Southwest
With just three counties, Southwest is Florida’s smallest region by land size, but it carries a powerful demographic punch.
Lee County is home to three of “2017’s Fastest Growing Cities in America.” Collier County has Florida’s highest per capita income — $80,252 in 2017 — and Charlotte County, with its strategic location along I-75 between Tampa and Miami, is a logistics epicenter for its ready access to nearly 4 million potential customers within 90 miles. Not surprisingly, many corporate headquarters have found homes in Southwest Florida along with robust clusters of firms engaged in logistics, life sciences and technology/business services.
Global medical device manufacturer Arthrex, a fixture in Collier County since 1991, is expanding — again. Construction has begun on two of three buildings at the firm’s headquarters campus in Naples: the six-story Arthrex Event and Administration Building and the four-story INNovation Hotel to accommodate physicians who come to Naples for training in the use of surgical devices developed at Arthrex. A third building will house a medical clinic and fitness facilities for Arthrex employees and their families. The full expansion is slated for completion in late 2019.
Health care options for consumers are also growing here. The following facilities are either planned or currently under construction:
• Lee Health Coconut Point, an 82-bed facility in Estero with an anticipated opening of December 2018. Fort Myers-based Lee Health is this region’s largest health care provider.
• A yet-to-be named HCA 80-bed acute care hospital in Estero. Nashville-based HCA Healthcare currently operates 15 hospitals along Florida’s Gulf coast including Fawcett Memorial Hospital in Port Charlotte.
• Braden Clinic Hospital, a 25-bed facility planned for Ave Maria and the first hospital to be sited in eastern Collier County.
• A combination ER and outpatient medical center in Bonita Springs by NCH Healthcare System, operator of the largest hospitals in Collier County.
Globally minded distributors in Southwest Florida enjoy easy access to domestic and international markets via I-75, which puts five deepwater ports within a half-day’s drive. This ready proximity to customers far and wide is precisely the reason Cheney Brothers chose Punta Gorda as the site for its fifth distribution center in 2015. From a 250,000-sq.-ft. facility along I-75, Cheney Brothers is able to readily and efficiently meet the demands of foodservice providers throughout Florida and beyond.
Two commercial airports serve this region and both are busier than ever. With 12 airlines and 28 gates, Southwest Florida International Airport logged a record 8.8 million passengers in 2017 and recently added three German cities to its roster of destinations. And coming soon: a $160-million renovation and expansion project to include new security checkpoints and additional space for concessions.
Punta Gorda Airport — with just one airline, Allegiant — logged nearly 1.3 million passengers in 2017 for a 16% increase over the previous year. In June 2018, Allegiant launched non-stop service to Nashville, bringing to 41 the number of mid-sized U.S. cities it serves. The airport also hosts many aviation-related businesses and flight schools, including Western Michigan University’s College of Aviation, which in fall 2017 opened a campus here for its bachelor’s program in aviation flight science.
Back on solid ground, urban streets are easier to navigate since The Nickel Ride came to town in 2017. This fleet of electric vehicles zips around downtowns to shops, restaurants, resorts and events within a three-mile radius, at no cost to riders. The company makes its money selling ads on and inside the vehicles, and local business owners pay drivers to act as their brand ambassadors. Nickel Ride is available in Fort Myers, Cape Coral and Punta Gorda.
Technology and business services loom large in Southwest's economic footprint too. With more than 1,200 employees at its Fort Myers office, the tech research and advisory firm Gartner has enjoyed a presence in this region for 20 years and, since 2012, has expanded four times. Its latest $21-million expansion is on track to create 600 jobs.
Aviation software development firm Flightdocs has relocated its headquarters from Long Island, opening a 6,200-sq.-ft. technology center in Bonita Springs. The firm, which employs nearly 40 software developers and other technology experts, provides customized cloud-based aircraft maintenance tracking, compliance and inventory management. CEO Rick Heine says the move to Southwest Florida will help his firm tap into “the area’s abundant technology resources and talent.”
Southwest is a place people really want to live and work. Three of America’s top 15 fastest-growing cities in 2017 according to personal finance website WalletHub are in Lee County: Lehigh Acres No. 3, Fort Myers No. 7 and Cape Coral No. 15.
Businesses flock here too. Hertz, Arthrex, Chico’s FAS, Algenol Biofuels, Fox Electronics, Shaw Development and 21st Century Oncology have all established corporate headquarters in Southwest Florida.
And, once they get here, there’s plenty to see and do: quaint shops and galleries; symphony orchestras, theaters, festivals and museums; spring training baseball in Fort Myers and Port Charlotte; natural wonders like Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, Ten Thousand Islands, Big Cypress Preserve and Everglades National Park; and miles of coastal waters for boating, beach combing, bird watching, swimming and kayaking.
Florida SouthWestern State College — ranked one of the nation’s “50 Best Community Colleges” by College Choice in 2017 — offers degrees and certificate programs at campuses in all three Southwest Florida counties. Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers offers 57 undergraduate and 29 graduate degrees plus workshops and counseling for entrepreneurs on its 800-acre campus. Also in Southwest Florida, two private universities: Hodges, with campuses in Naples and Fort Myers, and Ave Maria, a Catholic university and town created by Domino’s Pizza founder Tom Monaghan.
Living in Florida's Southwest is state-of-the-art. Babcock Ranch, a 17,000-acre solar-powered community straddling Charlotte and Lee counties, welcomed its first residents in January 2018. When fully built, the community will consist of 19,500 residential units and 6 million square feet of commercial space.
And in downtown Punta Gorda, construction is scheduled to begin in fall 2018 on Allegiant Air Travel Company’s Sunseeker Resort Charlotte Harbor. The 22-acre high-rise community will offer both resort accommodations in 275 hotel rooms and 800+ condominium units overlooking the Gulf of Mexico as well as restaurants, bars, shops, a marina, fitness center, medical facility and grocery/pharmacy.