its renovated and expanded Pier Sixty-Six, adding 92 condos over three buildings, starting at $3.86 million each, to the hotel’s 325 rooms on the Intracoastal. The $1-billion, 32-acre project began in 2021. The hotel was built in the late 1960s on the site of a Phillips 66 fueling dock. The marina has remained open during construction and annually hosts the Superyacht Village at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show.

TOURISM

Milton Segarra
President, CEO, Discover The Palm Beaches county tourism marketing organization

“We feel very optimistic about the 2024 outlook. In terms of visitation, we should see a 3% to 5% increase in total visitors. The last number was 9.2 million visitors. We have, as the destination, renovated product and new product, which is great … We have a strong brand awareness in our main (feeder) markets. We’re one of the stronger destinations in South Florida. When you get to 9 million, 10 million visitors a year, it’s a testimony to how diverse the product is.”

REAL ESTATE

Anthony Scavo
President, COO, Basis Industrial, Boca Raton

FORECAST: “In 2024, I believe all areas in Florida will continue to experience growth. Rent in Broward and Palm Beach counties will continue to grow, further increasing growth outside those two counties.”

TRENDS: “I believe the use of prefabricated materials and components will grow. Skilled workers will continue to demand higher wages due to inflation. Supply chain issues for certain products will also continue as global demand remains strong.”

CHALLENGES: “Raising capital can always be tricky. It does get more difficult in the current environment.”

OPPORTUNITIES: “I think there will be a lot of opportunities in 2024 as property owners adapt to the new interest rate environment ... The challenges are going to be navigating this new environment, including the new realities of the debt markets.”

West Palm’s Nora District

A plan to re-shape the neighborhood along North Railroad Avenue in West Palm Beach is taking shape. Developers NDT Development of West Palm, Place Projects of Miami and Wheelock Street Capital say that by year-end, the first phase of 25 ground-floor retail spaces will be available for the hospitality and fitness portion of the “Nora” downtown destination. Already announced: New-to-the-market New York’s H&H Bagels, Boston’s Loco Taqueria & Oyster Bar and Van Leeuwen Ice Cream. BD Hotels and hotelier Sean MacPherson also plan a 201-key hotel.

• HOMEBUILDING

Marcie DePlaza
COO, GL Homes, Sunrise

FORECAST: “We feel confident that 2024 will be another great year … We are opening new communities in Boca Raton, Naples, Port St. Lucie and Tampa in 2024. All of these markets are extremely exciting. The housing demand in these areas, especially in the 55-and-older buyer segment, continues to remain very strong.”

WORKFORCE: “Skilled labor in construction is not always available and can sometimes be one of our biggest challenges. The corporate positions have become a bit easier to fill, but the field positions remain very competitive.”

CHALLENGES: “Rising interest rates keep me up at night. Higher rates are never good for the real estate market. Up to (November), it has not affected our sales, so hopefully it stays that way.”

• FINANCIAL

Louise Armour
Wealth Partner, J.P. Morgan Wealth Management, Palm Beach Gardens

“Should we have a soft landing, equity returns should be reasonable, especially as AI brings significant opportunities in productivity and cost savings over the near and long term. From here, both parts of the traditional 60/40 portfolios are poised to continue to do their jobs for investors.”

Offices Rising

Amid an office market in flux nationally and locally, Stephen Ross’ New York-based Related Cos. this year builds its 24-story East and 22-story West office towers in West Palm Beach, a bet that the shift of people and business to Florida will stay strong enough to fill the 1-million-sq.-ft. project scheduled for completion in 2026. Related already has a separate office project, the 25-story One Flagler, under way.

East Tower, which Related says will be the largest office building in West Palm Beach at 485,000 square feet of offices and 20,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, is designed by Arquitectonica. West Tower, designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox, totals 480,000 square feet. Related in West Palm Beach dominates the office market with its 360 Rosemary, CityPlace Tower, Esperante and Phillips Point downtown. It also has its retail center, The Square, and the Hilton West Palm Beach.

Business Briefs

BROWARD COUNTY

• Disney opened its new terminal at Port Everglades, the Broward County seaport from which it will homeport its Disney Dream this year. Broward County Stadium serves this year as one of the three U.S. sites for the 2024 Cricket World Cup.
• Miami-based Related Group, partnering with Italian automotive design firm Pininfarina, launched sales of what it says is the first condo project on Las Olas Boulevard in nearly 20 years, its Andare Residences by Pininfarina, a 540-foot high, 45-story tower with 163 units starting at $1.6 million for a two-bedroom unit.
• Developer Newrock Partners opened its 274-unit, 11-story Oaklyn apartment project in Oakland Park near Fort Lauderdale.
• OceanLand Investments, founded by Jean Francois Roy and run with his son, Marc-Andre Roy, adds to the 3,000 units it’s developed over the decades in South Florida as it takes vertical Sixth&Rio, a 100-unit luxury condo on the New River in downtown Fort Lauderdale.

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY

• Indian River County’s history in delivering grapefruit and oranges continues to be superseded by a bumper crop of apartment units. The Griffon and Mason, two market-rate rental unit projects totaling 472 units along SR 60, wrapped near year-end 2023. This quarter should see two multifamily developments totaling 432 units break ground, according to the county planning department. The state transportation department, meanwhile, began work on an Interstate 95 interchange at Oslo Road that will open up the south county for light industrial and distribution centers. Last year, the city of Sebastian annexed 2,000 acres of one-time citrus land that could someday hold 10,000 homes. Joe Earman, chair of the county Board of Commissioners, says more young people are moving to the county and newcomers come from as far as California in addition to the traditional feeder market of southeast Florida. “I think we’re growing at a fairly good pace,” Earman says. “We just have to make sure we have the infrastructure.”

MARTIN COUNTY

• Legendary builder and developer Otto “Buzz” DiVosta this year will continue to nudge through the approval process his plan to build 4,000 homes on 2,700 acres in notoriously growth-shy Martin County. Representatives of DiVosta say his plan for Storie has been re-envisioned to address county resident concerns and will be environmentally sustainable, sensitive to the community and include preservation areas, 25 miles of walking and biking trails, parks and a school. A 57-acre lake will help filter 500 million gallons of water per day.

OKEECHOBEE COUNTY

• In a sign of a changing county, rural Okeechobee has approved a zoning change enabling Miami-based Say FL Group’s plan to develop over the next decade Davina Springs, a 1,000-acre, 4,300-residence project that would include 2 million square feet of commercial space and a resort and convention center north of the city of Okeechobee. Developer consultant Josh Schmuckler of engineering firm Newlines Land Consultants says planning and engineering work alone probably will take three years with groundbreaking thereafter.

PALM BEACH COUNTY

• Forest Development and Royal Palm Companies are in the final phases of construction of Nautilus 220, a luxury development of two, 24-story towers, waterfront restaurants including SeaHawk Prime by celebrity chef David Burke (his first venture in Florida), retail and office suites alongside a marina in Lake Park in north Palm Beach County. The $180-million development is expected to increase Lake Park’s town budget of about $12 million by an additional $2 million in property taxes each year. Developers also paid $1.8 million toward public improvements to benefit nearby residents. While nearly sold out, residences ranged from $1.6 million to $4 million.
• The YMCA of the Palm Beaches broke ground on a $46-million expansion of its flagship branch on Lake Lytal Park off Southern Boulevard adjacent to the county’s future aquatic facility. The 55,000-sq.- ft. community center project, a partnership with the Palm Beach County Parks & Recreation department, received $1.25 million in funding from the Legislature. The site is on land leased from the county. Port 32 Marinas, which owns several Florida boatyards and marinas, received approval from Palm Beach Gardens to add 57 dry slips at the PGA Marina as it builds three new boat storage buildings totaling 451 dry slips and 20 wet slips to replace the old marina facilities. Juno Beach-based NextEra Energy says its Florida Power & Light subsidiary is selling Florida City Gas, which has 120,000 natural gas customers in South and Central Florida, to Chesapeake Utilities for $923 million.

ST. LUCIE COUNTY

• Audubon Development plans this year to make progress constructing its King’s Landing development — which will include retail, a 140-room hotel, 116 apartments and 106 condos — on the former site of the H.D. King Power Plant in Fort Pierce. Audubon says 10 villas, starting at $1.5 million, which will be on a small parcel across Moore’s Creek from the main King’s Landing site, will go vertical this year and be completed in 18 months. At the main site, 2024 will be devoted to infrastructure and foundation work with the project going vertical in 2025.
• Indian River State College opened its 60,000-sq.-ft. Eastman Advanced Workforce Training Complex in Fort Pierce. The complex — named for inventor and entrepreneur Richard H. Eastman and his family who donated $2 million to the school — will provide training in advanced and additive manufacturing, robotics and smart automation, automotive, aviation and marine tech, welding, heating, ventilation and air conditioning.

Airport Expansion

Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport broke ground on its first new terminal in decades. Construction of the $404-million, five-gate, 230,000-sq.-ft. Terminal 5 will be managed by New York-based JetBlue Airways on behalf of Broward County. The project will be funded by airport bonds, Florida transportation department grants and passenger charges. Completion is expected in mid-2026. Other airport projects will also add gates. JetBlue is seeking federal approval to acquire locally based Spirit Airlines.

Tags: Economic Outlook, Feature