Wednesday, May 15, 2019

NAIOP Florida 2019 Legislative Effort Leads to Tax Rollback, Permit Fee Transparency and Major Development Package


Yvonne Baker
TALLAHASSEE, FL (May 15, 2019) – For the third consecutive year, the Florida chapters of NAIOP, the Commercial Real Estate Development Association, have won a rollback in the business rent tax from 5.7 percent to 5.5 percent.

Office, industrial and retail tenants pay this sales tax on top of rent and common area maintenance. Florida is the only state in the nation to impose a sales tax on commercial leases.

Governor Ron DeSantis is expected to sign this bill and commercial tenants will begin to experience this additional tax relief on Jan. 1, 2020.

“This tax makes Florida’s development and commercial real estate sector less competitive,” says Yvonne Baker, NAIOP’s 2019 state president and regional managing partner of Franklin Street in Orlando.

“It zaps money that businesses could otherwise invest in growth and job creation. NAIOP made dropping more money to the bottom line of commercial real estate occupiers and owners a top 2019 legislative priority.”  

Darcie Lunsford
Leadership from the state’s five NAIOP chapters - Tampa, Central, Northwest, Northeast and South Florida - actively engaged Florida lawmakers with personal visits to the state Capitol and letter-writing campaigns aimed at lowering and eventually eradicating the business rent tax. 

Additionally, NAIOP won a major battle in its war against unreasonable governmental delays and rising costs of getting a building permit. Permitting fees charged by local governments are user fees.

Robust construction has counties and municipalities taking in more fee revenue, but their capacity to efficiently process and issue permits has not proportionately increased.

The new permit transparency legislation requires local governments publicly post permit and inspection fee costs and how that revenue is being applied within government functions.  

In a similar accountability initiative, NAIOP also supported legislation that prohibits a local government from collecting impact fees before issuance of a building permit except in the case of water and sewer connection. The new law is effective July 1.

NAIOP Florida also played a key role in passage of several pro-development provisions in a major property development package that emerged out the state’s 2019 legislative session.

Chief among them is financial relief to developers from governmental requirements that an affordable housing component be included within a new project.  The new law requires that this cost be fully offset.

 The package also mandates that local jurisdictions review and respond to development applications within 30 days and allows attorneys’ fees to be collected by the prevailing party in a development order challenge.   

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis

“The regulatory and financial burdens thrust upon the shoulders of South Florida’s commercial real estate and development sectors, while often well intentioned, create unnecessary hurdles that are frequently counterintuitive to sensible development and increased prosperity across the board,” says Darcie Lunsford, president of the South Florida chapter of NAIOP and executive vice president of Butters.

“These are reasonable, but high-impact, reforms that will help ensure that South Florida remains an economic juggernaut.”

CONTACT:

Darcie Lunsford
NAIOP Florida President-Elect
954-312-2435
 naiop.org.

Hold-Thyssen Negotiates Three Multi Year Leases at Phillips Place in Southwest Orlando, FL



Darby Hold

ORLANDO, FL --- Hold-Thyssen, a full service real estate firm in Winter Park , recently negotiated three multi-year lease agreements for professional office space at Phillips Place , 7575 Dr. Phillips Blvd. in Southwest Orlando . 

Darby Hold, transaction specialist for Hold-Thyssen, Inc. negotiated the transactions on behalf of the Cincinnati, Ohio-based landlord, Financial Way Realty, Inc.  

Anthem Tax Services, with 30 plus years of experience in tax preparation and tax law licensed in 50 states leased an office with 4,376 square feet for three years. Anthem relocated their operations to Phillips Place and will employ up to 25professionals there.   

Phillips Place, 7575 Dr. Phillips Boulevard, Southwest Orlando, FL

Herndon Chiropractic Clinic leased 861 square feet for another three years.  Dr. James Herndon has been providing care to patients for over 30 years. 

Patten Law Firm, LLC, a boutique litigation firm representing businesses and individuals throughout the state for more than 20 years, leased 1,659 square feet for two years at Phillips Place . 

Hold-Thyssen, Inc. is the leasing and management representative for the 56,000 square foot Phillips Place Office Building , which is currently 97 percent leased.

Hold-Thyssen is a full service real estate firm that provides commercial property brokerage and leasing and management services to institutional and private investor clients nationwide.  The 40-year old firm’s current portfolio includes more that 100 commercial properties throughout the United States.

CONTACTS:

Anthony Fisher, Vice President, Hold-Thyssen Real Estate Services, 
407-691-0505,afisher@HoldThyssen.com  or

Robert P. Hold, Principal, Hold-Thyssen, Inc.
407-691-0505, bhold@HoldThyssen.com

Larry Vershel or Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications Inc.
407-644-4142 Lvershelco@aol.com.