Miami and Downtown Dallas Central Business Districts Soar to New Heights in Study of 40+ Markets

According to The Business Journals, Miami and Downtown Dallas were recognized as having leading Central Business Districts that contributed to downtown vitality post-pandemic and are well positioned for continued success. In its annual Downtown Vitality Index, the publication compared the economic recovery of 40+ major cities across the US and ranked downtown locations by strength of recovery. Our takeaways around the results include:

Miami Reigns Supreme: Miami took the #1 spot due to robust office momentum and a thriving economy. In fact, did you know approximately 1MM SF of Class A office space is currently under construction in Miami’s financial district? Fueled by continued in-migration of leading companies and a significant portion of high earners residing in the market, Miami-Dade is holding its own while other major office markets within the US experience negative reverberations from remote work. Marquee tenants continue to set up shop in Miami, with Apple Inc. setting its sights on a 45K SF office space in Coral Gables and Microsoft headed to 830 Brickell along with Citadel, Kirkland & Ellis and more high-profile companies.
 
Dallas-Fort Worth is Growing Really, Really Fast: While Dallas ranked #11 nationally on the Downtown Vitality Index, it came in first when compared to recovery efforts among the largest cities in Texas (Houston, San Antonio and Austin.) What’s more, Dallas-Fort Worth is leading the pack as the national forerunner when it comes to population growth, with a 5.7% increase in population since 2020 (150K+ residents were added across the Metroplex from 2022 – 2023 alone.) With a limited number of ground up multifamily developments delivered in recent years and both population and jobs increasing at record rates, the demand for housing is simply outpacing new deliveries.

Overall, findings indicate that the Sun Belt as a whole continues to shine when it comes to population growth. Over the last few years, millions of people have moved to markets within the Sun Belt and we expect that the region will remain popular as business and residential in-migration continues. Our two multifamily development projects in the Miami Brickell area as well as a high-rise multifamily project in Dallas, Texas, will bring nearly 800 market-rate apartments to both areas, respectively, in 2026.
 
Further expansion within Florida, Texas and other fast-growing regions within the Sun Belt will be significant to answer the call for much-needed residential supply in the form of high-quality residential offerings.