Project will be located along I-95, south of Fort Lauderdale

An illustration shows proposed office towers along I-95 at the Oakwood Plaza South redevelopment project in Hollywood by Kimco Realty Corp. courtesy

BY DAVID LYONS SOUTH FLORIDA SUN SENTINEL

An upscale campus of four office towers is in the planning stages in Hollywood - and it's being pitched as a project that could put the city on the map as a destination for major companies in search of new homes.

CentrePointe Offices at Oakwood is part of a major redevelopment by Kimco Realty Corp., which aims to recast Oakland Plaza South into a new enclave filled with retail shops. hotels, restaurants and apartments. The office portion would contain a million square feet in four buildings that are 10 to 12 stories high.

All of it is located along the eastern edge of I-95 south of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, and slightly south of the expansive Dania Pointe commercial center, also built by Kimco.

Ken Krasnow, vice chairman of Colliers Florida, the real estate services firm retained to find tenants for the CentrePointe buildings. said the project is akin to what Hines, the international real estate firm, has in mind for its seven-story T3 (Timber, Transit and Technology) office building project in Fort Lauderdale's FAT Village section.

The developers believe the proximity of that building to the city's art-centric environment, shopping, restaurants and related attractions would help draw tenants from creative industries such as technology, advertising, media, information and biotechnology and life sciences.

The same action could be generated by CentrePointe, Krasnow said, because of its proximity to the  retail, entertainment, residential and hotel components of Dania Pointe, the commercial enclave developed by Kimco slightly to the north in Dania Beach.

CentrePointe is still in the planning and approval stage with the city of Hollywood. But Krasnow expects that once the project is completed, passers-by are "going to be seeing some pretty impressive [company] logos" on the sides of the buildings - namely those of "top brand" technology, financial services and health care firms.

Leg up for recruitment

For economic development promoters, and elected officials hoping to add jobs and fresh tax dollars to their towns and cities, top flight office space is one of the golden keys to successful recruiting of companies that want to relocate or expand their operations.

Hollywood Mayor Josh Levy said Tuesday a project like CentrePointe will help answer an automatic question raised by many companies on the relocation trail: "What is your available space?"

"So when we have a forward-looking landowner, like Kimco, who joined us in creating a new master plan for new space in one of the largest parcels along I-95 in Broward County, that is key for our recruiting efforts and potential job growth for our city," Levy said in an email message.

New space, he said, "is critically needed to attract new office users," as more businesses sign up to locate in the city.

Levy said the city's "number one area for office growth is downtown Hollywood,  where a new project is rising on Tyler Street." More new office space is planned, he added, "for the mixed use projects around Young Circle and U.S. 1."

"Hollywood has a lot of existing commercial and industrial space properties in the vicinity of State Road 7, Dixie Highway, Pembroke Road and on the other side of I-95 from Oakwood Plaza, which includes our newly rebranded South Florida Design and Commerce Center," he said. "These areas also have a lot of promise for the redevelopment or repurposing of older buildings to make way for new businesses and industries."

But Oakwood Plaza, he said, "has the potential to be a huge highlight for new, modern space in a master planned area, whereas the other corridors have to undergo redevelopment one property and assemblage at a time."

A chance to work near home

The proximity of work to home is another factor that companies consider in their relocation decisions, a trend reflected in the growing presence of residential and office projects being built near each other in the downtowns and suburbs of Broward County.

Krasnow of Colliers Florida said there is a growing demand among people to live in new and existing apartment complexes in the area, which is also close to the Tri-Rail commuter station in Hollywood.

David Coddington, senior vice president of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance, the economic development arm of Broward County, noted there is a number of new office developments sprouting around the county that are close to residential projects in Pembroke Pines, Miramar, Coral Springs, Sunrise and downtown Fort Lauderdale.

"The bigger story is the overall inventory around the county," he said. "Certainly you have this one [Oakwood Plaza South], which is great."

But the office projects rising around Broward are offering companies a variety of choices that allow them to pick locations within convenient distances of where their employees live.

 

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