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Related Group CEO Jorge Pérez in his own words on Miami’s economy

by Gaston Laugé - February 18, 2015
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Related Group CEO Jorge Pérez in his own words on Miami’s economy

Miami’s most prolific condo developer, Related Group CEO Jorge Pérez, is understandably optimistic about the local economy’s future, yet he sees several challenges that must be overcome to make the city a more attractive place to live.

“Miami is one of the top cities for livability, where people around the world want to go to. We are just in the embryonic stage. The art museum was just built. The transportation systems are just getting done. The urban area is just getting retail space. So when I look at the 10-year horizon, I wouldn’t want to be in any city in the world, as an investment place, other than Miami.

The No. 1 issue we have is education. While we made huge strides with UM [the University of Miami] and FIU [Florida International University], we still aren’t the Triangle [in North Carolina], New York or Boston with their university hubs. We are working very hard to make sure we have education – both K-12 and college – to attract those people who want to relocate their companies to Miami. Companies have put regional headquarters here and couldn’t attract the education manpower to stay here. It’s not like you get an MBA and Miami is a place you want to work. We have to become more of a serious city. Employment is key to our long-term growth.

In transportation, we need to invest in infrastructure to move people around the urban centers. We need rapid transit from Miami Beach to Downtown. We see that trolleys and low-cost solutions will be important. So when companies make decisions to move, they will know their workforce will be here and will be attracted to Miami.
We are going to be the greatest city in the world and, in order to achieve that, we are going to have to invest a lot.”

Taken from: Bandell, Brian. “Related Group CEO Perez in His Own Words on Miami’s Economy – South Florida Business Journal.” Widgets RSS. Bizjournals, 13 Feb. 2015. Web. 17 Feb. 2015.