Fort Lauderdale is Booming | This is What the City Will Look Like in 2030

The Bright Future of Fort Lauderdale and its real estate.

Several months ago we reported about Fort Lauderdale’s allure to luxury buyers which is leading to a new era for the luxury condo market. But Fort Lauderdale’s growth doesn’t stop there. Last week, Forbes reported that Fort Lauderdale will experience unprecedented growth over the next decade and the numbers are not lying!

Source DDA: Fort Lauderdale in 2030

Growing Fort Lauderdale in a Sustainable Way

Just like Miami, Fort Lauderdale has made the necessary efforts and investments to distance itself as uniquely a tourist destination and these ongoing efforts are now finally paying of. According to Jenni Morejon, president of the Fort Lauderdale Downtown Development Authority (DDA),  the thriving Fort Lauderdale economy is attracting high-profile businesses, an emerging talent pool and significant investment in infrastructure. As our Fort Lauderdale expert Elaine Tatum mentioned back in June, Fort Lauderdale is changing rapidly. Not only are we experiencing a boom in brand new luxury condos, the City Commission is also investing in improvement projects, earmarking $200 million to create more parks and greenways. All of this helps in creating sustainable growth and to put us on the map with luxury buyers from around the country and the globe. It is all about sustainable growth and the city has not just focused on attracting new residents, but also giving them a reason to stay here.

Focusing their efforts on entrepreneurs and developers, Elon Musk’s venture The Boring Company has examined the idea of building an underground transit system linking Downtown Fort Lauderdale to the beach, Hines and Urban Street Development are planning a seven-story, 180,000-square-foot T3 creative office project in the city’s FAT Village enclave and the OKO Group nabbed three full blocks of downtown real estate for $63 million. Last year, Related Group doled out $8 million for a developable parcel on Downtown Fort Lauderdale’s Las Olas Boulevard. And earlier this year, the Kushner Companies won approval to push forward on a 1,300-unit, four-tower development across the street from Brightline’s Fort Lauderdale station. Another significant project is Society Las Olas, developed by PMG. The 34-story apartment building on the Fort Lauderdale riverfront features an array of unit sizes, as well as rent-by-bedroom co-living options.

Projected Growth Numbers

The proximity to beaches, waterfront living, arts, culture, nightlife and burgeoning central neighborhoods has led to a ballooning downtown population that has grown by 41% over the past 10 years with a 33% surge in finance jobs, 16% increase in professional service jobs and 10% hike in tech jobs (between 2018 and 2020). The last 10 years have also brought a 43% gain in the age 25-to-44 population, and the past 20 years have delivered a doubling of downtown residents with a bachelor’s degree or higher. This is an important development in order to sustain high-wage industries.

The pandemic has accelerated many powerful trends that will cement Fort Lauderdale as a destination for top talent over the next decade. We see finance and tech talent migrate from cities or states like New York, Connecticut, California and Chicago to Fort Lauderdale. Since these days they can work from anywhere in the US, they are looking for quality of life. These relocation buyers are mostly looking for entertainment options, business opportunity and walkability. Fort Lauderdale is now catering to these new residents with new emerging tourists destinations to complement Fort Lauderdale Beach, up and coming new neighborhoods offering a mix of restaurants, entertainment options and public art as well as bold public-private partnerships creating new cultural and recreation attractions for residents.  According to the DDA’s 2030 outlook the city will need to create 20 new urban core developments featuring 13,000 new residential units, 600,000 square feet of shopping and dining, 1.1 million square feet of office space and 1,000 new hotel rooms to come on line in the next 10 years. This is on top of the already massive construction already underway as of 2020. To provide a reference point, in 2015 17,164 square feet of commercial space was under development in Downtown Fort Lauderdale. Five years later, the total reached 356,948 square feet. That represents a nearly 2,000% increase in commercial square footage.