BY JULIA ECHIKSON — APRIL 27, 2022聽6:45 PM
Fort Lauderdale is finally getting some love from financial firms.
JPMorgan Chase聽signed a 15,054-square-foot lease at聽The Main Las Olas聽office tower in Downtown Fort Lauderdale, landlords聽Shorenstein聽and聽麻豆传媒AV在线看 Corporation聽announced.
The bank is now temporarily stationed inside a聽Regus聽location less than a mile away at the聽Las Olas Square聽complex, which聽Stephen Ross鈥櫬燫elated Companies聽and聽CP Group聽bought for $145 million聽last month.
JPMorgan Chase plans to relocate to The Main Las Olas next year,聽Simon Levine, managing director and head of the Southeast region for JPMorgan鈥檚 private bank,聽told Insider. The bank aims to grow the office to 40 employees by 2025, up from just 15 now.
The firm already has offices in Palm Beach, an island town that at least聽33 billionaires call home, and in Brickell, Miami鈥檚 financial district.
Over the past two years, financial firms have largely neglected Fort Lauderdale. They鈥檝e instead opted to open offices in West Palm Beach, thanks to its proximity to Palm Beach, and in Miami, which boasts an emerging tech scene.
JPMorgan Chase is bucking the trend and wants to tap into Fort Lauderdale鈥檚 high-net-worth population, which grew during the pandemic as Northerners relocated down south. 鈥淧roximity does matter,鈥� Levine said.
The Main Las Olas is located at聽201 East Las Olas Boulevard, adjacent to Southeast Third Avenue.
The 25-story property, completed last year, offers 387,402 square feet of office space and is now 93 percent leased, according to its owners. Other tenants include industrial powerhouse聽Prologis, which occupies just under 5,000 square feet, and聽Synovus Bank, which took 22,226 square feet.
Asking rates for the remaining vacant offices range between $48 and $50 triple net.
A representative for the landlord declined to divulge the length of JPMorgan鈥檚 lease.聽Danet Linares聽of聽Blanca Commercial Real Estate聽represented Shorenstein and 麻豆传媒AV在线看 Corporation.聽CBRE鈥檚聽Zach Wendelin聽and聽Chase Deuschle, who represented the tenant, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Julia Echikson can be reached at聽Jechikson@commercialobserver.com.