Stiles RE plans to develop in Downtown Fort Lauderdale

Downtown Fort Lauderdale is heating up with more and more development brewing. Recently, the Stiles Real Estate firm is moving forward with their plans for more residential units, retail and a 25 – story tower of office space.

Stiles has recently met with the city’s Development Review Committee to discuss their plans specifically for 348 apartments along with over 25,000 square feet of retail space at 212 SE Second Avenue. It was shared that they had paid over $13million for the Bank of America building located on site. They also have been pre-leasing an office building nearby on Las Olas Blvd which was part of a deal with Broward College in efforts to replace its two older buildings.

Details of the proposed development include nearly 400,000 square feet in the office tower which would be slated to open in fall of 2020 including 17,000 square feet of ground floor retail. This office building would be the largest in downtown Fort Lauderdale since 200 Las Olas Circle, also built by Stiles.

Over the past decade there was a void of office space development due to the changing economy, however, with a revitalization of Fort Lauderdale’s downtown and improving markets the demand is on the rise.

Terry Stiles, Chairman had said earlier this year that the office building would help revitalize the area “by bringing new and exciting entertainment and dining options to the ground level as well as open venues for gathering.”

This certainly helps with the city’s overall plan to make downtown a “live-work-play” destination and having it all in a walking distance is key shared Barry Wolfe, VP of investments for Marcus & Millichap. “To be living downtown and still having to drive everywhere, it becomes more challenging,” Wolfe said.

Stiles has reportedly built more than 4 million square feet on or near Las Olas Blvd. These projects include Bank of America Plaza at Las Olas City Centre, Plaza at Las Olas and Amaray Las Olas.