Following the successful completion of Invest: Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County 2017 and Focus: Atlanta First Edition, Capital Analytics has returned to its flagship project and home base to undertake the fourth edition of its Miami publication. The new publication comes after the well-received Invest: Miami 2017.
For the new edition Capital Analytics will again be talking to leaders throughout the economy about the key issues impacting Miami-Dade County. The team will be talking to banking and financial institutions about the effect that the increases in the fed rate have had on the market, as well as the growing wealth management sector that is attracting high net worth individuals from across the country and abroad.
The team will be talking to major universities, the Miami college system and other important institutions about how the education and private sectors, along with local government, are working together to ensure that those entering the local workforce have the right skills for economic development in the area. Central to this will be analysis of the One Community, One Goal project, a five-year strategic economic development plan led by The Beacon Council which targets the development of seven high-potential industries. Creative design, hospitality and tourism, information technology, international banking and finance, life sciences and healthcare, trade and logistics and aviation have all been identified as key areas where educators can make a difference.
The Capital Analytics team enters the Miami market following Hurricane Irma, one of the strongest hurricanes on record. The anticipation of the coming destruction in early September led to 13 counties in the South Florida region issuing mandatory or voluntary evacuation orders that affected some 1.3 million people. Irma was eventually downgraded to a Category 4 hurricane by the time it hit Miami, and although winds reached up to 185 miles per hour in some places, South Florida did not experience the worst impacts.
In the days after the hurricane, municipalities and utility companies quickly launched into action. There were an estimated 3 million cubic yards of debris in Miami-Dade, and power was lost to an estimated 6 million people across the Southeast of Florida.
Beyond the ongoing clean-up and restoration efforts, questions have been raised about how Hurricane Irma will impact the economy. It is an issue that Capital Analytics has also been raising with companies and other institutions in the area. The overall feeling is that despite the severity of the storm, Miami-Dade has a robust infrastructure and is used to extreme weather events.
“With a hurricane you have time to prepare and you can board up your house. If you own a house in Miami, it should be insured and it should be up to code. If you are up to code, then you do not have much to worry about. Even though it was one of the worst storms we’ve seen in a long time, there has not been any major damage,” Jose Parrilla, president & CEO of InvestQuest Partners told Capital Analytics.
Real Estate is an important sector in Miami, with many people moving to the area to enjoy the superior living conditions. Understandably, there has been considerable concern regarding the prospect that buyers and renters would be put off by recent events and that construction might slow down. Yet the area’s preparedness and the preparation done before the hurricane hit have signaled that meteorological threats should not be a deterrent.
“South Florida is always going to be a desirable area to live in. Regardless of Irma or any of the other hurricanes we have to deal with, we haven’t seen anything slow down,” Jaime Saavedra, vice president and business manager of Turner Construction told Capital Analytics.
Other sectors, such as the vibrant tourism industry have also shown optimism and resilience. “Hurricane Irma obviously had an impact on tourism, but it did not devastate Miami the way that Houston was affected by Hurricane Harvey. We had a different situation here, as we were back up and running in just a few days. We came up with the hashtag #MiamiNow to communicate to the world that we are open for business as usual,” William Talbert III, president & CEO of the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau, told Capital Analytics.
Altogether, the Capital Analytics team has re-entered a Miami-Dade market showing optimism and enthusiasm. The coming months will be as exciting and stimulating as previous projects, and Invest: Miami 2018 promises to be the best edition yet. Major events are shaping up for 2018 to be a year of landmark announcements in Miami.
