The Future May Be Here

I ran into my old friend Kelly Smallridge while attending an event recently at the beautifully restored Delray Beach Club.

Kelly is the longtime president and CEO of the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County. I did two stints on her board over the years and had the privilege of watching Kelly at work. Palm Beach County is fortunate to have her. She’s great at what she does. Her practice is economic development. Her job is to sell Palm Beach County as a great place to live, work, learn and play.

Kelly does all that and more. She’s also a visionary. She’s the architect of  a campaign called “Wall Street South” that has rapidly gone from dream to reality.
I was involved with the BDB when that phrase was coined and Kelly reminded me that when the term was first introduced it was often greeted with laughter.

Yes, we have sunshine and no income taxes. Yes, we have an emerging cultural scene and lots of wonderful beaches, but it’s doubtful New York City’s movers and shakers spent much time thinking about us as a place to do business or as competition for Wall Street.

But fast forward a few years and here we are. Financial firms are pouring into the area and Wall Street South is suddenly very real.

At the same event, I ran into Brian Seymour, the chair of the Business Development Board, and a prominent land use attorney at Gunster. In his roles, Brian gets to see a lot. And he’s seeing a lot. A whole lot of investment, plans, vision and excitement for Palm Beach County.

Early beneficiaries are West Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens and Boca Raton.

We are experiencing huge investment in the office sector (once written off as dead), retail, industrial and residential asset classes. It’s something to see. You can feel the change that’s happening. It’s in the air.

I felt the excitement last week, when we caught up with our friends at 1909, an exciting business incubator/accelerator in West Palm Beach. The Carl Angus DeSantis Foundation is an investor in this wonderful nonprofit.

We have seen the group reach hundreds of entrepreneurs with an array of programs. They also build community, which is important for entrepreneurs.  They are moving into beautiful new office space in downtown West Palm, and we got to visit with an array of business owners who are seeing their dreams come to life while taking advantage of the support services offered by 1909.

At the event, we talked to County Commissioner Gregg Weiss who spoke about the county’s investment in 1909 and we learned that Boca Raton has invested as well. Both governments will surely see a return on that investment as 1909 grows.

The same week we experienced these meet-ups with people hard at work making things happen in our county, we watched with amazement a meeting in Boca Raton in which the City Council weighed four proposals to re-imagine 30 acres of their downtown, including their City Hall campus. It’s a multibillion bet that— if done right— has the potential to remake an already successful city. And that’s an important distinction. Boca’s leadership isn’t content to coast or rely on its past success, it’s striving and aspiring for more.

That will be music to some people’s ears and nails on a blackboard to others. But change doesn’t have to be a zero-sum game, you can evolve and hold onto your soul. You can progress and keep the good stuff too.

But it’s hard and it requires leadership that is not only visionary, but vigilant and sensitive to the needs and concerns of all stakeholders.

Often cities respond only to the loudest voices, which tend to protect the status quo. The need and concerns of existing residents and business owners are super important, but there is also a very strong need to consider the future, which includes people who will eventually want to live and work in your city.

It’s a balance. More art than science.

Watching the workshop, I was struck by the comments of Stephen Ross whose Related Ross company is a bidder on the project.

Mr. Ross (who owns the Dolphins) has gobbled up a ton of downtown West Palm Beach real estate, including old and new office projects. Ross sees this area as the next “Silicon Valley” and predicts that Boca will be the equivalent of Palo Alto in that scenario. He sees Palm Beach County as offering the “greatest opportunity” in America.

“I believe this will become the most important place in America, going forward, from a business standpoint,” Ross told the Boca Council.

That’s heady stuff.

Many regions have aspired to be the “next Silicon Valley” including our region with an effort called the “Internet Coast.”

Personally, I think cities and regions should aspire to forge their own identities, but I think Ross makes a larger point. We are rapidly turning into something different, something significant too.

Like anything in life, change brings both good and not so good consequences.  No doubt, there will be opportunity and lots of money flying around.

Recently, Lake Worth Beach, which has enormous potential (untapped and sometimes unrealized) received an unsolicited $355 million bid to redevelop its waterfront casino and nearby golf course from a group that includes Stiles Corporation and golf great Jack Nicklaus.

The proposal includes two Hyatt Hotels. Interesting.

In addition, the new Trump administration is clearly a factor in our backyard with Mar A Lago serving as a magnet for an array of lobbying and public affairs firms seeking local digs to be near the nexus of power—at least for the next four years.

Still, there are headwinds that we should be mindful of. Those of us who came decades ago or who are natives found an affordable paradise in South Florida. That is no longer the case.
Housing costs, food costs, insurance costs and divisive and often corrosive politics have changed the personality of our region.

Executives from Related Ross, including a young executive who grew up in Boca’s Mill Pond neighborhood but went elsewhere to build his career, promised to bring jobs to Boca so that future generations won’t have to head to New York and California for career growth.

That’s wonderful, it truly is. It’s hard not to get swept up when a proven visionary like Stephen Ross outlines a big (and I think achievable future) but it would be folly if we create a place that displaces those who can’t afford seven figure homes. If we can’t accommodate teachers, nurses, restaurant workers and essential service providers we will cease being a place.

Years ago, I was part of a group that brought the president of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group to Lynn University for a conversation. We had a conversation about success, innovation, invention and technology. It was fascinating. But at the time and to this day, Silicon Valley struggles with a lack of attainable housing.

We struggle mightily with this issue now; can you imagine what it will be like if Ross’ prediction comes true.

Affordability, insurance, mobility and fostering enlightened and effective leadership are complex topics. Ignore them at your own risk.

Market forces will prevail, and change is inevitable and often desirable. But smart leaders and smart communities plan, shape and lead the way into the future.

These are interesting times. Frankly we’ve lost a lot of ground relative to affordability already. But it’s never too late to course correct, prepare and innovate.

Here’s to the future.

 

Notes:

A heartfelt congratulations to Assistant Police Chief Jeff Rasor on his new position as chief of police in Manalapan, just up the street from Delray.

Chief Rasor served 22 years with the Delray Police Department and distinguished himself every step of the way up the ladder. I got to know Chief Rasor when he spearheaded the Criminal Justice Academy at Atlantic High School, a program the commission I served on championed along with then principal Kathy Weigel. Jeff created a great program that fed a lot of talent from the academy into service to our city.

We wish Jeff lots of success and thank him for his dedicated service.

Delray continues to mint chiefs of police. It’s a very proud legacy.