The Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners unanimously approved an agreement for the development and operation of a graduate campus in Downtown West Palm Beach in the coming years.
Economic leaders in Palm Beach County say the migration of financial firms from the northeast into Palm Beach County likely led to Vanderbilt looking to expand into Palm Beach County.
The president and CEO of the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County, Kelly Smallridge, says the “Wall Street South” movement has led to several positive changes in the area that likely attracted Vanderbilt.
Smallridge says “Wall Street South” is an effort by the board over the last 15 years to bring more than 200 financial firms into Palm Beach County and it has demonstrated that Palm Beach County has a forward-thinking approach to innovation and economic development.
“I think that Vanderbilt saw a county that was forward thinking, that was aggressive in its economic development approach, but it was also very collaborative among business, government and education leaders,” said Smallridge. “Vanderbilt could locate anywhere they could locate anywhere in the United States.”
Smallridge says the future Vanderbilt campus will help Palm Beach County attain its goal of attracting companies in innovative industries moving forward, including artificial intelligence and cybersecurity.
Smallridge also says “Wall Street South,” which is now months away from being trademarked as a nickname for Palm Beach County, isn’t just about financial firms wanting to relocate to our area- but improving the lives of all local residents.
“There is this ripple effect,” said Smallridge. “These companies need a multitude of services. They frequent our malls, our restaurants, our retail establishments. They keep our downtowns alive… I would also say that it is because of this new money on top of the already philanthropic community that we built in Palm Beach County, that our zoo, our science museum, our United Way and so many other nonprofit and cultural institutions are doing well in Palm Beach County because these companies have expendable income and have leaned in.”
She also says while she acknowledges rising housing prices is an issue in Palm Beach County, it’s also an issue across most of the country and her board is working to help create more housing options in the area.
“It is not going to be a quick fix. We understand the pain that our residents are feeling and we’re working hard to find land and to even have a discussion about building more units per acre, more density and intensity, coupled with city, county and state programs to assist developers to move forward more aggressively,” said Smallridge.
Source: Experts credit ‘Wall Street South’ effort for additional Vanderbilt campus in West Palm Beach plans
