What pops into mind when considering the ideal Central Florida address to live, work and play? For a growing number of executives, business owners and families looking to leave congested regions behind, the answer is Apopka.
As Orange County’s second-largest city, the businesses and 57,000 residents who call Apopka home find an address teeming with opportunity on the leading edge of business and industry.
“We’re home to large corporations and technology start-ups helping define the future,” says Cate Manley, president and CEO with the Apopka Area Chamber of Commerce. The organization’s economic and community development eff orts help lure, retain or grow leading employers, such as FinFrock, Randall Construction, Coca Cola, Amazon, Goya Foods, Agri-Starts, Bloem LLC, Qorvo, Lumen Technologies, Micross Components, and health care provider Advent Health Apopka.
Among the amenities luring new business are:
Development permitting and incentives. City leaders are planning for tomorrow by digitizing their permitting process citywide, which will speed up the process for the 6,900 homes projected for the next five years. Developers and property owners enjoy one of the lowest property and municipal tax rates in the region, with utility discounts for larger industrial users. Incentives range from planned industrial parks to area HUB and Opportunity Zones and mixed-use development along the city’s historic Main Street, also known as US 441. The city also partners with the county and state to offer various incentive programs, including impact fee credits.
Workforce training and development. With light manufacturing and industrial development coming to Apopka, the Chamber’s Workforce Leadership Group helps align training and certification with business needs. Partners include CareerSource Central Florida, the University of Central Florida, Seminole State College, Orange Technical College, and Valencia College. Together, their certificate and degree programs with accelerated training include stackable credentials and virtual reality programming in pursuit of degree attainment up to the postgraduate level.
Highway, transportation and infrastructure. Apopka is 30 minutes to downtown Orlando, 90 minutes to Tampa and a straight shot east to the commercialized Space Coast. Just off Interstate 4 and Florida’s Turnpike, the opening of State Road 429 and the eventual completion of the Wekiva Parkway, a segment of the Central Florida Beltway, makes Apopka part of a truly interconnected community. Freight, rail and truck lines find a growing network of warehouse, distribution and intermodal centers. The downtown business district is a half hour to Orlando International Airport, the world’s eighth busiest airport, and four miles to Orlando Apopka Airport.
Growing industry. Business blossoms in Apopka, a town called the "Indoor Foliage Capital of the World" for its greenhouses and nurseries. The city will have seven million square feet of new manufacturing and light industrial space on the books by 2025. In addition, Apopka has numerous small businesses and an ever-growing number of remote workers that also call the area home.
Natural beauty with cultural and wellness amenities. Apopka was founded in 1882 on the banks of Lake Apopka and the Wekiva River and still retains its historic charm. With an amphitheater, ballfields, spring-fed parks and waterways teeming with fish, the city’s cultural, youth athletics and ecotourism are unmatched. The St. Johns River Water Management District’s Wildlife Drive offers 11 meandering miles for birdwatching and alligator sightings. The city is also a stop on the developing Coast-to-Coast (C2C) Trail stretching 250 miles from the Gulf of Mexico to the Canaveral National Seashore. For world-class healthcare, Apopka is home to the advanced, new 100-bed AdventHealth Hospital.
For more information on Central Florida’s most welcoming place to live, work and play, where the small hometown feel is still a tradition, visit the Apopka Area Chamber of Commerce at ApopkaChamber.org or the Apopka Growth Alliance at GrowApopka.com. Or call us today at 407-886-1441.