Jarett Levan, President and CEO, BBX Capital

May 2026 — Invest: spoke with Jarett Levan, president and CEO of Florida-based holding company BBX Capital, about Greater Fort Lauderdale’s investment momentum, where private capital is concentrating, and how arts, data, and AI can strengthen a region’s long-term competitiveness. “It’s as if there were three people in the room, not two, and it helps us move from idea to test faster,” Levan said.

What are you seeing in the overall investment environment in Greater Fort Lauderdale right now?

Investment in Greater Fort Lauderdale has increased over the past several years, really dating back to COVID, when businesses were looking to relocate and South Florida emerged as a more desirable place to live and work. As some businesses and developers got priced out of Miami, Greater Fort Lauderdale has become a more practical and attractive place to invest.

Although Broward County is more than 100 years old, it still feels like a market with a meaningful runway. The region offers substantial opportunity, particularly on the real estate side, and you can feel the market’s momentum in the activity downtown and in the continued influx of people and businesses choosing to expand their presence here.
Organizations like the Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance also matter. They help connect companies and site selectors to real opportunities, and that kind of coordinated effort makes it easier for businesses to make relocation and expansion decisions.

Where is private capital most active right now, and which industries are getting the most attention?

Real estate is still a big economic driver. You can see it in the cranes and the continued development in and around downtown Fort Lauderdale. Hospitality and tourism also remain consistent areas of investment, especially as the market continues to attract leisure travel, business travel, and new residents.

Technology is also gaining real momentum.There’s a concentrated effort to grow a more robust tech ecosystem in Broward and to position the overall region as a gateway to South America for talent, business development, and innovation.

How do you assess the region’s economic momentum, and what role do companies like yours play in sustaining growth?

You can assess momentum in many ways, but I like to look at tangible signals like real estate investment and development activity, along with the broader economic indicators that local leaders track and discuss. From my perspective, there is economic prosperity happening in this community.

As for our role, BBX Capital is a diversified holding company. We invest in real estate as both a developer and an investor, and we operate retail and consumer businesses that employ people and generate local economic activity. In South Florida, that includes our candy and chocolate businesses, including IT’SUGAR, which is headquartered in downtown Fort Lauderdale and has over 100 retail locations across the United States and Canada, and Hoffman’s Chocolates, which is celebrating 50 years in South Florida this year.

We are also deeply engaged in the community through civic involvement and philanthropy. The BBX Capital Foundation is committed to giving back, and we view that commitment as an integral part of growing here and supporting the long-term health of the region.

How do you see the connection between private investment, arts, education, and broader economic resilience?

They are absolutely interconnected. Many of the businesses that prosper in a community are also the ones that write meaningful checks to nonprofit organizations, whether for capital campaigns or ongoing programming, and that support becomes even more important in times of budget cuts.

Locally, there is a commitment from both the City of Fort Lauderdale and Broward County to invest in the arts. People who live here, and businesses that consider relocating here, want to know there is a strong quality of place, and arts and culture are a critical part of that experience.

I chair Business for the Arts Broward, an organization we founded almost 14 years ago. One of our key initiatives has been curating murals across Broward County. We have completed over 20 murals with support from local businesses and community partners that have included the Broward County Cultural Division, the Community Foundation of Broward, and corporate partners, and our goal is to continue expanding access to public art, strengthen the cultural fabric of our community, and deepen the connection between local businesses and the arts. 

What strategic priorities matter most for BBX Capital as you position the company for durable growth over the next several years?

On the real estate side, we are primarily a multifamily developer and investor, and we are focused on cost containment and disciplined execution in our projects. Rental housing is increasingly more important across Florida because the cost of single-family housing is so high. We are providing additional rental options, and helping to meet the needs of the growing market. 

Housing affordability is also connected to employment and retention. We are not primarily developing workforce housing, but we pay attention to the issue because the average workforce cannot afford to live in many parts of Broward County, which impacts employers across all industries.

Across our operating companies, we are also focused on value engineering. Costs have gone up over the last couple of years, from materials to tariffs, and that puts pressure on margins. We also have a manufacturing business in Canada that produces products such as barn doors and door enclosures for major retailers across the U.S. and Canada, and in that environment, smart product decisions and disciplined cost management are essential.

On the consumer side, IT’SUGAR is focused on innovation and experience. We test store design iterations and product ideas, and we also have a high priority around improving our loyalty program. We have close to 10 million customers coming through our doors each year nationally, and we want to enhance how we communicate with them and strengthen engagement.

How are you approaching AI, and where do you see the advantage?

We view AI as a way to enhance our speed and decision-making. Our primary goal with AI is to provide faster, more cost-effective solutions for customers, and to speed up our innovation process across our portfolio.

We are taking our management team to conferences, and we are building AI into our weekly discipline. In management meetings, we ask a simple question: How did you use AI this week? That keeps it practical, and it keeps the learning active.

We are also testing AI in product innovation. I was in a meeting recently with our IT’SUGAR president discussing an idea, and I typed the concept into ChatGPT and asked it to suggest a flavor profile. It was not perfect, but it generated options quickly and expanded the conversation. It’s as if there were three people in the room, not two, and it helped us move from idea to test faster.

If you put two similar companies next to each other and one uses AI to improve its platform and get to market faster, that company will have a real advantage. We expect AI to help us shape product development, customer engagement, and the way we use internal data to guide decisions.

How would you describe your culture and leadership approach?

Our culture is collaborative and entrepreneurial. We work to create an environment where good ideas can come from anywhere, and where people are treated with the same level of respect regardless of title.

I never assume I am the smartest person in the room. We intentionally hire people who have a wealth of knowledge and experience, and we learn from them. We also use data to manage the business. Judgment still matters, but data helps guide decision-making, and we believe AI will help us extract even more value from the data we already have.

Over the last decade, we have also learned the importance of focus. We were once very acquisitive, but today the priority is operational excellence and making the businesses and real estate we have as strong as they can be.

BBX Capital has a long philanthropic history in South Florida. What makes you most proud about that work?

Our company’s commitment to community involvement goes back many decades. We started the BBX Capital Foundation in 1984, and since then we have contributed more than $20 million into South Florida.

I am proud of that legacy, but what makes me most proud is the work that people inside the organization do. Writing checks is important, but it is just as important to get involved and stay involved. When I see our employees serving on boards, chairing events, and taking leadership roles in the community, that is what truly stands out.