Economic Research Associates STUDY

Preliminary Market Potentials: Margate City Center

The primary objective of the market study is to help guide the many critical public decisions necessary to move the project forward, including appropriate roles that the City of Margate and/or other public entities may play in enhancing the overall marketability of a city center project. ERA understands that the City is seeking to issue a developer Request for Proposals (RFP) in 2008; this market overview will play a critical role in guiding that decision.

As such, ERA focused its analysis on a series of tasks designed to measure preliminary market support for a range of uses as part of a mixed-use city center, including a demographic and economic profile that examines those factors driving fundamental demand for specific uses, such as population and employment growth and household retail spending. In addition, ERA also evaluated recent and current market conditions across specific types of real estate—including rental and for-sale housing, professional and business office space, general and destination retail and restaurants, and visitor-serving (hotel/lodging) and entertainment (cinema) uses to understand the impacts that South Florida’s current weakened real estate market may have on near-term redevelopment opportunities. This information was subsequently utilized in a series of economic models that evaluate the project’s overall market potentials.