The real estate industry has been touting South Florida’s office market as a magnet for out-of-state financial and tech firms.
Even as vacancies topped 10 percent in the third quarter of this year, landlords opted to raise rents in a bet on these companies leasing up space, according to a Colliers report.
Yet, the biggest lease this year came from neither a financial nor tech firm. Pet products online retailer Chewy, a homegrown company, inked the largest lease for its national headquarters in Plantation. Other tenants that were among the biggest takers of space were largely health care-related firms, and one, a human resources software company, is in the tech field.
Here are the top South Florida office leases of 2021:
Chewy opening national HQ at Plantation Pointe
Chewy, which sells anything from pet food to collars, inked a 221,597-square-foot lease for its national headquarters at Plantation Pointe.
Miami-based Midtown Capital Partners owns the two-building office campus at 7600 and 7700 West Sunrise Boulevard in Plantation. The company bought it in 2017 for $56.6 million.
Chewy is taking over Envision Healthcare’s office and signed an eight-year lease, according to media reports.
Chewy is moving from its Dania Beach headquarters at the Design Center of the Americas at 1855 Griffin Road.
Ryan Cohen and Michael Day founded Chewy in 2011 in Dania Beach. PetSmart bought Chewy in 2017 for nearly $3.4 billion.
Blue Legacy Ventures leases Miami Worldcenter hotel’s wellness hub
Rendering of the Legacy Hotel & Residences
Blue Legacy Ventures leased the 10-story medical and wellness center at the Legacy Hotel & Residences planned for Miami Worldcenter.
The 120,000-square-foot lease is the biggest ever in downtown Miami, according to a news release from developer Royal Palm Companies.
Blue Legacy Ventures is a joint venture between Blue Zones owner Adventist Health, and Legacy Medical Holdings. Blue Zones is known for identifying the healthiest places in the world with the aim to put the research toward improving community wellbeing.
Royal Palm, led by Dan Kodsi, started building the 50-story Legacy Hotel & Residences in August. The 310 condo units will be atop a 219-key hotel, managed and operated by Accor under the Morgans Originals portfolio, according to the release.
Cano Health expands its Flagler Station lease
Flagler Station (Bridge Commercial Real Estate)
Cano Health, a health care provider for seniors, renewed and expanded its lease for its headquarters at Flagler Station in northwest Miami-Dade County.
Cano expanded its footprint to 115,358 square feet, or the entirety of building 1200. Previously, Cano occupied 29,834 square feet in another Flagler Station building.
Bridge Investment Group owns the business park at 9725 Northwest 117th Avenue.
Ultimate Kronos Group renews Weston office lease
Weston Pointe III at 2250 North Commerce Parkway (Google Maps)
Tech company Ultimate Kronos Group arrived in South Florida long before the influx of techies this year, and it is staying here.
UKG was formed last year by the merger of Ultimate Software and Kronos, both workforce and human resource management software providers. Scott Scherr founded Ultimate Software in 1990 in Weston; and Mark Ain started Kronos in 1977 in Massachusetts.
Aron Ain, Mark Ain’s brother, now leads UKG.
The firm renewed its 97,178-square-foot lease at Weston Pointe III at 2250 North Commerce Parkway.
The building is part of a larger office park in Weston.
Gramercy Property Trust sold the four-building campus for $114.8 million in 2016 to New York Life Real Estate Investors, the property investment arm of New York Life Insurance.
Envision Healthcare subleases in Fort Lauderdale
Cypress Creek Concourse II at 1525 West Cypress Creek Road (Google Maps)
When Chewy took over Envision Healthcare’s Plantation Pointe office, Envision opted to remain in Broward County.
The health care and hospital-based physician company downsized, inking an 81,169-square-foot sublease at Cypress Creek Concourse II at 1525 West Cypress Creek Road in Fort Lauderdale, according to Cushman & Wakefield.
The property is just north of the Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport.
SOURCE: TRD analysis of brokerage data, as provided by Colliers and Cushman & Wakefield, news clippings and market reports.