Financial Firms Migrate to Miami Beach's Small Offices
These firms are gobbling up small offices as they open up shop.
MIAMI—Miami Beach is seeing a wave of interest in small office space from financial firms and family offices heading south from New York and other areas in the northeast. JLL reports that the office market is seeing strong demand as companies come south for a better tax climate.
“It’s been sort of plus or minus six months in the making,” Steve Hurwitz, managing director for JLL in Florida, tells GlobeSt.com. “When Carl Icahn and others announced they were opening small offices here, it created a little bit of a buzz. People are moving from the Northeast and last we gave a tour for some folks from San Francisco, but it’s been people from New York, historically.”
Generally, Hurwitz says, the companies have been smaller financial services firms such as hedge funds and private equity companies.
“There are a lot of high net worth individuals moving their companies down here,” Hurwitz says. “I think it will continue beyond 2020. We are just seeing the very tip of the iceberg.
But why Miami Beach in particular?
“We have always been fun in the sun with people having second homes here and the great weather and that kind of thing,” Hurwitz says. “As the area has evolved with arts and culture, people are not just coming to recreate. More hotels and high-end residential are being developed.”
Hurwitz says most companies are looking for small to medium sized office space, usually under 5,000 square feet.
“Because of their relatively small size, they come with a shorter time frame and are looking for things ready to go,” Hurwitz says. “It’s exciting. We see a lot of companies touring in the market where we used to be more of a rob Peter to pay Paul office market. There is a more sophisticated landscape here that makes us less vulnerable to downturns.”