Citadel’s Move To Miami Emblematic Of Local Real Estate’s Transformation – Real Estate

It was recently announced in the news media that billionaire Ken
Griffin is moving his $50 billion, 1,000-person hedge fund and
trading firm – Citadel Securities – from Chicago to
Downtown Miami. Citadel Securities is a giant in the financial
services industry. Formed in 2002, Citadel Securities is the
largest market maker on the New York Stock Exchange, providing
liquidity and trade execution to retail and institutional clients
alike, and is active in more than 50 countries. As momentous as
this move is, it is in fact part of a well-established trend.
Citadel’s move will follow the likes of Starwood Capital Group,
Blackstone, and Apollo Global Management- a spate of major
financial firms opening large offices in or moving their
headquarters to South Florida.

These moves cement an inbound migratory trend, which some were
initially tempted to believe was a transitory COVID-induced
phenomenon. The common theme is that COVID-19 and technology freed
companies and employees from being tied to a specific geographic
location- the “remote work” arrangement. What started
with a widespread mindset that principals and employees alike could
work remotely from sunny South Florida until they were commanded
back to their original offices post-COVID, turned into a first-hand
realization that the area contained the necessary ingredients to
build a thriving business and attract top talent: low taxes,
business-friendly state and local governments, lower metropolitan
crime rates, favorable climate, excellent connectivity domestically
and internationally, and an increasingly competitive local talent
market.

Responding to this sustained uptick in migration from other
parts of the country, developers are moving full steam ahead on
sourcing the dirt they need to meet the demand. This demand has
never been more well-heeled and at the same time is robustly
domestic in nature, not tied to the ebbs and flows of foreign
market instability. In other words, the demand has never been
stronger, and it is currently outstripping supply. As developers
try to bring product to market as soon as possible- multifamily
residential, commercial space, office and industrial properties- it
is not surprising to see increased pressure on local
infrastructure, from housing to hotels to schools to entertainment,
etc., these are growing pains that are already being met and will
be mitigated by investments in all these sectors.

Already exciting developments and trends are showing themselves.
For example, developers are looking to areas of South Florida that
were previously “drive-by communities” that had no
“live-work-play” ecosystem. These areas were always
advantageously located for such a mixed-use purpose, but for a
number of reasons were just the place between point A and point B.
These areas are now seeing interest from developers to create the
“live-work-play” mixed-use dynamic from scratch due to
the scarcity of land and the openness of those municipalities to
attract investment, jobs and tax dollars to reinvest into their
neighborhoods and public safety. It’s a text book example of
developers and the private sector working in partnership with local
governments, to find innovative ways to serve a burgeoning regional
population. And the overall effect of such dynamic responses to
serving public needs has been that migration to South Florida,
especially the Miami area, has not ebbed. Gone are the days of,
“Why would I move to Miami?.” Today they are asking,
“How can I move to Miami?.”

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