Real Estate Florida - August/September 2008

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The question was put to Casey Cummings in front of thousands of his peers during the International Council of Shopping Centers’ 2008 Florida Conference on Aug. 18: What makes for a mixed-use development? The president and chief investment officer of Ram Realty Services in Palm Beach Gardens answered from several different facets.

For one thing, he told the audience in the crowded ballroom at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center in Kissimmee that few projects in rural areas or third-

By Carl Cronan tier markets truly qualify as mixed use,

no matter how much they may tout themselves. With the economic down-

turn affecting retailers’ expansion plans, he and other speakers observed, no one wants to wait anymore for a customer base to catch up to store openings.

“Those days are over, which frankly I think is positive,” Cummings says. “The newer mixed-use projects will be focused on the A sites in the A markets. They’re going to require a significant

amount of density, preferably close to mass transit. Just by their nature, they need a certain level of intensity to work.”

Cummings knows first hand what’s happening on the mixed-use development front. Ram Realty is currently promoting Sheridan Station, a $500-million project in Hollywood that will combine office, retail, multifamily, hotel and parking space on 40 acres flanked by Interstate 95 and the Tri-Rail commuter line. An elaborate model of the project, complete with lights and a moving train, was on display at the ICSC conference.

Sheridan Station will eventually include a total of 300,000 sf of retail, 245,000 sf of office, at least 1,000 living units, a 150-room hotel and parking for 2,500 vehicles, of which 800 will be made available to Tri-Rail riders in Broward County. The first phase of construction involves a 120,000-sf office building that Ram Realty expects to generate about 400 jobs, ultimately growing to more than 1,000 employees.