South Central
South Central Florida has no ocean coastline, no theme parks. What it does have are wide open spaces, quaint country charm and an enviable geographic position: dead center.
Consequently, 86% of Florida’s entire population is within a 150-mile radius via three interstate highways, Florida’s Turnpike, four U.S. highways and the Okeechobee Waterway, a system of navigable rivers and canals linking Florida’s east and west coasts through Lake Okeechobee. This is Florida’s heartland, where citrus groves and subtropical foliage thrive alongside manufacturing facilities and solar power plants. It’s a great place to raise a family; it’s an even better place to grow a business.
Thanks to an abundance of available land and sunshine, Florida’s South Central region offers the ideal environment for solar power generation. In 2009, Florida Power & Light chose to site the state’s first solar power plant — DeSoto Solar Energy Center — in this region. With the addition of FPL’s Citrus Solar Energy Center in 2016 and its Wildflower Solar Energy Center in 2018, DeSoto became Florida’s “solar capital,” generating more solar power than any other county in the state.
A fourth FPL facility — Hammock Solar Energy Center — opened in Hendry County in 2018, further solidifying South Central’s statewide preeminence in renewable energy. With 74.5 megawatts of solar capacity each, the Citrus, Wildflower and Hammock plants collectively generate enough electricity to power 45,000 homes.
And while no new solar facilities are planned for South Central, improvements at existing facilities continue. In early 2018, FPL unveiled a solar-plus-storage system at the Citrus Solar Energy Center that is believed to be the first in the U.S. to fully integrate battery technology with a major solar power plant in an effort to increase overall energy output. For the Citrus plant, this means a potential increase of more than 500,000 kilowatt-hours delivered to the electric grid per year. In addition to immediate energy delivery, the system provides increased capacity to store energy for dispatch to the grid at a later time.
Companies making everything from nutritional supplements to fertilizer have found the right sites and a ready workforce in South Central Florida. Many manufacturers have chosen to cluster at the 264-acre Hardee Commerce Park, offering low-cost utilities, easy proximity to rail and highway connections — even a sheriff’s substation providing 24/7 security. Tenants and their products include: Seychelles Organics (nutraceuticals); PFMan (rotary engine-powered generators for institutional use); Pacer Group (electrical supplies for boats); Florikan (controlled-release fertilizer) and KeyPlex (plant nutrients and biocontrol products). Employment in the park is estimated at 400.
Manufacturers are finding success next door in Highlands County, too. CitraPac, maker of FruitPearls real fruit healthy snacks, is settling into its 44,000-sq.-ft. facility in Sebring. The firm’s President Gregg Harshman is a South Central native who brought his business to the region because, he says, “the operating costs are low, and the people are great.” At Sebring Multimodal Logistics Center, a 2,000-acre commerce park adjacent to Sebring Regional Airport, Diversified CPC International is constructing a 6,000-sq.-ft. combined office building and warehouse. The Illinois-based manufacturer of specialty gases, aerosol propellants, alternative fuels, NGL refrigerants and foam blowing agents plans to use the facility as a distribution terminal to serve customers in the Caribbean.
And in Hendry County, a former sugar cane refinery is undergoing transformation into an aluminum recycling and manufacturing plant operated by ATIO USA. Scheduled to begin operations in late 2018, the plant will convert scrap and waste aluminum into parts for the global automobile industry and OEM suppliers.
Called one of America’s top 10 most picturesque small towns by theculturetrip.com, Sebring has snagged another honor. Using recent data on personal income and the cost of living from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, Business Insider named Sebring among its top 10 “Least Expensive Places to Live in America” for 2018. And consider this: A recent study conducted by Site Selection Group found operating costs in Highlands County to be 10-15% lower than nearby metro areas.
South Central is a slice of “old Florida” with plenty to see and do: paddling down the Peace River; circumnavigating Lake Okeechobee; golfing at Streamsong Resort in Bowling Green; antiquing in Arcadia; browsing among quirky sculptures made from “junk” at Solomon’s Castle near Wauchula; clowning around in Lake Placid at a school where dozens have trained; getting to know the first Floridians from the things they left behind at Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation in Clewiston; and staying up past dark to enjoy some of Florida’s best stargazing at remote Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park.
Enjoy a full calendar of festivals too, many of which celebrate this region’s native flora and fauna, such as: swamp cabbage (LaBelle); speckled perch (Okeechobee); caladiums (Lake Placid); sour oranges (Lakeport); and alligator hatching (Palmdale).
Each spring, while most of the country is consumed with brackets and basketball, South Central presents its own brand of “March Madness” in the form of two iconic back-to-back events: an auto race and a rodeo. Up first is the “Granddaddy of Them All,” the four-day Arcadia All Florida Championship Rodeo, which draws some 30,000 riders and their fans to DeSoto County in March. In 2018, the event celebrated its 90th anniversary in the newly constructed Mosaic Arena; the 2019 event is set for March 7-10. One week later, the spotlight shifts to Highlands County where sports cars, along with their drivers and teams from 20 countries — plus thousands of race enthusiasts — gather for the “Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring” endurance race. The race itself lasts just one day; the activities surrounding it go on for four. The 67th annual event is scheduled for March 13-16, 2019.
And just in case neither auto race nor rodeo appeals, South Central offers another four-day event to consider. The annual outdoor Okeechobee Music & Arts Festival, which draws about 25,000 to an 800-acre site in Okeechobee County, is scheduled, rain or shine, for March 7-10, 2019.