United States has just celebrated the occupancy of its second head office with the unveiling of a new sign at 360 Rosemary, the Related Cos.‘ recently completed office tower in West Palm Beach, Florida.
NewDay’s move to a 53,300 square foot space at 360 Rosemary is just the start of a planned expansion into West Palm Beach’s bustling office market, as the fintech company is currently in negotiations with Related to develop a property that would serve as a 200,000-square-foot corporate headquarters, replacing its current headquarters in the Washington, DC, suburban Maryland area.
NewDay signed its lease for space at 360 Rosemary in the first quarter of 2021, securing the top two floors of the 20-story tower. The national VA mortgage lender had focused on Florida as the best location for its second headquarters, which now houses 250 employees. According to Rob Posner, CEO of NewDay USA, Florida has placed a high priority on attracting businesses to its state because it realizes the importance of businesses that create well-paying, high-skilled jobs for economic development.
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“[Florida’s officials] actively support economic development”, Posner says Commercial Property Executive. “We had the opportunity to meet them and their staff on several occasions. They have genuine curiosity about what you are trying to accomplish and how they can help you.
Headquarters 2.0
Related commemorated the completion of the approximately 300,000 square foot 360 Rosemary in fall 2021, introducing a state-of-the-art office asset to the $550 million, 72-acre Rosemary Square neighborhood in downtown thriving town of West Palm Beach. Designed by Elkus Manfredi Architects and Leo A Daly, 360 Rosemary is a LEED Gold-certified sustainable tower with mixed-use offerings. In addition to 250,000 square feet of prime office space, the property includes 22,600 square feet of ground floor retail space, 10,000 square feet of outdoor space and wellness, landscaped rooftop terraces and seven levels of structured parking.
NewDay plans to increase its staff at 360 Rosemary in the coming months, after securing $1.8 million in incentives through the West Palm Beach Community Redevelopment Agency in early 2021 for training and new hires. The second headquarters will serve as the workplace for a total of more than 500 team members in 2023.
Greener pastures
NewDay’s talks with Related about building a new headquarters in West Palm Beach come nearly a decade after the company moved to its current center of operations at 8160 Maple Lawn Blvd. in Fulton, Md. In 2013, the mortgage lender moved into 70,000 square feet in the new 100,000 square foot building, part of the office portfolio of St. John Properties. Now, NewDay is ready to leave its longtime home for reasons beyond cutting-edge commercial real estate options.
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“Since 1999, we’ve had the privilege of coming to work in the state of Maryland every day to serve veterans,” Posner said. “As a neighboring state to Washington, DC, with institutions like NASA, the National Security Administration, and the Social Security Administration located in the state, Maryland also appears to be overly dependent on the federal government for jobs. It is important that our elected officials focus on creating economic incentives for businesses that can bring well-paying, highly skilled jobs to the state, as well as creating a favorable fiscal environment for its citizens.
West Palm Beach does the trick for NewDay and a host of other desktop users. As noted in a report by Avison Young, the flight to quality and continued demand from tenants new to the market spurred continued strong rental activity. Despite robust office construction in West Palm Beach, the Class A sector saw positive net uptake in the three quarters of 2022, totaling approximately 275,000 square feet, according to the report.
“It’s great for our team and NewDay to be able to be part of West Palm’s transformation. We believe West Palm will be one of America’s fastest growing cities to work, live and play,” Posner concluded. .
