Downtown Fort Lauderdale is about to get a new outfit.
Uniforms Direct has agreed to move its corporate headquarters to Tower 101, marking the largest office lease in the city’s central business district so far this year, JLL announced on Monday.
The company, a provider of uniforms and scrubs, will move from Plantation to occupy 52,683 square feet 101 Northeast 3rd Avenue, becoming the tower’s largest tenant.
JLL’s Senior Vice President Alice Lucia Jackson and Vice President Brady Titcomb represented the property’s owner, Banyan Street Capital, in the lease transaction. Banyan Street Capital acquired the two-building office complex in 2012. Sabadell United Bank provided a $20.9 million loan to Banyan for the acquisition. Renovations were completed last year.
Uniforms Direct was advised by Matthew Cheezem and Zach Wendelin of Cresa.
At the 21-story office tower, Uniforms Direct will have up to 200 employees, occupying the penthouse level, the 20th floor and half of the 19th and 16th floors. The company is expected to move into the space in the first quarter of next year. Existing tenants at Tower 101 include Kemet Corp., Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau, the City of Fort Lauderdale and Advantage Opco, LLC.
Tower 101 includes a 177,000-square-foot office tower and a 50,000-square-foot six-story buiding. In the past 12 months, JLL said its team has completed more than 15 leases there totaling 112,000 square feet, raising its occupancy rate from 79 percent to 93 percent.
“We continue to see a market shift as tenants relocate from the suburbs to downtown Fort Lauderdale. The relocation of Uniforms Direct’s headquarters will have a positive impact on downtown’s vacancy rate, set to drop to 12.7 percent,” Titcomb said in a statement. “One of the factors drawing tenants to Fort Lauderdale’s urban core is the live-work-play environment taking shape, making it more attractive for tenants and adding amenities like cafes and restaurants.” — Ina Cordle