Outside the radius of this one-mile redevelopment initiative, for instance, a diverse group of companies have recently found suitable commercial space on Hollywood Boulevard along a few miles between Interstate I-95 and one of the thoroughfare's two major traffic circles--the one commonly called City Hall Circle.

New commercial tenants include Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.; Visual Fire Inc., a division of Miami-based Broadcast Video Inc., one of Florida's largest post-production facilities; and TeleSource Cos., a growing Miami Beach-based developer of telecommunications facilities.

Then there are the increasing numbers of professionals such as architects and attorneys who are also finding accommodations along this stretch of roadway, Stuart L. Litvin, president of the Hollywood Business Council, tells GlobeSt.com.

"Companies are seeing that the city keeps reinvesting in itself," Litvin says. "Instead of just giving cash incentives away all the time like some other communities, the city is investing in the infrastructure that makes the environment in front and around these properties more conducive not only as place to do business but to improve the quality of life for the whole area."

The effort has taken time and several million dollars in tax-backed investments, Hollywood Mayor Mara Giulianti, tells GlobeSt.com. "We're seeing a return of $9 to $10 for each dollar we've invested," Giulianti says. "We knew that redevelopment is a slow process. The fact it's starting to happen is just because we stayed the course."

Companies throughout Hollywood Boulevard are finding long-dormant space in a section of the community that consisted mostly of small retail or mom-and-pop shops. Asking rents now average about $12 per sf, according to market observers.

The Miami-based cruise line negotiated a long-term contract for a vacant, 18,000-sf grocery store with plans to turn the site into a 68,000-sf staging center for the company's onboard entertainers. TeleSource found a 17,500-sf building just off Hollywood Boulevard vacated by Florida Power & Light. The division of Broadcast Video took over space on the boulevard in a building the Jewish Federation vacated.

Much of the success is attributed to redevelopment initiatives in the one-mile radius around Young Circle, the city's second traffic circle east of City Hall Circle.Private investment in a new 18,000-sf mixed-use retail residential project on Young Circle had a positive influence on the city's demographics. Young, affluent families are also now discovering somewhat affordable but older single family homes in the eastern section of the city.

Such a change in the city's demographics played a key role in the decision by Publix to rehabilitate an older supermarket east of Young Circle, Terry Salzman, director of commercial brokerage in the Fort Lauderdale offices of Cushman & Wakefield of Florida Inc., tells GlobeSt.com. He senses such positive growth in East Hollywood could spill over into other sections of the city.

"We seen an uptick in rents over the last 12 to 18 months," Salzman says. "That's all indicative of the city's work on Young Circle and the redevelopment activity along Hollywood Boulevard. We're seeing both private and public city investments and its increasing value especially in East Hollywood."

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