Laura Simon, Executive Director, Delray Beach Downtown Development Authority
In an interview with Invest:, Laura Simon, executive director of the Delray Beach Downtown Development Authority, highlighted the city’s dynamic growth, economic diversification, and commitment to preserving its unique charm. Simon also discussed Delray Beach’s appeal to corporate relocations, driven by its vibrant lifestyle and strong sense of place. “Our priority is to keep our organization visible to everyone, ensuring they’re aware we are advocating on their behalf with city leaders,” Simon said.
What are the DDA’s immediate priorities for new projects or initiatives?
Established by the Florida Legislature in 1971, the DDA was created to promote and sustain a thriving downtown district. Funded by a special taxing district composed of downtown property owners, the DDA invests in what matters most: foot traffic, business growth, and placemaking. When the downtown succeeds, everyone benefits—residents, business owners, and visitors alike. Our priorities are to stimulate economic activity, elevate the downtown experience, and position Delray Beach as a premier destination. We do this by bringing people downtown to shop, dine, relax, and engage in the cultural and creative experiences that make our city so special.
Our current focus is on the recent growth in our downtown. We’re experiencing significant new development, redevelopment, and constantly welcoming new businesses and residents. Internally, we’re concentrating on new businesses and sustaining our existing businesses, keeping them fresh, motivated, and highlighted. Our organization is heavily market- and promotion-driven as it relates to business development. We balance supporting businesses that have been here for 80 years with those here for eight months, striving to stay relevant and engaged with them. We’re also seeing a lot of residential development downtown, and we are focused on ensuring our downtown residents are benefitting with walkable access to world-class events, restaurants, retailers and amenities. Our priority is to keep the Delray DDA visible to everyone and ensuring they are aware we are advocating on their behalf with city leaders.
What is your overview of the economic landscape in Delray Beach?
Our current trends in economic development are pretty consistent with past trends. We’re seeing trends back to where they were almost in 2019, pre-pandemic. But we’re also seeing new additions in our office space, including new office development that has come online over the past year. The influx of higher-end office development into the community is attracting a very strong daytime crowd, which is needed because our downtown has very much had a tourism or hospitality industry focus. To have industry workers, office workers, and daytime residents coming more into the mix has been really a nice thing to see and a new trend for us. Our hope is to see more of that with the new residential developments happening in the downtown core.
What are the main industries and sectors driving growth, employment, and new opportunities in Delray Beach?
The current trend centers on real estate development, financial, and insurance. We have multiple headquarters here: Merrill Lynch, various insurance firms, International Materials, and both Vertical Bridge and DigitalBridge have all moved their headquarters to Delray. This often follows CEOs relocating or establishing an additional home in Delray, then shifting their business headquarters. TRX, a wellness and fitness brand, also opened its global headquarters here a couple of years ago, moving from remote work in California to Delray Beach. This trend of families moving first, then businesses, truly matches Delray Beach’s lifestyle as a cool beach town and a great place to work. It’s a great marriage, seeing strong industry leaders and business professionals in a casual, fun environment. Their fitness and fun lifestyles align with ours and their business missions. Vertical Bridge, for example, chose Delray Beach because it matches their values and business model. For us, this is a feather in our cap, demonstrating we’ve done something well. We’re true to who we are as a community, and many are now feeling that and wanting to be part of it.
What makes Delray Beach a great place to live, work, and play, from both a business and quality of life perspective?
As someone born, raised, and now working in the area, it’s ideal. Delray Beach is very family-friendly and community-driven. We live on the best part of Florida’s coast, always feeling tropical. We’re not a high-rise community, so anywhere in town offers a great sunset, moonrise, or sunrise, unblocked by buildings, which greatly impacts how people feel. You still see the history of our town, discovered in the late 1800s. The descendants of many of those who discovered it still live here with family, creating a marriage of history and new industry, lending a sense of charm that draws people in. Our main street – Atlantic Avenue – goes right to the ocean, offering great walkability and shopability for residents and visitors. The strong sense of safety is also crucial to our community’s quality of life. It’s safe, clean and a beautiful place to live and work.
How is the DDA balancing economic growth and new opportunities with preserving quality of life and the local character of Delray Beach?
To start, we’ve really worked with our city leadership and partners, staying focused on our comprehensive plan and downtown master plans. We aim to balance the sectors in our small city and downtown, repurposing and rehabbing buildings into complementary new concepts. We’re seeing a huge influx of health and wellness organizations, which is a great and accessible sector that complements our farm-to-table food and independent retail.
The residential trend is also strong, with many new residential plans converting commercial to residential use. This is positive, as our plan proposed absorbing more residential units. However, we must not lose too much commercial space. Our organization must stay in lockstep with city leadership and the private sector to manage this balance. There’s still work to do, especially east of 95, between 95 and Swinton, an area with significant opportunity. This is an important process for us to stay close to.
What role do the public and private sectors, alongside the DDA, play in bringing new development and economic opportunities to Delray Beach?
Our role is to work closely with our community development partner agency. They focus on redevelopment, owning property and seeking private sector development. For private landowners, property owners, and building owners, it’s crucial for us to stay connected to ensure the right fit — something that will last 50 years, not just five. That’s our concern.
We also work closely with our city partners and government. They change ordinances or propose new ones or have older ones that don’t fit the current market. Some things in our plans need updating as they are antiquated for today’s business owners. It’s really important for us to always have our hands on the pulse of what’s happening, as much as possible, though it’s not always easy.
What is on the DDA’s agenda in terms of redevelopment, infrastructure, and expansion projects?
We’re a recommending body, guiding government and private sector development. The Sundy Village project, which has been in the pipeline for seven years, is finally having its ribbon-cutting, with tenants moving in within three months. This pivotal project pays homage to our community’s history while bringing newness. It features office, restaurant, retail, and parking.
In the pipeline, we’re also seeing new residential projects, including multi-unit townhomes on the south corners of Federal Highway near Atlantic Avenue, and a couple blocks north. An older project, approved in 2013, finally broke ground this year, bringing two main rental buildings near the FEC Railroad, just south of Atlantic Avenue. These projects will bring a large number of new residents in the next couple of years. We’ve also seen many new restaurants, service providers and retailers open in the past eight months, bringing great ideas, experiences and more. Many of these new locations are introducing a different style and customer, yet people still wear flip-flops, T-shirts, and ride bicycles or golf carts. It’s a great evolution for Delray.
Are there additional services, amenities, or initiatives that the DDA is planning to bring to Delray Beach beyond redevelopment and infrastructure?
We operate the Cornell Art Museum and the Amphitheatre, located in the historic Delray Elementary and High School buildings at Old School Square. This campus turns 100 years old this year, and we’re planning to recognize the anniversary by integrating its history into our exhibitions and events. It serves as our downtown’s central park. In partnership with the City of Delray Beach, we manage and activate the campus, which is a huge economic driver, consistently bringing thousands of people to Downtown Delray.
Another major focus is extending our season. As a very seasonal community, summer significantly impacts our commerce. We must bridge the gap between spring/winter and summer to generate a strong economy and encourage people to stay. This year, we’re leveraging our wellness community, embracing what locals love. We are doing this by highlighting wellness events to bring people downtown and creating programs and offers that attract locals and regional visitors. We’re continuing to focus on keeping it beautiful and safe.
