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Economic Yearbook 2007
CENTRAL: New Spirit
Bulding on Burnham and a booming simulation industry.
Regional Trends
? Digital Media The industry includes modeling, simulation and training; film and TV production; theme park rides and shows; and interactive and immersive entertainment. The average wage for an Orlando high-tech worker is $70,000. Source: Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission |
ECONOMIC GROWTH: Metro Orlando has been named a top 10 "geek mecca" by Wired magazine. Business Week called it the "world epicenter" for computer simulation as well as a top-three growth hot spot, along with Stockholm and Singapore. ... Orlando is the future home of a coveted Burnham Institute for Medical Research facility. That has sparked a flurry of calls from companies wanting to move to central Florida, says John Krug, vice president of business development for the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission.
COOPERATION: Area leaders are teaming to develop three public entertainment venues in downtown Orlando, start commuter rail from Volusia through Osceola counties and solicit public input on regional growth. "We truly are on fire as a community," county Mayor Rich Crotty says.
CHALLENGES: The region faces tough issues that come with expanding by 100,000 residents a year -- urban sprawl, gridlocked roads and record murder rates in Orlando and Orange County in 2006.
Orlando
DOWNTOWN: The skyline is covered with construction cranes adding office towers, hotels, condominiums, restaurants and retail properties expected to turn downtown into a 24-hour city in the next three to five years. ... A new performing arts center, a more modern arena and a renovated Citrus Bowl stadium are in the works, along with a "creative village" of digital media companies, housing and shopping.
ON THE OUTSKIRTS: Redevelopment initiatives outside the downtown core include an incubator for general business rather than tech companies; a grant program to spruce up buildings in blighted areas; and a multimodal transportation station at Orlando International Airport.
PLUSES: Low unemployment ... a boon in office space construction ... an increasingly diverse population ... major expansions at both downtown hospitals.
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Innovators
? Dr. Brian Tonner, president and CEO of the Orlando Science Center and father of four, envisioned an event that would combine pop culture, technology and education, which led to Otronicon, a 10-day electronic interactive entertainment convention. The second annual event, held in January, attracted 18,000 local video game enthusiasts of all ages. The event included contests, seminars and demonstrations that spotlighted central Florida's growing digital media industry.
? Intelligent Global Pooling Systems manufactures the first plastic shipping pallets tagged with computer chips that allow them to be tracked and inventoried anywhere in the world. The devices are lighter than their traditional wooden counterparts, so they allow shippers to carry more cargo within weight limits.
? ZeroChaos helps Fortune 1000 companies find and maintain contract information technology workers. It has just acquired New York-based FlexCorp Systems, which specializes in placing "alumni talent," or semi-retired people. Both have been noted for their innovative full-disclosure pricing, which allows clients to see exactly where their money is going. Before the acquisition, Inc. magazine ranked ZeroChaos 71 on its list of 500 fastest-growing private companies in the country. The company posted a three-year sales increase of 1,070%.
? As founder of Riptide Software, Phil Loeffel has led the fastest-growing company in Florida's High Tech Corridor with a 6,000% increase in revenue in the past five years, according to the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission. The company's online gaming products, including America's Army, have been picked up and retooled by the military as training tools, and Riptide's Professional Services division provides IT staffing for corporations, including Walt Disney World, Starwood and Marriott.
