The charter school chain BridgePrep Academy will open another location, this time within a shopping centre in Miami-Dade County. The school operator, which already runs 19 locations across Florida, signed a lease for 56,000 square feet at the open-air California Club Shopping Centre in Ives Estates, near Aventura, approximately 15 miles north of Downtown Miami.
The 273,050 square foot property, owned by RK Centers, is located west of Interstate 95 on 750 Ives Dairy Road. Other tenants at California Club include Planet Fitness, Five Below and Burlington. The Waterways Preparatory Academy @ Kropp Annex, part of the public Dade County School District, previously leased BridgePrep's new space until at least last year.
Challenges and Growing Demand in the Education Sector
Scott Goldstein of CBRE, who represented the tenant alongside Keith Edelman, commented on the challenges: "Miami does not have an excess of properties suitable for educational operators. We therefore acted quickly." Much of the difficulty lies in the lack of available properties that meet both the required building codes and the necessary floor plan.
Demand for primary schools, particularly private schools, has increased sharply in South Florida since the start of the pandemic. This is due to the establishment of numerous new businesses and the associated influx of workers. To address this need, billionaire developer Stephen Ross is donating USD 100 million to Pine Crest School, a private school with campuses in Fort Lauderdale and Boca Raton, to open another in West Palm Beach, according to Bloomberg.
Prominent Investments in Education Infrastructure
Another billionaire, Jeff Greene, spent USD 50 million building the Greene School, also in West Palm Beach, according to the Wall Street Journal. These investments highlight the growing importance of the education sector in the region and the willingness of private actors to commit significant funds to meet the demand.
