Southeast Florida

ECONOMIC LIFE

Aviation
• Fixed-base operator Galaxy Aviation: adding 200 jobs and 75,000 square feet to the 1 million it occupies at Palm Beach International Airport.

• Two companies are joining the Aviation cluster at Miramar Centre Business Park: Turbine Controls with its first Florida facility and 60 jobs, and AeroTurbine, bringing its headquarters and adding 75 jobs.

• Boeing: adding nearly $100 million in training assets to its Miami commercial Aviation training campus, including two 787 full-flight simulators.

Business/Financial Services
• Four of the world’s largest security firms have corporate presence in Palm Beach County, including ADT, which will invest $6.4 million and add 120 new jobs at its Boca Raton headquarters.

• Staffing firm Oasis Outsourcing has expanded its West Palm Beach headquarters to 49,079 square feet, retaining 200 employees in the process.

Life Sciences/Healthcare
• Sunrise-based Bolton Medical Solutions grew its staff by 30 in 2012 and expects to add 20-30 more jobs in two years. In 2013, the firm’s Relay Thoracic Stent-Graft received FDA approval for treatment of thoracic aortic aneurysms.

• Clinical research company Advanced Pharma opened in Miami’s "Health District" with 40 employees and plans to add another 60 by 2014.

• At the Florida Center for Innovation in Port St. Lucie: Martin Health System will open its 90-bed Tradition Medical Center in early 2014; the Mann Research Center’s 45,000-sq.-ft. medical office building, opening in 2014, is almost fully leased.

Trade and Distribution
• PortMiami: Work continues on a truck tunnel providing direct access to Interstates 395 and 95, and deep dredging to accommodate post-Panamax ships by 2015.

• Port Everglades: Modernization of four cruise terminals is complete; a cargo rail facility is under construction.

• Port of Palm Beach: Received $1.8 million from FEMA to purchase and install security upgrades.

• Inland ports: Developers weigh the feasibility of creating inland logistics centers in Palm Beach and St. Lucie counties.

Small Business Support
• Miami was named 3rd-best U.S. city for small businesses by The Street in 2013.

• For the second time in a year, the Research Park at Florida Atlantic University has expanded its Technology Business Incubator to better accommodate current clients and house new companies on its waiting list.

• Project Lift Miami, a partnership of design firm Lift 1428 and the Miami Innovation Center at the University of Miami Life Science & Technology Park, has launched the first health-focused startup accelerator in Miami, offering classes, mentoring and strategic support to south Florida entrepreneurs.

Technology
• Construction management software firm e-Builder will expand in Plantation and add 33 jobs.

• Website translation and globalization services firm MotionPoint Corporation is adding 15,000 square feet to its Coconut Creek site and up to150 new employees within three years.

• Boca Raton-based 3Cinteractive, maker of business software for mobile phones, was named to Forbes list of "America’s Most Promising Companies" in 2012.

QUALITY OF LIFE

Downtown resurgence With the 5.4-million-sq.-ft. Brickell CitiCentre and several more office and residential high-rises under construction, downtown has become the "in" place for young professionals to live and play in Miami. More than 200 restaurants have opened here since 2005, and crowds continue coming to cheer the 2012 and 2013 NBA champion Miami Heat and enjoy two of downtown’s main cultural events: the Miami Book Fair International and International Film Festival.

Quality education The region’s roster of 17 colleges and universities includes: Nova Southeastern University, which in 2012 opened its $50-million Center of Excellence for Coral Reef Ecosystems; Broward College, a finalist for the 2013 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence; and Indian River State College, known for its career development curriculum. Two Southeast Florida high schools are among the top 10 in Newsweek’s 2013 "America’s Best High Schools."

Tags: Business Florida