Broward County Commission Regular Meeting
Director's Name: Joseph Morris
Department: Port Everglades Division: Business Development
Information
Requested Action
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(This is the first of two required public hearings. The second public hearing will be held on June 9, 2026.)
MOTION TO APPROVE Third Amendment to Marine Terminal Lease and Operating Agreement between Broward County and Crowley Liner Services, Inc., effective on April 30, 2026, to redefine the Premises to include two separate phases of land givebacks totaling approximately 11.5 acres; define the Grant-related Permanent Improvements; exercise the first five-year Option Term extending the Agreement through April 30, 2031; unbundle and establish the rates (rent, shipmove rates, and minimum annual guarantee) for the first Option Term; redefine cargo eligible for negotiated rates; and update other provisions.
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Why Action is Necessary
Pursuant to Chapter 94-429, Laws of Florida, and Section 32.5 of the Broward County Administrative Code, two Public Hearings are required.
What Action Accomplishes
Allows for the consideration of the Third Amendment to Marine Terminal Lease and Operating Agreement between Broward County and Crowley Liner Services, Inc. This is the first of two Public Hearings. The second public hearing will be held on June 9, 2026. No action is required on this motion.
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Previous Action Taken
None
Summary Explanation/Background
THE PORT EVERGLADES DEPARTMENT RECOMMENDS APPROVAL.
This action supports the Broward County Board of County Commissioners’ (“Board”) Value of “Building partnerships and working collaboratively with others to meet shared objectives,” and the Goal of “Ensuring economic opportunities and a sustainable economy, with an emphasis on Broward’s lower and middle class.”
As the first tenant of the Southport container terminal complex at Port Everglades, Crowley Liner Services, Inc. (“Crowley”), entered into a lease agreement with the Port Everglades Authority, predecessor in interest to Broward County, effective January 22, 1990. On June 14, 2016 (Item No. PH-5), the Board approved Crowley’s most recent Marine Terminal Lease and Operating Agreement that established a 10-year term, retroactive to May 1, 2016, with two five-year renewal options (the “Agreement”). This Agreement combined two separate terminals, totaling 99 acres, under a single agreement. As Crowley anticipated that they would gain efficiencies from the combined terminal operations, the Agreement provided Crowley with the option to reopen negotiations to return a portion of the leasehold at any time before or within one year of completion of the Southport Turning Notch Extension (“SPTNE”). The Agreement authorized the Port Everglades Chief Executive Officer/Port Director to execute any resulting amendment to the Agreement.
On November 2, 2017, the Port Everglades Chief Executive Officer/Port Director executed the First Amendment to the Agreement, reducing the size of Crowley’s leasehold to approximately 78 acres and modifying the Shipmove rates and Minimum Annual Guaranteed (“MAG”) Shipmoves based upon the amount of acreage surrendered.
On February 26, 2019 (Item No. 32), the Board approved the Second Amendment to the Agreement, which, among other things, revised the description of the premises, revised the Shipmove rates and annual minimum guaranteed payments, provided a credit for certain permanent improvements, and modified Crowley’s termination rights.
On July 28, 2025, Port Everglades received a letter from Crowley dated July 21, 2025, indicating the intent to exercise its first five-year renewal option. After a series of fact-finding meetings between Port Everglades Department and Crowley staffs, six negotiation meetings were held on November 24, 2025, December 19, 2025, February 20, 2026, March 19, 2026, March 27, 2026, and April 3, 2026, to discuss the terms of the Third Amendment to the Agreement. Participants included representatives from Crowley, Port Everglades, and the County Attorney’s Office. Pursuant to Section 315.18, Florida Statutes, the meetings were closed to the public.
The primary business terms of the proposed Third Amendment, effective retroactive to April 30, 2026, are:
• Term: Crowley exercises its first five-year renewal option, extending the Agreement through April 30, 2031. One additional five-year renewal option remains.
• Leasehold: On May 1, 2026, Crowley returned approximately 6.6 acres of the Premises, as more particularly depicted on Exhibit A-1 to the Third Amendment as “Area 1” and “Area 2,” in its present “as-is” condition. The proposed amendment reflects that return and reduces the premises accordingly. Crowley shall additionally return approximately 4.63 additional acres of the Premises, as more particularly depicted on Exhibit A-1 to the Third Amendment as “Area 3,” to the County no later than April 30, 2029. The deadline to return Area 3 may be extended by the Chief Executive Officer/Port Director if Crowley demonstrates that it must maintain Area 3 as an offset for other land within the Premises that is unavailable for business operations (e.g., store, handle, and/or move cargo) due to construction of “Grant-related Permanent Improvements,” as further set forth in the Third Amendment. Shipmove/MAG and rent will be proportionately recalculated upon the surrender of Area 3. The Grant-related Permanent Improvements include construction of refrigerated container racks, new high mast lighting, optical character recognition portals, and electrical system upgrades. Crowley will be the subrecipient of federal grant funds for these improvements received by the County under a FY 2024 Port Infrastructure Development Program grant approved by the Board on May 12, 2026 (Item No. 2).
• Rent Structure: This amendment decouples the previously bundled container (shipmove) rate that included the land rent, crane usage, and certain marine charges and replaces that with separate rental charges as follows:
o Building Rent: Rent for the Administration Building/Gate Complex, Maintenance and Repair Building, and Marine Operations Building and underlying land (collectively, the “Administration Space”) will be $460,988 for Lease Year 11 based on a current appraisal, with annual 3% increases thereafter. The current rent is $633,980.
o Land Rent: Rent for the remainder of the land within the leasehold will be $1.53 per square foot for Lease Year 11, with 3% annual increase thereafter. Crowley’s current rent is $1.23 per square foot.
• Shipmove Rate: $59.50 per move, for Lease Year 11 (up from $54.2875 in Lease Year 10), with annual 3% increases thereafter.
• Minimum Annual Guarantee (“MAG”): 138,309 shipmoves (1,975 shipmoves per acre) for Lease Years 11-15. The MAG shall be proportionally reduced upon the return of Area 3.
• MAG Shortfall: Revises MAG framework by implementing a provision under which any annual shortfall is assessed through tiered adjustments to the applicable shipmove rate, with higher adjustments applied to larger shortfalls, as follows:
o 0-5% MAG shortfall is charged at the applicable Shipmove Rate.
o 5.01%-10% MAG shortfall is charged at the applicable Shipmove Rate + 7.5%.
o Over 10% MAG shortfall is charged at the applicable Shipmove Rate +11.5%.
This is a change from the current approach where Crowley pays the same minimum guaranteed amount irrespective of the size of the shortfall.
• MAG Payment Structure: Crowley will move from a monthly payment model to a “Pay-as-you-go” model, as follows:
o The Shipmove rates for cargo containers will be invoiced to Crowley on a per-vessel basis and shall be paid within thirty (30) days after the date of each invoice.
o Within forty-five (45) days after the end of each Lease Year, County will invoice Crowley for any MAG Shortfall for that Lease Year. Crowley will pay the invoiced amount within ninety (90) days after the end of the applicable Lease Year.
• Security Deposit: Increases from $1,400,000 to $2,057,346.
• Volume Incentive Discount: Rate discount of $10.00 per shipmove will apply to the first 20,000 shipmoves above the MAG and rate discount of $16.00 per shipmove will apply to all shipmoves greater than 20,000 shipmoves above the MAG.
• Proprietary Cargo: Eliminates previous restrictions on cargo eligibility for negotiated shipmove rates. All containerized cargo handled by Crowley, including cargo previously serviced by other Port Everglades terminals within the last 12 months, will be billed at negotiated shipmove rates and will count toward the MAG. However, cargo serviced by other Port Everglades terminals within the previous 12 months will not be eligible for volume incentive discounts for one year.
• Maintenance: A new exhibit is added to clearly define the distribution of maintenance and repair responsibilities between the County and Crowley.
Crowley operates the largest container terminal in Port Everglades and provides regular containerized cargo services between Port Everglades and ports in Central America, the Western Caribbean, and the U.S. Virgin Islands/Eastern Caribbean. Over the past ten fiscal years, Crowley has handled more than 2.8 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of containers, generating approximately $131 million in revenue for Port Everglades.
By the end of the term, the economic impact of the proposed Third Amendment is estimated to support 2,137 total jobs, of which 711 are direct jobs, 756 are indirect jobs, and 670 are induced jobs. A total of $199,012,000 in annual personal income is expected to be generated from these jobs. The annual impact on business services revenue is projected to be approximately $261,482,000. State and local taxes of $20,034,000 are expected to be generated annually. The economic impact is based on the MAG and will increase for any shipmoves exceeding the MAG (see Exhibit 3).
The Notice of Public Hearing for this first public hearing was published twice (May 15, 2026, and May 22, 2026) pursuant to the applicable provisions of Chapter 94-429, Laws of Florida (see Exhibit 4).
The Third Amendment to the Marine Terminal Lease and Operating Agreement has been reviewed and approved as to form by the Office of the County Attorney. The amendment is completing final review within Crowley before execution, and the Board will be advised through the Monday Night Memo if the amendment is not executed by Crowley prior to the first public hearing.
Source of Additional Information
Jorge A. Hernández, Director of Business Development, Port Everglades Department, (954) 468-3501
Stacie Warren, Real Property Administrator, Business Development, Port Everglades Department, (954) 468-3706
Fiscal Impact
Fiscal Impact/Cost Summary
The County is estimated to receive guaranteed revenue of $70,918,073 during the five-year option term, including land rent, building rent, and MAG payments for container shipmoves. Any cargo throughput exceeding the MAG will generate additional revenue.