Greater Fort Lauderdale is a pivotal regional economic hub fueled by innovation and collaboration. The second largest county in Florida by population, Broward County’s two million residents welcome a continued inbound migration of families and businesses, bringing wealth and talent driving the local economy forward. Broward’s GDP stands at about $162.9 billion in 2023, making it the second largest economy among Florida’s counties and placing it among the top 25 counties nationally by output. A team-approach to opportunities places the county on a future-focused path of shared prosperity.

Greater Fort Lauderdale is the epicenter of a “megaregion of the future” and a driver of future U.S. economic growth. With its growing population and rising economic output, Broward County is at the forefront of incredible business growth here in South Florida and on a national, and even global scale.

At this recent South Florida Business Journal roundtable held at the offices of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance, key business leaders from critical sectors gathered to discuss actionable strategies to sustain economic growth, ways to attract more talent, and important trends shaping the future of Broward County.

One of the county’s greatest attributes, beyond leadership, incentives, a talented workforce, and quality of life, is a commitment to collaboration among its county, city, business, civic and nonprofit leaders, said Bob Swindell, the panel’s moderator and President & CEO of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance. As the primary economic development organization for the county, the Alliance focuses on creating, attracting, expanding and retaining high-wage jobs and capital investment in high value targeted industries.

That collaborative spirit spans area employers, Swindell said. “People want to join a community that has a fabric of a shared future and opportunities.”

Growth across the county

One example of collaboration can be found in the City of Margate. When aerospace and defense industry metal manufacturer ATI announced the commissioning of its new additive manufacturing products facility there, they found engaged city leadership committed to helping the company succeed, said Cale Curtis, Margate’s City Manager. From permitting and relationship building, to identifying suitable housing for employees at ATI’s 130,000-square-foot center, city and county leaders helped meet tight deadlines, Curtis said.

Florida, and Broward County in particular, competed with Texas and other markets to hand the company, Swindell said. The partnerships with city, county, the Alliance, even energy utility Florida Power & Light, delivered what ATI needed, he said.

Employers also find access to skilled talent, and the training needed to further elevate those skills. The county is no different than any other employer. It consistently emphasizes workforce development as it seeks to train or hire new talent for what are 65 distinct lines of business, from accounting to HR, doctors, nurses, therapists, even those at its animal care facilities, said Monica Cepero, County Administrator for Broward County.

Employers must be committed to investing in high-level, skills-based education, training and professional development programs, especially for the county’s diverse and multilingual population. This includes partnerships between healthcare institutions, academic organizations and local governments to create pipelines for high-demand roles—particularly in healthcare, tech and skilled trades. Amazon, for example, partners with Broward College to help prepay their employees’ costs to earn certificates in any field.

“Emphasizing apprenticeships, bilingual education and upskilling initiatives will help us harness the full potential of Broward’s diverse talent pool,” said Pierre Monice, the President & CEO of Holy Cross Health Fort Lauderdale. “This helps ensure the workforce keeps pace with industry demands.”

Today’s tech, tomorrow’s jobs

Technology developers, innovators, and especially employers across Broward County are immersed in the IT revolution. Nowhere is this more the case than with data science and artificial intelligence. Departments across every business and nonprofit are deploying AI for marketing, analysis, financials, even employment purposes.

At Amazon, they don’t look at AI as an emerging, separate subset of IT. It’s simply another tech application to be utilized and maximized for various uses, said Brian Huseman, the company’s Vice President of Public Policy and Community Engagement. Current employees and job candidates - and the companies they work for - who learn AI today will help secure their careers of tomorrow. Again, collaboration will advance this shared mission.

“These will be essential functions of any job,” he said. “We are all talking about learning from one another. We’re all at that stage where we’re all in this together.”

At BankUnited, AI is integrated into various tools, such as Salesforce, to improve data analysis and insights, said Brian Clay, the bank’s Executive Vice President of Commercial Banking. City planners and inspectors, as well as developers, are using it for site planning, review and inspections, especially to ensure projects comply with city, county and state building code, Curtis said. It still requires quality control oversight to ensure no errors creep in. But the message is clear: AI is mastering tasks once performed by people. “It’s getting to the point where it’s the click of a button,” he said.

Broward transportation is using AI to model bus routes, stops and schedules based on passenger usage. This can be especially helpful when connecting passengers from the county’s western regions to their hospitality jobs closer to the beach, especially for those who work two or more jobs.

AI is helping developers plan the county’s future growth based on current needs. This also includes supplies and supply chain. At Miller Construction, integrating AI into their software allows them to tap data from all existing projects and alter orders or materials based on needs or pricing, said Traci Miller, the firm’s Senior VP of Corporate Communications.

Deep investments for tomorrow

Across the county, business and civic leaders aren’t resting on yesterday’s successes. They’re investing in tomorrow for all its residents. This is critical as communities nationwide face spiraling costs of living, especially related to housing. Since 2018, the county has invested $154 million as part of its affordable housing plan to build 4,300 affordable housing units.

Countywide, public private partnerships are increasingly incorporating a fourth “P” - philanthropy - to elevate delivery of services. United Way Broward invested over $10 million from a $20 million unrestricted gift from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott for housing for veterans and others in need.

Like other cities, the Affordable Housing Board for the city of Sunrise is looking at properties that it can make available for development, including Habitat for Humanity, Miller said. As a county whose future development is stymied by the Atlantic Ocean on one side the the Florida Everglades on the other with Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties to the north and south, models have to change, Swindell said. Habitat is building more multifamily and townhome properties.

Cities and counties are evaluating policies and permitting to facilitate solutions, said Kathleen Cannon, President and CEO of United Way Broward. Collaboratively creating an effective “safety net” helps people throughout the county find housing affordability and the services they need, Cannon said. This is alluring to executives in every sector hoping to move or grow their companies here, she said.

“It’s a selling point for Broward,” she said. “We solve the problems together by figuring out what communities are not thriving and putting solutions in place to help. We don’t want to leave folks behind.”

Collaboration is happening countywide. To boost the vital tourism sector, county leaders worked with hoteliers and tourism businesses, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Port Everglades, and the county’s transportation department to advance the county’s convention center and hotel project from vision to completion. This approach allowed the project to be viewed strategically under the guidance of county leadership with the authority over the ports and convention center, Cepero said.

“You don’t have to look to another authority,” she said. “That makes it easier to get these transformational projects done.”

In Broward, it’s a full-court press. Bankers here have a significant “ripple effect” across other industries, acting as a catalyst for growth and stability. As a capital provider, banks help companies grow and create jobs, said Clay with BankUnited.

“A robust financial sector can contribute to public and private investment in infrastructure, such as transportation and amenities, which are essential for overall economic development,” he said. “It creates a positive feedback loop, supporting small businesses, attracting investment, driving innovation, and ultimately contributing to the county’s overall economic prosperity and growth across multiple industries.”

Healthcare, another core industry in Broward County, plays a significant impact on other industries as the sector “drives demand in construction, technology, education and hospitality,” said Monice. Ongoing expansions at healthcare systems like Holy Cross Health has led to new jobs, increased demand for housing, and partnerships with local and national firms to improve patient care and contribute to a healthy population – which is essential to a productive workforce, he said.

Looking outward for growth

As the world’s eyes look to Florida for opportunity, they gaze south and find an able partner in Broward County, where infrastructure is growing to meet expected demand. Broward’s strategic location offers unparalleled access to global markets. Leaders are continuing to invest in ports, airports and cultural institutions to attract international trade and tourism.

Broward County has citizens from 170 countries; almost 150 languages are spoken here, making it among the most diverse counties in the U.S. Broward’s multiculturalism must be a selling point, Cannon said. It draws employers from across the U.S. and around the world. “Our diversity should be a popular way of attracting people to Broward. “We shouldn’t shy from it.”

Such diversity speaks to the county’s innovative spirit. Entrepreneurs are exploring solutions to global problems and opportunities, from climate monitoring technology, to the latest in health care.

Training the workforce to apply those solutions has become a key strength as well. From the A-rated Broward Schools, to nationally recognized private and parochial schools, to higher education institutions Broward College, Nova Southeastern University and Florida Atlantic University, among others across the region, training tomorrow’s workers is front of mind.

“Workforce is a strength, followed closely by innovative entrepreneurship,” said Huseman with Amazon. “That spirit of entrepreneurship in Broward County allows the businesses and individuals to grow their businesses here and around the world.”

Leaders are recruiting companies that want a foothold in the U.S., Swindell said. The culture here is amenity rich, with mentors, partners, and incubators and accelerators. This includes the Alan B. Levan NSU Broward Center of Innovation and a host of other entrepreneur-focused services.

On the broader level, Alliance’s Six Pillars community-driven initiative is aimed at creating a shared vision and action plan that will guide Broward County’s economic and community success. Those pillars - talent supply and education; innovation and economic development; infrastructure and growth leadership; business climate and competitiveness; civic and governance systems; and quality of life and quality places - will ensure long-term, county-wide prosperity.

“Collaboration like this doesn’t happen by accident,” Cepero said. “This community designed it that way. It’s an embedded culture to bring people together to do it together.’

 

 

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