Spirit Airlines is Landing Their New Headquarters in Dania Pointe
Dania Beach, FL (October 18, 2019): From air to sea and in between, the City of Dania Beach is the gateway to South Florida. As Broward County’s first city to incorporate in 1904, one could say that the city was always in a good place.
On Thursday, October 17, 2019, Spirit Airlines announced that they will be moving their global headquarters, operations center and simulation center to the KIMCO-owned Dania Pointe site, the premier 102-acre, mixed-use development, located within the City of Dania Beach Community Redevelopment area. Spirit Airlines expects to move to a new 500,000 square feet, state-of-the-art Dania Beach headquarters in 2022.
Dania Beach is now, more than ever, positioned as the hub of maritime and aeronautical industries. Dania Beach Mayor Lori Lewellen said, “The City of Dania Beach is glad to welcome Spirit’s new corporate headquarters campus to our city. We are thrilled that the company has chosen to grow here, adding 225 high-value jobs. Spirit will become an important cornerstone in our city. We are excited for their growth as we move forward together into the new decade.”
The Spirit Airlines relocation is expected to have a total economic benefit of $14.87 million for Dania Beach and Broward County, according to Broward County’s Office of Economic and Small Business Development. Spirit Airlines’ capital investment is estimated at between $173million and $250 million over three years for a new headquarters and operations facility and 225 high-wage jobs that are at 150% of the Broward County average annual wage.
The Dania Beach City Commission supports the Dania Beach Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) Board’s 10% local support incentive of $135,000 for the Spirit Airlinesrelocation through the State of Florida’s Qualified Target Industry Tax Refund Program and as a High-Impact Sector Business under the High-Impact Sector Tax Refund Bonus Program with a Brownfield Redevelopment Bonus Refund in addition to $225,000 through a Direct Cash Job Creation Incentive grant. The financial support by the Dania Beach CRA will be provided over a nine-year period beginning with Fiscal Year 2023, which begins October 1, 2022. The Brownfield site has been underused due to environmental concerns. Broward County is also contributing $135,000 in local financial support and matching the CRA’s $225,000 through the Direct Cash Job Creation Incentive program.
Dania Pointe is slated to include almost one million square feet of retail and restaurants in addition to Class A offices, hotels, luxury apartments and public event space. It is conveniently located in between Interstate 95 to the west and Bryan Road to the east and Stirling Road to the south.
Dania Beach's strategic location provides an ideal framework for businesses to relocate to the waterfront city. Dania Beach is located adjacent to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, which is partially located within the city’s limits, and Port Everglades. The city is rapidly becoming the prime location for new businesses and business relocations. This past August, JetBlue announced the opening of their JetBlue Travel Products subsidiary in Dania Beach. Dania Beach is also home to Chewy, Inc., Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World, Florida Atlantic University's Sea Tech, the American Maritime Officers training and research center,along with first-class marinas and many marine-related businesses.
In 2015, the Dania Beach CRA adopted its redevelopment plan which includes the goal of attracting targeted new industries and retaining and expanding core industries. The incentive programs in the plan are designed to directly stimulate and support private investment in new real estate development, property improvements, new businesses, increased business activity, and as a result thereof creation of new jobs. These programs are needed to eliminate and prevent blighting conditions. The CRA is also empowered to financially subsidize commercial, residential and mixed-use private development projects, including but not limited to, direct grants. The Dania Beach CRA also partners with Enterprise Florida, Inc./Florida Department of Economic Opportunity and Broward County Office of Economic and Small Business Development to provide incentive packages for qualified businesses.