When it was time for Idea180 to find a larger workspace, we knew that the city we chose would have an impact on our company. Like a growing family looking for a new home, it was important for us to choose a place that would continue to suit us into the future. This was why we chose to set up shop in Hollywood, Florida. Beyond its great location, weather, and easy access to travel options, Hollywood also offers beaches, a vibrant downtown, a growing arts district, booming tourist trade, hospitable residents, and a business-friendly city administration.
Hollywood is centrally located on Florida’s east coast between Miami andFort Lauderdale. It is minutes away from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL); houses Port Everglades, one of the largest passenger and commercial ports in the world; and sits at the crossroads of the Florida Turnpike, Interstate 95, and both the CSX and FEC railways.
We are proud to share a beautiful office space with our neighbor, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. Their presence has given us an opportunity to cross paths with many facets of our business community, and we look forward to more of that interaction moving forward. Stop in if you are visiting the chamber and say hello.
URBAN LIVING IN 21st CENTURY AMERICA
Live, Work, Play
A lot of startups and growing companies are choosing to locate out of the main metro areas. Top talent and millennials, in particular, are being attracted to jobs in urban centers that provide cool and unique services-driven work/live communities.
The concept of Live-Work- Play has grown in popularity. Smaller cities and towns around the country are appealing to the workforce by bringing together a collaborative and unique living experience, providing technology-rich housing, modern conveniences, top-notch services, and public spaces all in one location.
HOLLYWOOD’S HISTORY
One of the First Planned Live/Work/Play Communities
Joseph W. Young founded the city of Hollywood Florida in the mid-1920s. He dreamed of building a motion picture colony on the East Coast of the United States and named the town after Hollywood, California. Young had a vision of a totally planned community having lakes, golf courses, a luxury beach hotel, country clubs, and the main street. He bought up thousands of acres of land around 1920 and oversaw every detail of the city’s development.
An urban developer, Young introduced to South Florida the concepts of a physical grid for the town’s layout, building restrictions, zoning and oceanfront development. Through the early application of growth management tools, Young stimulated and encouraged the creation of residential neighborhoods in attractive surroundings. Hollywood was incorporated in 1925 and Young was elected mayor. The cities growth and development were severely hampered by the 1926 Miami hurricane, followed by the stock market crash of 1929, and Joseph Young's death in 1934. Now, more than 80 years later – Hollywood may be closer than ever to Young’s original vision of a beautiful place to start a business, raise a family, and build a life.
HOLLYWOOD TODAY
The City of Hollywood encompasses 27 square miles along the Atlantic Ocean between Miami and Fort Lauderdale. The city boasts a high quality of life with more than 60 parks, three municipal golf courses, and a nearly 10-acre urban park in the heart of Downtown Hollywood featuring outdoor concerts and special events.
Hollywood is also home to two Commerce/ Industrial Parks and has a growing niche in Professional Services and Healthcare. There is more than $1.65 billion in real estate development, planned or under construction, throughout the city with key commercial corridors offering additional redevelopment opportunities. Downtown Hollywood is a distinctive business, cultural, and entertainment
market offering Class-A office space, co-work shared workspace options, mixed-use opportunities, flexible zoning and a number of top-notch business incubators. Home to the Hollywood Art & Culture Center, Cinema Paradiso – Hollywood art-house cinema, the ArtsPark at Young Circle and dozens of international restaurants and cafés, galleries, and unique shops.
Hollywood Beach, Hollywood attracts visitors from around the world who come to stay along the historic oceanfront Broadwalk. Voted one of the top beach destinations in the U.S. by TripAdvisor.
Hollywood, Florida has a lot to offer to startup companies trying to attract top talent:
- Close to international airport and seaport
• Centrally located in 3.5 million population
• No personal income tax
• Diverse labor force and talent pool
• Waterfront executive housing
• Abundant workforce housing
• Colleges and universities
• Arts and culture hub
• Business-friendly government
• Golf courses, beaches, kayaking, fishing
• Year around the warm weather and sunshine
• Unmatched quality of life
HOLLYWOOD’S FUTURE
A vision of Hollywood Community Redevelopment Agency:
http://www.hollywoodcra.org/index.aspx?NID=186
Downtown Hollywood Vision 2025
It’s 2025 and historic Downtown Hollywood has retained and cultivated its authentic village identity within South Florida’s rapidly changing urban environment. It has become a clean, safe and compelling place to live, work and play. The area’s charming layout, walkable scale and ease of access have differentiated it from neighboring shopping malls and generic village-themed developments. This vibrant arts district has emerged as a successful international and regional destination for shopping, dining, entertainment, arts, and culture. An eclectic mix of unique boutiques and one-of-a-kind retailers has invigorated the area as a shopping hot spot.
The Downtown dining scene has continued to grow and the main streets have evolved into bustling restaurant rows. Music and cultural events are a key regional draw to the ArtsPark and the surrounding entertainment district, and many creative class businesses with robust employee rosters now call
Downtown Hollywood home. Residents and guests benefit from activities that promote a healthy lifestyle. Downtown Hollywood is now recognized as a classic American downtown with an international accent.
Hollywood Beach Vision 2027
It’s 2027 and Hollywood Beach has evolved into a world-class coastal destination without losing its funky Florida beach town character. Our beautiful beach and historic Broadwalk are still the main attraction, and there are many fun and convenient ways to enjoy Hollywood’s tropical maritime environment. A wide range of lodging options allows visitors to choose between small boutique hotels and larger resorts. Hollywood Beach’s preserved natural resources have become a significant eco-tourism draw and have distinguished it from more built-out neighboring cities. Marine research and education are also an important industry. The Intracoastal Waterway has matured into its own unique boating, dockside dining, and recreational corridor.
The historic Hollywood Beach Resort has been spectacularly restored to its original glory and the ramp system at A1A and Hollywood Boulevard have been redesigned to liberate the property’s original grounds and provide easy access to the complex. A1A itself is newly reconstructed and functioning as the main street of the beach with wider sidewalks, buffered from traffic by landscaping which has been accommodated by undergrounding the overhead transmission lines. Hollywood Beach is the most iconic tourism district in the city.
If you’d like to know more about economic opportunities in Hollywood, FL visit these resources:
The City of Hollywood’s economic development team is committed to implementing a holistic and sustainable economic growth strategy that results in a robust economy and healthy neighborhoods.
City of Hollywood Community Redevelopment Agency
Office of the City Manager – Economic Development
2600 Hollywood Boulevard Hollywood, FL 33020
954.921.3201
If you’d like to know more about Hollywood, FL history, visit this blog:
FLORIDA’S HOLLYWOOD: HISTORY and PEOPLE
Joan Mickelson is a Hollywood, Florida pioneer by birth. Her parents, Lamora and Tony Mickelson, were among the first residents of the new city. Both worked for J. W. Young’s Hollywood Land and Water Company.
