 Demographics for the Southeast Region can be found at Business Florida's interactive map of Florida. |
| Southeast Florida Resources: Universities/Colleges • Barry University • Broward College • Florida Atlantic University • Florida Career College • Florida International University • Florida Keys Community College • Florida Memorial University • Indian River State College • Keiser University • Lynn University • Miami Dade College • Nova Southeastern University • Palm Beach Atlantic University • Palm Beach Community College • St. Thomas University • University of Miami Airports Seaports |
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY
International Flair: Miami-Dade County’s economic landscape is home to 1,000 multinational companies (up from 200 a decade ago). Among the newcomers is Caja Madrid, which in April 2008 spent $927 million to acquire 83% of Miami-based City National Bank of Florida. The move gave this 300-year-old savings bank — and its $250 billion in assets — a base of operations in Miami. Closer to home, Goya Foods of Florida, the country’s largest Hispanic-owned food company, had pondered moving its 300 people to a new location; instead, Goya will invest $26 million to expand its present facilities by 120,000 square feet, thanks, in part, to assistance from The Beacon Council, Miami-Dade’s economic development partnership, in identifying available incentives.Tourism remains a strong force in Miami-Dade. The long-time beachfront icon — Fontainbleau Miami Beach — will add 1,500 new jobs as it completes a $1-billion expansion/facelift and reopens in November 2008.
More from Miami-Dade County:
Building a Name in Biosciences: Miami-Dade is home to Florida International University and the University of Miami, plus some 1,500 life sciences companies, employing 17,000 workers and generating more than $2.3 billion in total annual revenue. Two New Jersey-based healthcare and research firms in this sector have plans to expand. Schering-Plough Corporation will add 10,000 square feet to its Miami facility. DB Biosciences, a division of Becton, Dickinson and Company, will spend $20 million to refurbish the vacant IVAX Pharmaceuticals location off Interstate 95 in North Miami. An additional 75 high-wage jobs will result.
The University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine is positioning Miami as the next leading biotech center — akin to Research Triangle Park and Silicon Valley. A new 1.4-million-square-foot Life Science Park is envisioned near Jackson Memorial Hospital, where companies and UM researchers can collaborate on cutting-edge projects.
BROWARD COUNTY
Schools, Technology and Growth: As a county nearing build-out, Broward continues to grow by tapping into business expansions and relocations. Targeted industries for growth clusters span the “knowledge-based” sectors, including aviation and marine, healthcare, biotech and life sciences, information technology, international business and alternative energy.
Other recent developments in Broward suggest that variety is the spice of business life here: » bioRASI, a strategic initiative of the 250,000-member Russian Academy of Sciences, has named Hollywood for its 12,000-square-foot, 45-person worldwide headquarters. » Home Diagnostics Inc, the Fort Lauderdale provider of diabetes management products to leading drug retailer chains nationwide, committed to a $30-million investment and the addition of 135 to its 305-person workforce, says J. Richard Damron Jr., president and CEO. Expanding its workforce in central south Florida will allow the company to draw highly skilled — and high-end wage earners — from Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties and beyond. |
Moving to “Excellerate”: Broward County’s primary economic development agency, Broward Alliance, is calling on area CEOs to become proponents for business development. Its “Excellerate Broward” and CEO Council include such prominent local leaders as H. Wayne Huizenga and the heads of BankAtlantic, AutoNation, Waste Management, the Sun-Sentinel, SunTrust and Spherion, among others — each of whom have invested $50,000 in a three-year campaign to attract corporate headquarters to the county.
“This is about getting back on the radar screen with consultants for companies looking to relocate,” says Ray Ferrero Jr., president of Nova Southeastern University and recently elected chairman of the Broward Alliance. Among other NSU news: The school recently started an MBA program in information technology, and its Jeffersonian “Academical Village” concept is taking shape on NSU’s Davie campus; the first building is scheduled to launch in 2009.
Loss = Gain
When Motorola in Plantation laid off 300 employees, several companies moved in to snatch some up. Among them, Research In Motion, the Canadian maker of the BlackBerry handheld device, which opened an R&D facility in Sunrise and hired some 100 hardware and software engineers; plans call for adding 400 more. “South Florida offers RIM an excellent location to grow with its highly skilled work force and proximity to many excellent academic institutions,” says Elizabeth Roe Pfeifer, RIM vice president of organizational development.
Some other former Motorola workers reportedly went to Foxconn International Holdings, a Hong Kong computer and electronics parts manufacturer, which created a 42,000-square-foot, 200-person facility for cell phone design and development in Sunrise.
General Dynamics C4 Systems also opened a 20,000-square-foot complex in Sunrise where some 50 software and systems engineers will work on networking and communications programs for the U.S. Department of Defense. And Freescale Semiconductor Inc., which makes chips for mobile phones, cars and consumer electronics, will add 50 employees to its Boca Raton-based engineering design and sales office.
PALM BEACH COUNTY
Services Are Strong: In Palm Beach County, where construction, real estate and agri-business were once the leading industries, today professional services and R&D take center stage.
» Clertech.com, an Indian IT and server company, will hire 450 people for its new offices in Delray Beach.
» Naples-based Gil-Char Inc. will spend $18 million for four acres on the Intracoastal Waterway in Palm Beach Gardens, where it will build climate-controlled boat storage for up to 400 high-end vessels.
» Aerotek, a nationally recognized technical and professional staffing agency, will open an office in West Palm Beach, creating some 10 internal positions and hundreds of contract and contract-to-hire positions over the coming year.
» DayJet, the Boca Raton-based “Per-Seat, On-Demand” jet service launched in October 2007 has grown to provide connectivity to more than 60 airports across the Southeast.
GOING AIRBORNE  Helicopter manufacturer Sikorsky is growing in West Palm Beach. [Photo: Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation] In fall 2008, Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation added 85,000 square feet to its West Palm Beach facility and 150 new jobs related to the production of civilian and military helicopters — at an average annual salary of $55,000. Power Systems Manufacturing in Jupiter, which produces gas turbines for the aerospace industry, expanded by 76,000 square feet and added 125 new jobs. |
Max & Friends: In December 2008, the world’s largest non-university R&D institution, the German-based Max Planck Society, committed to build a facility adjacent to Scripps Florida in Jupiter thanks, in part, to state and county incentives totaling close to $190 million. The new 110,000-square-foot Max Planck Institute of Bio-Imaging will employ 135 to study molecules and tissues using advanced optical microscopy and magnetic resonance.
Florida and Palm Beach County were a natural fit, says Dr. Claudia Hillinger, representative of the Max Planck Society’s Division of International Relations. “The state has taken every initiative to strengthen biotech in Florida. This is what made it very attractive for us to come here.”
Nearby, Scripps Florida is scheduled to move into its new 345,000-square-foot facility in February 2009. In the meantime, Scripps landed a $7.6-million grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke for Parkinson’s research in March 2008, and in June 2008, Palm Beach County and a private landowner entered final negotiations to transform 683 acres called the “Briger Tract” into Phase 2 of Scripps Florida — with room for more biotech growth, homes and commercial space.
MARTIN COUNTY
Primed for Growth: Martin County is looking to lure high-tech companies with the creation of Willoughby Research Park in Stuart. This 22-acre site, divided into 19 lots of ¾ to 3 acres each, is available for commercial development by R&D firms seeking proximity to the life sciences clusters being formed in adjacent Palm Beach and St. Lucie counties.
Elsewhere in Martin, Floridian Natural Gas Storage Company LLC is slated to begin building its $500-million natural gas storage facility at Indiantown in late 2008. Also in Indiantown, Florida Power & Light (FP&L) will start construction of The Martin Next Generation Solar Energy Center, a $480-million solar energy project; when fully operational, the facility will generate up to 75 megawatts of power for 11,000 homes.
On the tourism side, Martin County has two new, name-brand hotels — a Hampton Inn on Jensen Beach and a Holiday Inn Express on Interstate 95 — and the Elliott Museum, where plans are under way to replace the existing structure with a $15-million, state-of-the-art facility for showcasing regional history by 2010.
Maritime All Tied Up» The Indiantown Marine Industries Center’s 38-acre facility at the former Indiantown rodeo site will create hundreds of jobs and be the largest working waterfront in the county when completed in 2009.
» Continental Shelf Associates, a leader in ocean industry consulting and services, in April set sail from Palm Beach County and moored at a 20,000-square-foot facility in Stuart. The company brings 80 existing employees with average annual wages of $50,000.
Blast This! To James P. Crocker, Stuart is the ideal location for Waterblasting Technologies Inc. The Stuart-based company manufactures high-powered hydroblasting machines — and contracts their services — to clean paint, rubber and other markings from highways and airport runways. Opened in 1988, the company rang up $7 million in sales in 2005 and $15 million in 2007. In 2009, the company expects to hire another 15 employees and top $25 million in sales of both waterblasting services and machinery. Its 23,000-square-foot building will be joined by another 20,000-square-foot facility in November 2008. Why Martin County? Strong schools, less traffic, “a small town feel with big town resources,” says Crocker, whose six-acre homestead is just five minutes from his office. |
Printer Inks Growth: You know that paper-thin label you fiddle with on your plastic soda bottle? It might have been printed by Southeastern Printing Company Inc. in Stuart. This 84-year-old firm recently added 20,000 square feet to its “flexography” division in Palm City. Its three plants (totaling 160,000 square feet of space) print for clients nationwide, says CEO Don Mader. Being in Martin allows the company’s 200 employees to commute from anywhere along the I-95 corridor, and the company to recruit from beyond. Says Mader, “It’s nice to scratch out a living in a place most people refer to as paradise.
ST. LUCIE COUNTY
Life Sciences and More: In 2007, the arrival of Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies and Martin Memorial Hospital’s intention to build a facility nearby in Tradition were all the talk in St. Lucie County. Today, as Torrey Pines awaits the opening of its new 100,000-square-foot facility in fall 2008 and Martin Memorial provides clinical trials for many of the research projects conducted in St. Lucie’s growing life sciences cluster, Larry Pelton, president of the Economic Development Council of St. Lucie County, has news to share about non-life sciences companies that are arriving or expanding too:
» Oxford Management Services, with a 40,000-square-foot accounts receivables call center housing 300 operators.
» Key Air, a national fixed base operator (FBO), which has expanded to Fort Pierce with an executive terminal and business center and a new full-service maintenance and repair center.
» Bluewater Sportfishing Boats Inc. in Fort Pierce, which is adding 14,400 square feet to its existing 22,000-square-foot headquarters.
Expanding Research Cluster: In January, the Vaccine & Gene Therapy Institute division of Oregon Health & Science University announced its plans to build a 130,000-square-foot wet lab paid, in part, by a $60-million Innovation Fund grant from the state of Florida. The new facility will be located just south of the Torrey Pines Institute at the Florida Center for Innovation at Tradition and is expected to employ a total of 200 over the next 10 years.
Welcome to the Neighborhood: With Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies and the Oregon Health & Science University’s Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute as neighbors, the Mann Research Center — part of the Alfred Mann Institute, the Santa Clarita, Calif.-based researcher of medical devices for hearts, hearing, paralysis and diabetes — will be in good company at the Florida Center for Innovation at Tradition.
This burgeoning life sciences research cluster is just one part of the 8,300-acre town of Tradition along I-95 in St. Lucie County that includes a 120-acre research park (the Florida Center for Innovation), a master-planned residential community and a regional mall. The 22-acre, 400,00-square-foot Mann Center science complex is slated to begin construction in late 2008.
“The Mann Research Center will play a large role in our development plans for the Florida Center for Innovation at Tradition,” says Pete Hegener, president of Core Communities LLC, the developer of Tradition.
 At Tradition in St. Lucie County, it’s an easy walk from Main Street to world-class research facilities. [Photo: Core Communities] |
Other research entities
» A collaboration between St. Lucie and Martin counties and the University of Florida, which together own a 1,600-acre research park as part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
» Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution and the Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce, where current research projects focus on blue-green algae as an alternative fuel source and the creation of a unique acoustic system designed to keep manatees from being injured or killed by flood gates and boat locks.
 The 204-foot R/V Seward Johnson is one of many vessels used by scientists at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution to conduct surface and undersea research. [Photo: Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution] |
Nurturing Tomorrow’s Scientists
Scientists aren’t born, they’re nurtured. At least that’s the case in St. Lucie County, where area high school students intern during the summers at nearby biotech firms, discussions are under way about building a charter school and the area’s newest high school —Treasure Coast High School — just completed its second year.
St. Lucie County’s academic centerpiece is the newly renamed Indian River State College (formerly Indian River Community College). The student body here includes 22 medical school students from Florida State University’s College of Medicine, and in 2010, ground will be broken on an $18.5 million STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math) Center. IRSC’s Kight Center for Emerging Technologies and its Treasure Coast Public Safety Complex for police, fire/rescue, counterterrorism and natural disaster recovery learning are leaders in the country. Indian River State College has also received funding for an $18-million entrepreneurial center with a concentration on technology — making the school part of an educational fabric in southeast Florida that includes Florida Atlantic University, Nova Southeastern University, Barry University and the University of Florida.
“We’re making tremendous progress in a very short period of time,” says IRSC president Ed Massey.
INDIAN RIVER COUNTY
Piper: The One That Didn’t Fly Away
Piper Aircraft’s decision to stay in Vero Beach was not only the most important news in Indian River County in 2008, it helped highlight the benefits businesses find here: A skilled workforce, ample housing and commitment from regional and state leaders.
For more than a year, this county feared that local aviation mainstay Piper Aircraft would relocate. But after reviewing proposals from Albuquerque and Oklahoma City, Piper decided to remain in Vero Beach. Commitments from state and local leaders in the form of $32 million in incentives were key in Piper’s decision to keep its 1,000-person workforce — and 400 more jobs — in Florida as the company invests $100 million to develop the PiperJet light aircraft.
“By helping Piper stay and continue to invest in Indian River County, you are sending the message that Florida is a friend of business,” Piper CEO Jim Bass said during the May 2008 announcement.
Beyond Plush: Singer Gloria Estefan and husband Emilio opened the Costa d’Este hotel on Vero Beach in June 2008 with 94 guestrooms and five corner suites, plus state-of-the-art in-room entertainment, oversized bathrooms with organic round showers and wireless Internet access throughout. The hotel’s Oriente restaurant showcases Spanish, Latin and Creole cuisine. The hotel exemplifies “urban chic” and “embodies Gloria and Emilio’s flair, keen style and multicultural sophistication,” says general manager Andy Zinni.
 Gloria and Emilio Estefan chose a secluded site for their new luxury hotel in Vero Beach, where they also own a home. [Photo: Costa d’Este] |
Small News Is Big News: When Vero Beach-based LoPresti Aircraft Company expressed an interest in expansion, city leaders from Sebastian swooped in with a “can’t-resist” package. The city is building a new facility from which the company will sell the LoPresti Fury aircraft. “They just presented a tremendous deal,” says President Curt LoPresti, who visited 73 sites before settling on Sebastian. In return, LoPresti will bring 25 new jobs and a total of five operating divisions.
MONROE COUNTY/KEY WEST
Improving Access: Along the “18-mile stretch” of U.S. 1, the overseas highway connecting Florida’s mainland to Key Largo, the new $93-million Jewfish Creek Bridge opened in May 2008, marking the halfway point in a six-year, $300-million project to build a new connector road to the Keys. And day tripping by Florida residents is on the rise. In the first quarter of 2008, overall tourism was up by 11%, according to the Key West Chamber of Commerce. In 2007, the Keys entertained 386,469 Florida day-trippers, up from 375,561 in 2006.
Waterfront Development: The city of Key West is seeking proposals for development of 6.4 acres along Truman Harbor for a new marina and support facilities such as a dockmaster’s office and retail store. Carnival Cruise Lines has scheduled 15 new port calls in Key West. Carnival’s 3,000-passenger ship Freedom will dock at Pier B every other Monday beginning in May 2009.
 Tourism is the lifeblood of the Florida Keys, and events like the Key West World Championship ?— the Indianapolis 500 of powerboat racing — draw thousands of visitors to these islands each year. [Photo: Andy Newman] |
Hot-Pink Taxis Go “Green”: In July 2009, Five Sixes debuted 10 environmentally friendly vehicles on the streets of Key West as the first step in converting its entire fleet of ubiquitous hot-pink taxis to hybrids. “Going hybrid will reduce our emission factor by 80%,” says Five Sixes’ president Jan Doelman. Five Sixes is the first taxi company in Florida to roll out hybrids, according to the Taxi, Limousine and Paratransit Association.
Changing Face
Pritam Singh, founder and president of The Singh Company — the largest real estate development company in the Florida Keys — has almost single-handedly changed the face of this unique island chain.
 Parrot Key Beach House Resort mimics the detail of classic “Conch-style” homes[Photo: Singh Resorts] |
In 1986, Singh redeveloped Truman Annex, a 43-acre former Naval Station on Key West’s waterfront, into a mixed-use project that today includes 625 resort units, dozens of single-family homes, upscale condominiums and apartments and 60,000 square feet of commercial space. Singh went on to develop residential properties and resorts all up and down the Florida Keys, including the Key West Golf Club and The Village at Hawk’s Cay. His most recent projects are Tranquility Bay, Indigo Reef and Coral Lagoon and Boathouse Marina on Marathon Key, and Parrot Key Beach House Resort on Key West.
Some 1,200 Singh-built units today employ 200 throughout the Keys and have generated $315 million in sales.
Building a Brain Trust
Hodges University and Florida Keys Community College have teamed up to strengthen the island chain’s business brain trust. In January 2008, Hodges University (formerly International College), which is based in Naples and Fort Myers, began offering classes toward a Bachelor of Science in Management on the FKCC campus in Key West. In a market short on medical staff, FKCC also has expanded its allied health programs to offer a certified nursing assistant training program.