With Florida’s Infill Redevelopment Act awaiting Gov. Ron DeSantis' signature or veto, attorneys throughout South Florida are optimistic that its focus on building projects in the state’s urban areas will spur demand for real estate work.

What You Need to Know

• The bill would streamline the redevelopment process for environmentally impacted urban sites,
• It's designed to combat the state's affordability crisis.
• And clients of multiple Florida firms are already making phone calls.

David E. Sacks, a real estate attorney at Duane Morris, previously worked on Miami Beach's first brownfield redevelopment—a category defined by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) as abandoned, idled or underused industrial and commercial facilities where expansion or redevelopment is complicated by real or perceived environmental contamination. 

"Today, what we're seeing is just a continuation of the act, but improving it such that it's more effective. When you have state and local government involved, things can always be streamlined. Additional incentives for developers and the public are being considered in view of the current economy," Sacks said. "It's an improvement and an incentivization."

Observers are watching the act carefully because if enacted, it would unlock fresh financing opportunities for the redevelopment of parcels that would see their value increase, according to Sacks.

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