Competition for office tenants in South Florida is still strong whiletheres still a fair amount of space to choose fromand that has institutional investors ponying up capital improvement funds, according to New Boston Fund VP of asset management Jennifer Patterson. Institutional investors are always on the lookout for assets in desirable locations to attract strong tenants, and were no exception, she tells us. Our immediate focus in Florida is on investing in our existing core assets with the goal of growing occupancy. That kind of investments can have a direct, positive impact on occupancy.

Jennifer says thats been the case at the funds BayView Corporate Tower in Fort Lauderdale--the former South Florida AT&T HQ--which the fund acquired in 2008. Since then, New Boston has been transitioning the property from single-user to multi-tenant. Recently Whole Foods Market, CHG Healthcare, Kovack Securities, and Intermedix inked deals for renewals and expansions, while Landmark Education becomes the propertys newest tenant. The five transactions account for a total of 57k SF of newly leased office space.