Kevin Mays, BTI Partners' director of development and construction

MIAMI—Is there a growing connection between South Florida and Central Florida on the commercial real estate front? Kevin Mays, BTI Partners' director of development and construction, thinks so.

“Absolutely,” Mays tells GlobeSt.com. “BTI has been developing in South Florida for over 50 years so we have seen the market mature to a point where we had to start looking outside the region to find opportunistic and value-add real estate investments on behalf of BTI principals, high-net worth individuals and institutional partners.”

Mays points to real estate companies like Related Group, Lennar Homes, Kolter Group and American Land Ventures as other examples of this northward migration trend. Many real estate developers, he says, are betting on Central Florida because that's where job and population growth is gaining momentum.

“It is common sense,” Mays says. “As South Florida values rise, many of us have to expand to Central Florida to continue to grow.”

It seems foreign investors are following suit. Mays reports foreign investors from Latin America and China and residential brokers based in Miami. His firm is increasingly selling condo hotel suites at The Grove Resort & Spa near Walt Disney World in Orlando to foreign investors who are priced out of the South Florida market.

“We are often hosting tours of The Grove to South Florida brokers who want to bring this investment opportunity to their foreign clients,” Mays says. “Brokers tell us they have plenty of investors willing to buy an investment property in Miami but they can't afford the new condos, in part, because of the strong dollar. As a result, Miami brokers are driving north to find luxury inventory for their clients at more affordable prices.”

Case in point: BTI launched sales of The Grove late last year and has sold 60% of the units to foreign buyers. The first building sold out a lot faster than we had anticipated and we just lunched sales of phase two. The Grove opened in April with 184 of its 878 condo hotel suites, as the multi-building resort will be opening in phases.

“It is common sense,” Mays says. “As South Florida values rise, many of us have to expand to Central Florida to continue to grow.”

Instant Insights /

The Growing South-Central Florida CRE Connection

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