CI Financial Corp. is opening a U.S. headquarters in Miami, joining other finance and investing firms including Blackstone Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. that have expanded in South Florida since the pandemic began.

Toronto-based CI Financial plans to take up roughly 20,000 square feet (1,850 square meters) of office space at 830 Brickell, a Class A-plus officer tower under construction in Miami’s Brickell financial district.

“Miami is an incredible place to establish our U.S. headquarters and support our fast-growing U.S. business,” Chief Executive Officer Kurt MacAlpine said Wednesday in a statement.

Private equity firm Thoma Bravo and technology company Microsoft Corp. have disclosed plans to establish offices in the same building. The property is being developed by OKO Group and Cain International for completion next year.

Florida is still a far cry from the “Wall Street of the South” that its boosters dream of building. But the pandemic has provided a significant lift to those efforts by showing companies that workers can be efficient from anywhere and empowering employees to demand lifestyle choices outside of uber-pricey industry hubs such as New York and San Francisco.

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