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By Nikki Cabus

The Boca Raton Innovation Campus announces six new lease agreements

Read Time 4 Minutes

CP Group, Florida’s largest office landlord and a prominent owner-operator of office properties throughout the Sunbelt, announced six new leasing agreements at Boca Raton Innovation Campus (BRiC) — its fast-growing, 1.7-million-square-foot technology and life sciences hub in Boca Raton, Florida.

Designed by Marcel Breuer, the campus was originally built in 1969 for IBM and is home to the invention of the first personal computer. The campus was acquired by CP Group in 2018 with the vision of building off BRiC’s history and evolving the campus into a science and technology hub. An ideal landing spot for companies with large footprints, BRiC is currently home to 18 national headquarters and 19 regional offices, including Kroger, Modernizing Medicine, Canon, and Bluegreen Vacations.

As the state’s largest single-office complex, BRiC has historically attracted companies with large footprints. However, throughout its renovation process, CP Group has pivoted its strategy to attract startups and growing companies seeking modern amenities and a holistic workplace ecosystem in the technology and life science spaces.

CP Group’s executed deals include four new tenants and two lease renewals, one with an expansion, all signed during the initial phase of the spec suites’ construction at BRiC. The four incoming tenants are relocating from other office locations within Boca Raton.

  • Engineering Express, a structural engineering firm.
  • Hollywood.com, an entertainment company. CBRE’s Will Morrison represented the tenant.
  • LandAirSea (LAS), a GPS tracking system manufacturer. Posh Realty’s Anthony Villagi represented the tenant.
  • MODE Architects, a full-service architecture and design firm
  • EdgeMed, a revenue cycle management platform for medical organizations, renewed its lease and signed for a new spec suite. Stagman Commercial Realty’s Jason Stagman represented the tenant.
  • Orchid Bay Financial Holdings, an investment firm, renewed its lease and expanded its footprint at the property to a new spec suite.

“LandAirSea is thrilled to be moving into our new home at BRiC. BRiC offers us a combination of amenities, convenience, and comfort that not only makes us excited but impresses our clients and, importantly, our new Florida employees. As we think about enrolling team members in the idea of coming ‘back to work,’ a big part of it is providing a safe, comfortable, and inspiring place for them to collaborate, create, and innovate,” said Greg Jacobson, CEO of LAS. “For us, there was nothing else that even came close to providing this environment, and new hires, vendors, and customers that are touring the facility are telling us we got it right.”

Jeff Kelly of CBRE represented the landlord in all six transactions. The tenants will begin occupying their respective spaces early this year, and construction on additional spec suites will start sometime in 2024.

The spec suites are part of CP Group’s portfolio-wide ‘worCPlaces’ flexible workspace offering. Within the “Spec Places” service offering, CP Group designs customized suites to meet the needs of companies seeking move-in ready, yet scalable, office environments for evolving teams.

“We are continuing to see an influx of cutting-edge companies flocking to South Florida in search of flexible, yet turnkey, workspaces to meet the needs of their employees,” said Michael Perrette, General Manager for BRiC. “BRiC is meeting this demand and sustaining the property’s legacy of innovation by cultivating state-of-the-art office environments with top-tier amenities that empower our tenants to lead their respective industries.”

The former IBM research and development facility is undergoing a $100 million capital improvement program to transform into an amenity-rich campus. BRiC completed many of these amenities last year, including an on-site wellness center run by Boca Raton Regional Hospital, coffee shop Java, an autonomous grab-and-go store called Bits, a revitalized dining hall, and flex space for events and presentations for up to 1,000 people, two fitness studios; on-site bike storage; and a parking garage with 1,300 spaces and a covered top deck with the flexibility to add solar panels. These renovations awarded BRiC South Florida Business Journal’s 2023 Structure Award for Best Reuse/Rehab Project. Further planned renovations include a new main entrance and porte-cochere with a secondary ring road and a STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics) lab, among others.

Other amenities currently available to BRiC’s office tenants include a fitness center; onsite daycare; outdoor courtyards; running and biking trails; and abundant displays of art as part of its Art on BRiC Walls program, including an NFT exhibit and “Rocket” — a 30-foot-tall, mirrored stainless-steel outdoor sculpture by artist Hubert Phipps.

CP Group also recently received approval from the City of Boca Raton to rezone BRiC for the development of a planned +/- 1,250 residential units; 125,000 square feet of retail, restaurants, grocery stores, and entertainment; a 150-room hotel; a 4,000-seat live concert venue; an accredited daycare and afterschool childcare center; and several parking garages. These rezoning permits allow BRiC to be open to the public seven days a week, and their new event and presentation hall is already slated to host large-scale meetings, galas, student testing, weddings, and even TedXBocaRaton.

BRiC’s mid-century modern aesthetic and superior location between two I-95 exits — adjacent to a Tri-Rail station and proximity to two major airports — offer ideal conditions for the complex to transform into a ‘town center’ integrated into the social fabric of Boca Raton.

Check out the Boca Raton Innovation Campus website here.

By Nikki Cabus

Bluegreen Vacations to be Acquired by Hilton Grand Vacations

Read Time 3 Minutes

Bluegreen Vacations Holding Corporation (NYSE: BVH) (OTCQX: BVHBB) or “Bluegreen Vacations” announced November 6th, 2023 that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Hilton Grand Vacations Inc. (NYSE: HGV) (“HGV”) for a total enterprise value of approximately $1.5 billion.

Under the terms of the merger agreement, Bluegreen Vacation’s stockholders will receive $75.00 in cash for each share of the Company’s Class A Common Stock and Class B Common Stock that they hold at the time of closing of the merger. The all cash transaction is inclusive of net debt.

In the 1970’s, Alan B. Levan founded the predecessor to Bluegreen Vacations Holding Corporation, and it has been a diversified holding company for over 50 years. During that time, it previously held controlling interests in IRE Financial Corporation (former NYSE) (real estate funds), Bank Atlantic (former NYSE) (100-branch bank), Levitt Corporation (former NYSE) (America’s oldest homebuilder), BBX Capital Corporation (Real Estate: multi-family housing, industrial, affordable housing; chocolate/confections; manufacturing) and more recently, became the holding company for Bluegreen Vacations in 2020. BBX Capital was spun out into a separate public company in 2020.

With headquarters in Boca Raton, Florida located at the Boca Raton Innovation Campus, or “BRIC,” Bluegreen Vacations has become a well recognized leading vacation ownership company with 49 Club Resorts and 24 Associate Resorts. It proudly develops, markets, and operates a system of high-quality vacation ownership resorts in selected vacation destinations such as Orlando, Panama City Beach, Las Vegas, the Smoky Mountains, Myrtle Beach, Charleston, the Branson, Missouri area, Nashville and New Orleans, among others.

Alan Levan, the Company’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, “Today’s announcement represents another exciting chapter for Bluegreen Vacations. Combining with HGV will create an even more compelling vacation ownership offering, continuing to provide our owners and guests with enjoyable and unique experiences across a broader range of world-class destinations. I am extremely proud of the entire Bluegreen team for helping build Bluegreen into a leading vacation ownership company.”

“I’m excited to enhance the breadth and quality of our already best-in-class vacation ownership and experiences offering with the announcement of our agreement to acquire Bluegreen Vacations,” said Mark Wang, president and CEO of Hilton Grand Vacations.

“Bluegreen Vacations has a strong track record of demonstrated organic growth, a dedicated customer base of more than 200,000 members, and boasts key lead-generating strategic partnerships that will broaden our reach and diversify our tour flow. Along with our long-standing relationship with Hilton, this highly complementary combination will also unlock additional upside by leveraging the infrastructure we have built over the past few years with the launch of the Hilton Vacation Club brand, our HGV Max membership offering, the HGV Ultimate Access experiential platform. I’m particularly excited about the opportunity to enter into a new relationship with Bass Pro Shops and its actively engaged, loyal community of outdoor enthusiasts. We’re confident that our members and guests will all significantly benefit from the combination of these exceptional organizations.”

Closing of the transaction is subject to the approval of the Company’s stockholders and other customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals. Subject to the satisfaction of the closing conditions, the transaction is expected to close during the first half of 2024.

It is expected that HGV’s management team, including President and CEO Mark Wang, chief financial officer Dan Mathewes, and chief operating officer Gordon Gurnik, will continue to serve in their current roles in the combined company upon closing the transaction. The transaction is expected to increase HGV’s membership base from 525,000 to more than 740,000 owners and its resort portfolio from 150 to nearly 200 properties.

Credit Suisse Securities and Wells Fargo are acting as exclusive financial advisors to the Company, and Stearns, Weaver, Miller is acting as legal counsel. BofA Securities is acting as the exclusive financial advisor for HGV, and Alston & Bird LLP, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP and Foley & Lardner LLP, are acting as legal counsel.

By Nikki Cabus

CP Group announces 17,786 sf of new flexible office suites in Boca Raton, includes a leading VC firm

Read Time 4 Minutes

CP Group, the largest office landlord in Florida and prominent owner-operator of office properties throughout the Sunbelt, today announced five new leasing agreements at Two Town Center — a 145,344-square-foot, 11-floor Class A office tower in Boca Raton, FL.

This leasing momentum includes five new tenants which will occupy 17,786 sf of newly constructed flexible office suites developed at the building as part of CP Group’s flexible workspace offering, worCPlaces.

The new tenants include:

  • Related Fund Management, a national real estate and credit investment management firm.
  • RRE Ventures, a leading venture capital firm represented by John Criddle with CBRE.
  • BMO Harris Bank, a national investment banking company represented by Bob Schneiderman of Colliers of Florida.
  • Cordoba Legal Group, a Boca Raton-based law firm represented by Mark Rubin and Jake Stauber of Colliers of Florida.
  • The Praedium Group, a real estate investment firm focused on middle-market, underperforming, and undervalued assets. They were represented by Richard Shay Coker of Douglas Elliman.

One notable new tenant is RRE Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm headquartered in New York City focused on investing in tech enabled ventures.

Harvard Business School classmates, Stuart Ellman and James D. Robinson IV, founded RRE Ventures in 1994 with Robinson’s father, James D. Robinson III, former Chairman and CEO of American Express Company from 1977 to 1993.

RRE Ventures primarily invests in seed, series A and series B rounds and focuses on companies operating in the software, internet, communications, aerospace, robotics, 3D printing and financial services sectors.

According to General Partner, Jason Black, in a September 2022 RRE blog post, “RRE Ventures has been a leading venture capital firm in New York with nearly $2.5B under management and +400 portfolio companies. With over 25 IPOs and dozens of trade sales through the years, there is a lot going on at any given time.”

“Recent well-known companies include Datadog, Venmo, Braintree, DCG, Noom, Kindbody, Spring Health, Olo, and BuzzFeed, among many other category-defining businesses. We pride ourselves not only on investing in great entrepreneurs and delivering stellar returns to our LPs but also on being supportive partners to our portfolio companies and active members of the venture community.”

Since it’s inception, RRE Ventures has been seeking out and partnering with extraordinary entrepreneurs who seek to disrupt and transform industries using technology. The company has often been on the forefront of new innovations and industry-leading investments such as their first crypto investment in 2013.

Although RRE invest across the United States and in select overseas geographies, they view New York’s burgeoning innovation economy as critically important to the creation of the next wave of large technology companies. They have been one of New York Metro regions most active investors. Now, they are bringing their expertise, connections, and funding to South Florida.

South Florida, specifically Boca Raton, has been one of the most sought out areas in the region for new office space for investors, real estate and law firms, and finance companies. The CP Group is already underway on construction of another full floor of spec suites, which will deliver six more suites ranging from 1,714 to 3,212 square feet. Construction is expected to be completed by summer 2023.

“This leasing momentum is proof of the high demand for next-generation, flexible work environments in today’s office market,” said John Osborne, Senior Vice President at CP Group.

“We’re proud to bring worCPlaces to the Boca Raton market to meet the changing needs of premier tenants like these and look forward to offering them first class amenities on and off-site, including the nearly completing Restaurant Row adjacent to the building.”

Restaurant Row, Boca Raton’s first ever restaurant-driven complex initially designed by CP Group and later sold to PEBB Enterprises, sits directly in front of Two Town Center, and is expected to open this year. The four-restaurant complex will include El Camino, Pubbelly Sushi, Fiolina Pasta House, and Shabibi, a Lebanese-inspired eatery from chef and “Hell’s Kitchen” runner-up Ralph Pagano.

Two Town Center is one of the market’s tallest buildings and offers sweeping views of Boca Raton. It boasts a newly renovated lobby and common areas, along with floor-to-ceiling windows, a full-time Tenant Services Coordinator, an incoming café, and covered parking. The building is also WELL Health-Safety Rated.

The property’s prime location in Boca Raton offers tenants immediate access to I-95 and the city’s business corridor. Adjacent to the renowned Town Center Mall, Glades Plaza, Boca Center, and incoming Restaurant Row, the property is within walking distance to dozens of restaurants, hotels, and boutiques.

To learn more about the property, visit twotowncenterboca.com

By Nikki Cabus

2 tech companies join Boca Raton Innovation Campus including autonomous vehicles

Read Time 2 Minutes

The Boca Raton Innovation Campus, or “BRIC.” is welcoming two tech companies to it’s list of technology and life science tenants” autonomous vehicle startup, Guidant Corp., and cybersecurity firm, Arete.

Guident Corp developed patented software solutions utilizing artificial intelligence technologies for making autonomous vehicles safer and in turn increasing overall adoption. Harald Braun, Chairman and CEO of Guidant, brings decades of experience with him including formerly the President and CEO at Nokia Siemens North America and being recognized as one of America’s “Top 100 Voices of the IP Communications Industry” by Internet Telephony magazine. Additionally, Guidant’s board of directors includes a team of experts from companies such as Aviat Networks, Audi, Ford, General Motors, Volkswagen and ZipCar.

The startup will relocate from Florida Atlantic University’s Tech Runway where they won the annual Launch Competition in 2020. FAU Tech Runway® is a public-private partnership formed to incubate and accelerate early-stage technology-based companies, under the purview of FAU’s Division of Research.  The incubator/accelerator provides the most promising startups and talented entrepreneurs in South Florida with an opportunity to join a year-long program that offers competition winners “best-in-class” instruction, mentoring, networking, marketing, capital-raising assistance, co-working space, events, intern support and other vital programs.

A panel of judges, including successful entrepreneurs, technology investors, entrepreneurship professors, economic development professionals, philanthropists, and commercial bankers selected Guident Ltd. as the winner of the competition. The judges were convinced that the company creating a Remote Monitoring and Control Center in Florida for autonomous vehicles (AVs) applying artificial intelligence, and their first use-case for ‘zero-touch’ ground-based delivery of groceries and medicines, would be the right choice to create significant value in South Florida and nationwide.

The Boca Raton Innovation Campus is the home of the first IBM personal computer and research hub. It’s the largest single facility office building in the state at 1.7 million square feet, 123 acres and includes the country’s longest hallway at a length of 907 feet long. ‘CP Group, formerly Crocker Partners, acquired BRiC in 2018 with the vision of building off its innovative past and evolve the campus, through a multimillion dollar renovation project, into the premier technology and life sciences hub in the Southeast’ competing with Silicon Valley and bring more technology companies to South Florida. The campus is currently home to some big name tech and life science companies such as ModMed, Canon, Bluegreen Vacations and Baptist Health South Florida.

By Riley Kaminer

Member Spotlight | Boca Raton Innovation Campus

Read Time 3 Minutes

Business: Provides office space and fosters a community among innovators in the South Florida tech ecosystem

Launched: Originally built in the 1960s, upgraded in 2005 and 2018

Location: Boca Raton

Size: 1.7 million square-foot campus situated on 123 acres; 36 tenants with a cumulative 6,000 employees

Website: WorkAtBRiC.com

Innovation rarely happens in isolation. Collaboration is key – bringing together people with different backgrounds, perspectives, and expertise to catalyze and crystalize the next big idea.

The Boca Raton Innovation Campus (BRiC) aims to be the nexus for collaboration in South Florida and beyond. The office park is known for its iconic modernist style, designed by world-renowned Bauhaus architect Marcel Breuer. 

The facilities were originally built for IBM, and it was on this site in 1981 that the world’s first personal computer was invented. Now it houses a wide range of South Florida’s most innovative firms, from local healthtech success story Modernizing Medicine to photography pioneer Canon.

Giana Pacinelli, Marketing Director for CP Group, the landlord and property management team for BRiC, explained their goal of “taking BRiC’s history and bringing it to the future.” She said that CP Group aims to harness the campus’s storied past as a space for innovation while also providing the amenities that will impress even the most discerning tenants.

Pacinelli noted BRiC’s “Google-style” facilities, including a lush campus with seven miles of walking paths and amenities like a dining hall that converts into a 1,000-person capacity presentation hall, two coffee shops, and a recently-renovated fitness center. Soon, they plan to open an autonomous grab-and-go store that will enable workers to purchase staples like bread and produce through a completely contactless system.

Currently, BRiC is zoned strictly for commercial office use. However, Pacinelli explained that they are now working with the city to rezone the campus to make it a “true live-work-play ecosystem.” The vision is to create a 15-minute city that residents can walk around and access everything they need – from work and living spaces to medical facilities and restaurants.

“In order to do all of that, we need to rezone BRiC,” said Pacinelli, underscoring the property’s interest in attracting big businesses and international meetings.

CP Group has put together a campaign to connect with the community. By visiting WorkAtBRiC.com/Support, Boca Raton residents can sign a letter to show their support for BRiC’s plans. Through this link, neighbors can also schedule a tour of the campus.

While work for home became a daily reality for many South Floridians during the pandemic, Pacinelli said that CP Group is “bullish that people will return to the office.” She evidenced the recent uptick in employees returning to the office as a signal that trend of workers returning to the office will continue

“Work has successfully invaded our personal lives,” she explained, noting that heading to an office can help create much-needed barriers between work and personal lives. Many of BRiC’s tenants have refreshed their workspaces to include more spaces for collaboration. BRiC also has imminent plans to unveil a co-working space later this year.

By Nancy Dahlberg

Member Spotlight | BRIC

Read Time 4 Minutes

What is BRIC? Boca Raton Innovation Campus, on the former site of IBM

Developer: Crocker Partners LLC, a Boca Raton-based real estate company

Website: workatbric.com (check out the events page)

Address: 4920 Conference Way North, Boca Raton

Home to: 36 companies and organizations so far, and counting

Coming soon: $28 million renovation of Amenity Corridor

In the ‘70s and ‘80s, IBM’s research & development campus in Boca Raton bustled with innovation.

The huge office building housed several firsts, most notably as the place where the world first personal computer was invented by Philip “Don” Estridge and his IBM team and introduced to the world in 1981.

It was also home to the first smartphone, Simon, and it was said to be the place where Bill Gates made his notorious licensing deal, licensing his operating system to IBM instead of selling it to them so he could license it to others and become Microsoft. The building itself, featuring a Y-shaped design by architect Marcel Breuer, was considered an engineering marvel for its day when it opened in 1970 and was designed to withstand a Cat-5.

That’s what made the purchase of the office complex in 2018 so special, said Giana Pacinelli, marketing director of Crocker Partners, a commercial real estate company headquartered in Boca Raton. Last April, Crocker purchased the 1.7 million square foot property, which had been expanded over the years and had changed hands a couple of times since IBM sold the property in 1996. It’s now called BRIC, the Boca Raton Innovation Campus.

Crocker has big plans for BRIC as it welcomes today’s new wave of technology innovators.

“Our goal is to take that past and bring it into the future so the campus continues to be a place where innovation happens,” said Pacinelli, adding that the giant office park is now home to 36 companies and organizations, including corporate and regional headquarters.

“We want to make it a destination, not just for the organizations that work on the campus but a destination for the entire community to enjoy, which is why we are partnering with Palm Beach Tech. We are hosting a lot of programming on campus. We have a program board of 11 community leaders that helps us put together programs. We partner with TedX Boca Raton to do speaking events on campus.”

Over the next year or so, BRIC’s Amenity Corridor will undergo a $28 million renovation. The renovated section will  include a STEAM Lab equipped with 3D printers, laser cutters and other equipment. Tenants can rent it out and BRIC will also house programming there for local organizations and schools. Hungry? There will be a food hall with seven  restaurants open to the public and a 1,200-seat dining hall that can also serve as a presentation hall. Also planned is a wellness center with an onsite nurse, two coffee shops and a co-working space. “It’s exciting times for us,” Pacinelli said.

Already, there are inviting outdoor spaces to work or relax, with miles of walking and bike paths, a conference center that can seat up to 400 where events are now held and a fitness center tenants can use. With the renovation will come special studios for yoga, pilates and the like.

Health-tech company Modernizing Medicine relocated its headquarters – and its more than 800 employees – to BRIC in January. BRIC is also home to MobileHelp, MDVIP, Transunion, BlueGreen Vacations and Shoes for Crews, among others. “We are the largest single office facility in the state. … We’ve been moving very quickly,” said Pacinelli.

 “Boca Raton has been Crocker’s home for years. We helped build Mizner Park and Crocker Center – we’ve been around for over 35 years. We want to make this a special place where we can bring technology companies and jobs and really just revitalize the area. The property, when IBM housed it,  was a very closed off, very secretive space, but now we want to open it up to the community.”

The Boca Raton Innovation Campus announces six new lease agreements
Bluegreen Vacations to be Acquired by Hilton Grand Vacations
CP Group announces 17,786 sf of new flexible office suites in Boca Raton, includes a leading VC firm
2 tech companies join Boca Raton Innovation Campus including autonomous vehicles
Member Spotlight | Boca Raton Innovation Campus
Member Spotlight | BRIC