MCHS has signed a lease for 79,156 square feet of office space at 5301 Waterford, a nine-story, 204,887 square foot office building in Miami, situated near the Miami Children’s Hospital main campus, as well as near major highway systems, providing ease of access to health system employees and collaborators. MCHS will begin occupying the space in the third quarter of 2014.
5301 Waterford is located in the Waterford at Blue Lagoon office park on the east side of Red Road just south of Miami International Airport and one block west of the Miami Airport Hilton. The new lease is one of the largest ever at Waterford.
“Our management team conducted a methodical and comprehensive study to establish the guiding principles for this office relocation and consolidation,” said Dr. Narendra Kini, MCHS President and CEO. We approached our search for a new headquarters as a holistic business decision, with the goal of supporting the continued evolution of our healthcare institution.
The new location will house MCHS non-clinical support and administrative departments currently located at 6101 Blue Lagoon Drive and 701 Waterford Way as well as some staff members currently situated on the main campus. The move will support the hospital’s comprehensive strategic plan through operational efficiencies and enhanced collaboration among teams, enabling departments that work closely together to integrate more efficiently. This will optimize performance and build on the organization’s avid use of Lean business-improvement model principles.
In addition, the new lease deal will reduce average annual costs per employee by managing overall occupancy costs, and includes provisions to accommodate future growth without increasing space.
Cresa South Florida managing principals Alan Kleber and John Marshall represented MCHS in the transaction. The landlord, financial services firm TIAA-CREF, was represented by Stephen Smith and Ana Paula of The Hogan Group. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“We developed a commercial real estate strategy for MCHS that included a comprehensive plan to support the organization’s evolution from a hospital to a health system,” said Kleber. “By consolidating and relocating its non-clinical support and administrative space into one location at Waterford, the organization will drive greater administrative and operational efficiencies. The office space is being designed to accommodate future growth without expanding, ultimately reducing the cost per employee.”
“A critical factor in MCHS’s decision to relocate its headquarters to Waterford was its proximity to major arteries and the ease of access to the major highway systems, which offer a convenience to employees,” said Marshall. “After careful market study, 5301 Waterford was the most optimal location for off-campus office space, because it is close to MCHS’s main campus, allowing employees to easily transfer between locations on a daily basis or as needed.”
The deal puts the six-building Waterford portfolio—also including 701, 703, 1000, 5200 and 5201Waterford—at 92 percent leased. The 5301 building, which recently underwent major enhancements to the lobby and other common areas, is now 89 percent leased. “This transaction confirms the strength of the market in Waterford,” Smith says. “We were able to backfill the recent vacancy in 5301 in a very short period of time. We are very excited to have MCHS as a long-term tenant at Waterford.”
About Miami Children’s Health System
Founded in 1950 by Variety Clubs International, Miami Children's Hospital operates South Florida’s only licensed specialty hospital exclusively for children, with more than 650 attending physicians and over 130 pediatric sub-specialists. The 289-bed nonprofit hospital is renowned for excellence in all aspects of pediatric medicine and is the only facility in Florida ranked in all 10 pediatric specialties assessed by U.S. News & World Report for three consecutive years, including the current year. The organization has grown and evolved into the Miami Children's Health System (MCHS) which includes Miami Children's Hospital Foundation, the organization's 501c3 fundraising arm; a network of eight nonprofit outpatient centers situated in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties; as well as an e-commerce line of children's wellness and safety products that support the hospital's mission of serving the region’s pediatric population. MCHS is the region’s only healthcare system exclusively for children
About Cresa
Cresa is an international corporate real estate advisory firm that exclusively represents tenants and specializes in the delivery of fully integrated real estate services, including: Transaction Management, Project Management, Corporate Solutions, Portfolio Strategies, Location Planning, Lease Administration, Capital Markets, Mission Critical Solutions, and Facilities Services. With more than 58 offices, Cresa is the largest tenant representation firm in North America. Through its partnership with Savills, one of the world’s largest commercial real estate services firms; Cresa covers more than 173 locations in 40 countries. For more information, visit www.cresa.com.
About Waterford At Blue Lagoon
Waterford at Blue Lagoon is a Class-A corporate office park adjacent to Miami International Airport and major highways. The property covers 250 acres and includes numerous corporate office buildings, world-class hotels, surrounding lakes, lush landscaping and many other amenities.
About The Hogan Group
The Hogan Group, founded in 1986 and with offices in Miami and Tampa, is a full-service real estate firm providing expertise in consulting, master planning, development, construction management, property management, leasing and acquisitions. The company has developed more than 10 million feet of commercial office space in the Southeast United States.