Author: Julianne Dwyer

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Preparing Commercial Properties for Florida’s Hurricane Season

Florida’s hurricane season—June 1 to November 30, 2025—is underway. This period poses significant challenges for commercial real estate managers across the state. Drawing from guidance by Advanced Collection Bureau and Florida Realtors®, here’s a streamlined playbook for protecting your investments and ensuring business continuity.

1. Conduct a Targeted Risk Assessment

Start with a comprehensive risk audit of your commercial assets:

  • Evaluate structural vulnerabilities—inspect roofs, façades, doors, windows, drainage systems, and any exterior attachments.

  • Upgrade proactively—consider hurricane-rated windows, reinforced loading docks, and wind-resilient roofing materials, especially for properties in high-risk coastal zones.

  • Minimize debris risk—trim trees, secure signage and exterior fixtures, and eliminate potential projectiles.

2. Optimize Insurance & Mitigation Coverage

For commercial properties, the potential financial exposure can be substantial:

  • Review insurance carefully—ensure policies cover both wind and flood damage; typical commercial insurance may leave gaps.

  • Explore mitigation programs—resources like My Safe Florida Home may offer inspections or retrofitting incentives that reduce long-term repair costs.

3. Establish Clear Communication Protocols

  • Pre-season planning—create and share emergency preparedness guides with commercial tenants, including evacuation instructions, emergency contacts, and steps to take pre-storm.

  • Multi-channel alerts—utilize email, property management platforms, SMS, or signage systems to disseminate real-time updates before, during, and after storms.

  • Tenant support—encourage tenant confirmation of business insurance, especially regarding flood coverage.

4. Stock and Deploy Emergency Supplies

Have essential preparedness tools in place, adjustable for commercial use:

  • Common-area readiness—ensure shared spaces have accessible items like sandbags, tarps, flashlights, battery packs, and first-aid kits.

  • Backup power strategies—generators are often invaluable for preserving critical systems and minimizing business disruption.

  • Service agreements—secure contracts with trusted roofers, electricians, water damage specialists, and general contractors ahead of time for rapid response.

  • Tax incentives—take advantage of Florida’s disaster sales tax holiday (June 1–14), when hurricane essentials like generators, tarps, and flashlights may be tax-exempt.

5. Coordinate Post-Storm Recovery Efforts

Swift, well-documented action after a storm can protect assets and livelihoods:

  • Document thoroughly—capture photos and video of all damage for insurance claims and internal review.

  • Communicate transparently—inform tenants about inspection outcomes, repair timelines, and any necessary temporary access restrictions.

  • Restore services efficiently—prioritize restoring crucial building systems: power, HVAC, elevators, and security. Fast action helps tenants resume operations quickly.

6. Strengthen Resilience and Business Continuity

  • Emergency plans for special needs—coordinate with local authorities for tenants needing assistance, and ensure plans include visitors or staff with mobility or medical needs.

  • Avoid hazard zones—if your portfolio includes EV charging stations or electric vehicle access, ensure they are placed outside of saltwater flood zones to reduce risk of damage or battery hazards.

  • Encourage tenant readiness—encourage commercial tenants to have their own emergency kits, evacuation strategies, and document protection plans (for inventory, equipment, and leases).

Sources:

https://www.advancedcb.com/post/how-property-managers-can-prepare-for-hurricane-season-in-florida

https://www.floridarealtors.org/newsroom/Florida-Realtors-Prepare-for-Hurricane-Season

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Florida’s Commercial Rent Tax Repeal: What It Means for Tenants and Landlords

Sources:

https://www.gulfshorebusiness.com/florida-business-rent-tax-ends

https://www.trepp.com/trepptalk/florida-eliminates-its-commercial-rent-tax-what-next

A Landmark Change in Florida Commercial Real Estate

Florida’s long-standing commercial rent tax will soon be history. With the passage of House Bill 7031, signed by Governor Ron DeSantis, the statewide 2% sales tax on commercial lease payments—and related local surtaxes—will be eliminated effective October 1, 2025. This move ends Florida’s unique position as the only U.S. state to levy a statewide sales tax on commercial rent, representing a major policy shift that will reshape the economics of leasing across the state.

The History of the Commercial Rent Tax

The commercial lease tax was introduced in 1969 and, at its peak, reached 6%. Over the decades, it was gradually reduced, reaching 2% by mid-2024. For years, business leaders and real estate professionals argued that the tax increased occupancy costs and placed Florida at a competitive disadvantage compared to other states. The repeal represents a significant pro-business measure, with the state projecting annual savings of nearly $1 billion for commercial tenants.

How Tenants Will Benefit

For tenants, the financial impact will be immediate and substantial. A company paying $100,000 in monthly rent will save approximately $24,000 annually once the repeal takes effect. These savings can be redirected toward reinvestment in operations, business expansion, or workforce growth. By lowering the cost of occupancy, the repeal is also expected to attract new businesses to Florida, particularly those that previously viewed the state’s tax structure as a barrier to entry.

What It Means for Landlords

Landlords will also see benefits from the repeal, particularly in the form of reduced administrative burdens. Once the tax is removed, there will be no need to calculate, collect, and remit sales tax on rent. In high-demand submarkets, some landlords may adjust base rental rates to capture a portion of the savings, while in more competitive markets, tenants are likely to retain the full benefit. The elimination of the tax is also expected to stimulate leasing activity, which could help strengthen property values across office, retail, and industrial sectors.

Preparing for the Transition

Both tenants and landlords should take time before October 1, 2025, to review their lease agreements and operational processes. Tenants should ensure that rent invoices dated after this date no longer include the tax, and they should consider using the projected savings as leverage during renewal or expansion negotiations. Landlords should update their accounting systems to reflect the change, make any final tax filings for rent due prior to October 1, and communicate the details of the repeal to their tenants in advance to avoid confusion.

Exceptions to the Repeal

While the repeal is broad in scope, certain types of rental transactions will remain taxable. These include transient accommodations of less than six months, parking and storage rentals, boat docking arrangements, aircraft tie-downs, and equipment rentals. Additionally, any rent that is due before October 1, 2025, will still be subject to the tax, even if the payment is made after that date.

The Bottom Line

The elimination of Florida’s commercial rent tax is a significant milestone for the state’s commercial real estate industry. Tenants will enjoy meaningful cost reductions, landlords will benefit from operational efficiencies, and the overall leasing environment will become more competitive. At Cohen Commercial Realty, we are ready to guide clients through this transition, ensuring they are positioned to take full advantage of the opportunities created by this historic policy change.

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The Urban Shift: What Florida’s Booming Downtowns Mean for Commercial Real Estate

South Florida’s urban cores—Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and Delray Beach—are in the midst of a commercial and cultural transformation. No longer defined solely by tourism or beachfront living, these city centers are evolving into economic powerhouses that attract business, talent, and capital. At Cohen Commercial, we help clients navigate this shift with insight, strategy, and regional expertise rooted in the realities of South Florida’s dynamic markets.

Miami: Skyrocketing Growth & Global Positioning

Downtown Miami has emerged as one of the nation’s fastest-growing urban hubs. In 2024 alone, more than 11,300 residential units were initiated—surpassing 2023 figures and reinforcing the city’s continued upward trajectory. Over half of all new residential construction in Florida is now happening in downtown Miami, and most of it is luxury-focused.

This boom isn’t limited to housing. Miami is rapidly becoming a global business capital, drawing in corporate headquarters, financial firms, and high-net-worth individuals from across the U.S. and Latin America. In 2023, exports from the Miami region reached nearly $140 billion, as Brickell and nearby districts gained traction as headquarters locations for multinational companies.

Transit-oriented developments like MiamiCentral—which integrates Brightline and Tri-Rail connectivity with residential, retail, and office space—are helping to reshape how people live and work downtown. With direct access to both regional and intercity transportation, properties near these nodes are seeing major value appreciation.

Fort Lauderdale: Stabilizing for Long-Term Strength

Downtown Fort Lauderdale, once on a rapid construction sprint, is now entering a more stable phase of growth. While development activity has cooled compared to previous years, this deceleration provides space for strategic reevaluation and improved urban planning.

Major transit infrastructure investments—most notably the PREMO Light Rail project, part of Broward County’s $4.4 billion mobility initiative—are set to boost connectivity between downtown, the airport, and Port Everglades by the end of the decade. This future-forward approach to infrastructure is expected to enhance downtown’s appeal and unlock new development potential along the planned transit corridor.

Delray Beach: Smart Growth Through Mixed-Use Vision

Delray Beach continues to thrive by balancing charm with innovation. The Atlantic Crossing development—slated for completion in 2025—is a defining project for the downtown area. It spans 9.2 acres and includes a vibrant mix of office, residential, retail, and structured parking, all integrated within the walkable heart of the city.

Unlike the high-density push seen in Miami, Delray is taking a more curated approach. Downtown continues to attract a steady stream of foot traffic, entrepreneurs, and residents drawn to its human-scale development and small-business-friendly environment. This measured strategy positions Delray Beach as one of South Florida’s most attractive emerging commercial destinations.

Key Drivers Behind South Florida’s Urban Shift

Several major forces are shaping the evolution of South Florida’s downtown real estate landscape. Transit-oriented development continues to be a major catalyst for growth, particularly around Brightline stations in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and Boca Raton. These areas have seen significant appreciation—home sales near Miami’s station, for example, rose 32%, while property values surged 131% since 2018. At the same time, Miami’s construction boom remains heavily weighted toward luxury residential inventory, shifting the downtown demographic and creating ripple effects across retail, hospitality, and office sectors. Meanwhile, Fort Lauderdale is embracing a more measured development pace, focusing on aligning future growth with infrastructure investments like the PREMO Light Rail initiative. Together, these trends reflect a region in transition—one that rewards thoughtful, localized strategy.

How Cohen Commercial Delivers Value

Cohen Commercial brings unmatched insight into South Florida’s most complex and competitive real estate environments. Whether it’s supporting lease-up strategies in Delray Beach, structuring transit-oriented investments in Miami, or helping businesses secure strategic downtown locations in Fort Lauderdale, we deliver tailored, informed solutions.

South Florida’s downtowns are no longer just growing—they’re evolving. Understanding how to succeed in these environments means understanding how infrastructure, population movement, and business incentives intersect. That’s where we come in.

Sources:

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Boca Raton’s Times Square Billboard: A Commercial Real Estate Play

On July 24, 2025, the Sun Sentinel reported that the City of Boca Raton launched a $70,000 digital billboard campaign in the heart of Times Square, New York. The aim? To attract businesses and executives weary of the Northeast’s high taxes, cold winters, and dense urban grind. From a commercial real estate perspective, this isn’t just a flashy marketing stunt—it’s a calculated investment in demand generation and long-term value creation.

By placing the advertisement squarely in front of thousands of daily decision-makers in Times Square, Boca is targeting the very audience that might be exploring secondary offices, satellite hubs, or full-scale relocations. The messaging aligns with current post-pandemic trends: companies are reconsidering their urban footprints and increasingly looking toward the Sun Belt for operational efficiency and talent-friendly climates. This ad positions Boca as a high-quality, accessible, and lifestyle-forward destination that can meet those evolving business needs.

The implications for commercial real estate in Boca Raton are significant. A successful campaign could drive increased demand for office parks, flex industrial space, co-working infrastructure, and even mixed-use development projects. For landlords and developers, this marketing effort serves as a tailwind that can bolster lease negotiations, stabilize occupancy levels, and justify stronger rental terms. Should enough interest convert into tangible relocations, commercial properties in the area could see a marked uptick in leasing velocity and long-term tenant commitments.

The billboard also reflects a broader strategy of economic positioning. By making a visible play in one of the world’s most high-profile advertising corridors, Boca is signaling that it’s open for business—and serious about attracting out-of-state capital. But with that visibility comes responsibility: the city will need to ensure infrastructure keeps pace with potential growth. That includes investments in public transportation, high-speed internet, and workforce housing that can support the growing needs of transplanted firms and their employees.

From a financial standpoint, the $70,000 expenditure represents a small bet with potentially large returns. If even one midsize firm relocates and leases 50,000 to 100,000 square feet of office or industrial space, the tax base and leasing revenue generated could more than compensate for the original outlay. This is classic municipal venture capital at work—small-scale public investment aimed at long-term economic development.

There are also broader implications for Boca’s positioning in the regional competitive landscape. Cities across Florida—including Miami, West Palm Beach, and Fort Lauderdale—are all vying for the same relocating companies. Boca’s campaign helps differentiate it by projecting ambition and forward-thinking in a crowded field. It’s a message not just to New Yorkers, but to other Sun Belt cities as well: Boca Raton is not sitting back—it’s stepping forward.

Going forward, the success of the campaign will depend on measurable outcomes. Are New York-based companies inquiring about site visits? Are brokers fielding new calls tied to the ad? Will Boca’s economic development office share lead data or conversion metrics? These are the questions commercial real estate stakeholders should ask in the coming months. Additionally, if the campaign proves fruitful, the city may scale its marketing push to other regions or refine its messaging to target specific industries like fintech, logistics, or healthcare services.

Ultimately, Boca Raton’s Times Square billboard isn’t just a splashy piece of marketing—it’s a strategic maneuver designed to reframe the city’s role in the national economic conversation. For brokers, developers, investors, and tenants, it’s a signal worth watching. The CRE community should keep a close eye on how this campaign shapes leasing activity, asset values, and urban development over the next year. The success or failure of this initiative could serve as a blueprint—or a cautionary tale—for how smaller markets can use bold, targeted marketing to influence commercial real estate flows in a post-pandemic world.

https://www.sun-sentinel.com/2025/07/24/boca-raton-spent-70000-on-times-square-advertisement-to-lure-new-york-businesses/

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How We Use Buildout to Broker Like a Boss

At Cohen Commercial, we don’t just facilitate transactions—we position properties, build brand value, and broker with intention. In a competitive commercial real estate landscape, speed and consistency matter just as much as the deal itself. That’s where Buildout comes in. It’s more than just a marketing platform—it’s a toolkit that allows us to deliver excellence, stay organized, and present listings in a way that reflects our brand’s caliber. From listing presentations to offering memorandums, Buildout helps us operate with precision and professionalism.

Custom Templates Create Consistency

From the first impression to the final document, consistency is everything. Buildout lets us take default templates and refine them to reflect the exact voice and style of Cohen Commercial. Our cover pages, internal layouts, and data presentations have all been carefully adapted to match our brand standards. This isn’t just about looking good—it’s about building trust. Clients expect a polished experience, and with our templates customized through Showcase+, every single asset we produce reinforces the value and professionalism they can expect from us.

Streamlined Marketing from Listing to Close

Buildout doesn’t just help us create documents—it powers our full marketing engine. As soon as a listing is live, we can generate a fully branded website and deploy targeted email campaigns directly through the platform. There’s no need to juggle multiple tools or designers. Buildout helps us move faster, maintain quality, and keep everything centralized. And when it’s time to share materials with potential buyers or brokers, we can control access at multiple levels, ensuring the right people see the right documents at the right time. That seamless experience helps us move from lead to close with efficiency—and confidence.

A Platform That Tells a Better Story

In commercial real estate, storytelling matters. Buildout enables us to tell compelling, visually rich stories with every listing. Through customized maps, multimedia integrations like aerial drone footage or virtual tours, and on-brand design, our materials don’t just inform—they persuade. Whether it’s an institutional investor reviewing an offering memorandum or a local tenant looking at a property website, the message is clear: we are professionals who know the market, and we know how to position properties to win.

Why We Broker Like Bosses

Buildout gives us the tools to do what we do best—faster, smarter, and with more impact. Our team spends less time formatting and more time closing. Clients get high-quality materials that inspire confidence. And our brand stays strong and consistent, no matter how many listings we’re managing. Buildout doesn’t just support our workflow—it elevates our entire brokerage strategy.

At Cohen Commercial, brokering like a boss means being efficient, consistent, and bold in presentation. Thanks to Buildout, we do all of that—and more—every single day.

https://www.buildout.com/blog-posts/beyond-basic-elevate-your-brand-with-showcase-customization-tools