WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (June 12, 2014) — The West Palm Beach Downtown Development Authority (DDA) recently released a marketing video that turns the spotlight on Downtown West Palm Beach as one of the best places in Florida to invest in or open a business. The DDA interviewed local economic development experts, City leaders and key stakeholders capturing the excitement and potential of Downtown West Palm Beach and why its appeal is growing stronger each year.
Over the past five years, both the Downtown and the City of West Palm Beach have experienced steady growth, despite the economic challenges that began in 2008. Its momentum is stronger this year than at any time since 2006, thanks to capital improvements such as the construction of the new Waterfront Park and City Commons located at the foot of Clematis Street.
“We are projecting $1.3 billion of new construction over the next five years based only upon the projects that we know about,” said Mayor Jeri Muoio, City of West Palm Beach. “It doesn’t even account for projects in conceptual stages,” she added. “That just shows how confident people are about the economic vitality of our city.”
The data on Downtown and its surrounding neighborhoods defines a city on the move. Its center point is the Waterfront and Clematis District, which is alive with successful businesses and new developments underway, including reinvestment in the First Bank of Palm Beaches, Residence Inn by Marriot, Alexander Loft Apartments and the long-awaited Hilton Hotel adjacent to the Palm Beach County Convention Center that will open in the fall of 2015. The DDA has played a pivotal role in attracting and retaining businesses and a growing number of Downtown residents to the area through strategic business incentives, capital investments such as the addition of public art, repaving, recycling and trash bins and private security teams.
“It’s easy to recognize the momentum we’ve got going here, with a net gain of 100 new businesses since 2011, which in turn created more than 300 jobs for the district,” said DDA Executive Director Raphael Clemente. “Each week we hear more exciting plans from the private sector that involve the Downtown, including new developments that are currently in the planning and permitting stages.”
With its unique fusion of historic preservation and new urbanist infill developments, the West Palm Beach Downtown District has earned attention from national and statewide media as one of the best Downtowns in Florida. With 70,000 people each month walking past the pedestrian counters on Clematis Street and Olive Avenue and a fresh group of people coming in regularly, it allows new businesses to make the connections they need. Companies from around the nation are considering a relocation or branch office in West Palm Beach due to the energy and vitality expressed by the Downtown coupled with close proximity to the airport, Class-A office space with expansive water views and a location just a bridge away from Palm Beach, one of the most beautiful and wealthiest communities in the world.
“We offer a far better quality of life at a third of the price with much lower taxes that you would ever find in any northeastern counterpart,” said Business Development Board of Palm Beach County President & CEO, Kelly Smallridge, who contributed her insight on the video. She fields dozens of calls each month from companies looking to move to Palm Beach County. “When you add it all up, we’re really hard to beat.”
The DDA continually looks for new ways to highlight the many positive attributes of Downtown West Palm Beach as a great place for business investment. The investor video, produced by Komar Productions, can be downloaded in both a two-minute and four-minute format. For more information about Downtown West Palm Beach and how to join the movement, contact the DDA at (561) 833-8873 or visit westpalmbeachdda.com.
Check out the video here
About the Downtown Development Authority
The West Palm Beach DDA is an independent taxing district created in 1967 by a special act of the Florida Legislature. Its mission is to promote and enhance a safe, vibrant Downtown for our residents, businesses and visitors through the strategic development of economic, social and cultural opportunities
Lauren Fifarek
O’DONNELL AGENCY
(561) 832-3231
lauren@theodonnellagency.com