With its thriving restaurant scene, top quality hotels, transit access, unbeatable weather, and upcoming state-of-the art office buildings, Downtown Miami continues to rise as an attractive, world-class market for tenants looking to relocate or expand, as well as a beautiful and desirable place of work for talent seeking job opportunities.
OFFICE MARKET
Source: Costar; Q2 2021
Downtown Miami is host to a unique array of neighborhoods including the Central Business District, Brickell, and Arts & Entertainment District.
The DDA Area has over 21 million SF of office inventory.
There is currently 1.5 million SF of office development in the pipeline, including 830 Brickell, a standalone Class A-plus office tower adding 640,000 SF in the heart of Brickell.
Workers returning to the office are heading to some of the most recent office stock in the country. Over the last 10 years, more than a quarter of downtown Miami’s office inventory has either been recently developed or has undergone major renovation.
The office market is expected to continue to grow, with over 4 million SF of new proposed office space in the next five years in developments like One Bayfront Plaza and MiamiCentral Phase 2.
Downtown's extensive public transportation network is the only true mass-transit system in the state of Florida, and one of only two in the Southeast.
Metrorail, MetroMover, and Brightline connect downtown to Greater Miami and South Florida, bringing in workers and visitors.
Downtown Miami is well suited to meet the post-COVID demand for flexible office space, with coworking facilities representing 5% of all leased office inventory.
Who's Here
Downtown Miami has a diverse economy driven by law, professional services, and tech companies. Many domestic and international firms have established regional offices in Miami, while existing businesses are continuing to expand and benefit from the City’s growing economy and trained workforce.
Convergence data sourced in December of 2020
Who's Coming
With recent relocations from firms like Shiftpixy and Blackstone, Downtown Miami continues to be a strong hub for financial services, as well as an emerging destination for tech companies. New-to-market tenants, which typically comprise close to 10% of lease deals, now remarkably make up just under 60%.
TALENT
Dynamic Talent Pool
Miami-Dade County is one of the most dynamic employment markets in the nation. In the last three years, employment has averaged 3.76% growth rate year-over-year. Miami Downtown alone supports approximately 85,000 employees, 7% of the county’s workforce. A growing talent base is one of the strongest draws for businesses looking to relocate or start up in Miami.
MIAMI DDA JOB GROWTH BETWEEN 2010-2020:
18%
TOP 3 INDUSTRIES MAKE UP 57% OF TOTAL DDA JOBS:
- Professional Services (22%)
- Law, Consulting, Accounting
- Government (19%)
- Public Schools, Hospitals
- Finance & Insurance (15%)
- Commercial Banking, Securities Brokerage, Registered Investment Advisory Firms
Source: EMSI; Employment estimates based on areal interpolation of ZIP codes intersecting DDA area.
Between 2010-2018, Miami DDA jobs grew 18%.
The close to 85,000 employees work in Downtown Miami represent 7% of the county’s workforce.
The three largest industries within the DDA are Professional Services, Government, and Finance & Insurance, which make up close to 60% of total jobs.
Looking more closely into occupations within Professional Services and Finance industries reveals trends in Miami's changing workforce.
Managerial roles across sectors such as Finance, Marketing, and Sales, as well as marketing positions have grown significantly over the last ten years.
Tech occupations are also on the rise. Between 2010 and 2019, Computer and Information Systems Managers, Computer User Support Specialists, and Software Developers were some of the fastest growing occupations, growing 105-175%.
6th Largest College Town
Miami’s large and growing talent pool can be contributed to the strength of its educational institutions. The Miami Metropolitan Statistical Area currently has a student population of 300K, making Miami the nation’s 6th largest college town. In terms of students per capita, Miami is on par with New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia. Schools such as the University of Miami, Florida International University, and Miami Dade College produce a big pipeline of diverse talent for the Miami workforce.
Student Population
Source: EMSI.
A Growing Diverse Talent Base
Miami celebrates a highly racially and ethnically diverse talent base – 58% of Miami's population is foreign-born (vs. 14% nationwide) and 75% speak a language in addition than English. This workforce is also becoming increasingly educated – Miami added 40,000 more bachelor’s and graduate degree holders, a 39% increase between 2010-2019. Moreover, 25% of the Latinx population over 25 years of age hold a bachelor's degree in Miami (vs. 3% nationwide).
BETWEEN 2010-2019:
40K new
BACHELOR & ABOVE DEGREE HOLDERS
39%
GROWTH IN BACHELOR & ABOVE DEGREE HOLDERS
Source: American Community Survey.
Everyone is Coming to Miami
With the rise of remote work due to COVID-19, people have increasingly chosen to relocate to Miami given the high quality of life it offers. With its great restaurant scene, bustling arts scene, good weather, growing job market – and just steps away from the beach – moving to Miami, and Downtown especially, is an easy decision for many. This not only continues to demonstrate Miami’s value as a desirable place to live and work, but in turn drives more companies and businesses to set roots here. Miami has always been one of the most welcoming cities for migrating newcomers, yet it still saw a big jump in the number of people relocating to the City during 2020.
Source: USPS.
According to data from the United States Postal Services, the number of permanent relocations to Miami by people originally living out-of-state grew 51% in 2020 compared to 2019.
Most of this movement has been driven from the Northeast, with 53% of permanent newcomers coming from New York City.
L.A., San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, and Philadelphia also saw a substantial increase in permanent moves to Miami.
Miami has also experienced a great number of temporary movers. Temporary relocations grew 511% overall. Close to 2,000 people temporarily changed their mailing address to Miami during this past year of remote work, 84% of whom came from New York. While we have yet to see the effects of this play out, trends from google searches and twitter continue to indicate that many are moving to Miami.
Growing Buzz
COVID-19 upended many traditional ideas of the workplace. Workers are looking to move to areas with great opportunities and higher quality of life, while companies are now looking to startup, relocate or expand into areas with a strong talent pool, low regulatory environment, and quality office product – Miami hits that sweet spot, with Downtown leading the way.
– Danet Linares, Blanca Commercial Real Estate
– Justin Oates, Cain International
– David Levine, Blackstone Real Estate*
– Yolaine Gil, Pipeline Workspaces
Source: HR&A Interviews. *Miami Herald.
DISTRICT DASHBOARD
Downtown Miami is host to a unique array of neighborhoods that each have their own character. Pieced together, the Miami DDA continues to lead the way as the largest downtown office market within Miami-Dade County and the state of Florida in terms of rentable square footage, and Class A rental rates.
Source: Ammerican Community Survey; Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Source: Costar; Q2 2021
2010 - 2020 Market Metrics
Source: Costar; Q2 2021
This report is prepared by HR&A Advisors on behalf of the Miami DDA.