ORLANDO / ORANGE COUNTY

CHALLENGE: Economic Development

Orlando and Orange County have climbed into the top ranks among large cities in job production. In January, Orlando had the highest job creation in the state for the fifth month in a row. Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control is set to bring 500 highwage jobs to Orange County along with $200 million in investment. KPMG is investing $430 million in its new 55-acre state-ofthe- art training center in Orange County and bringing 80 high-wage jobs to the community along with 250 contract positions. Amazon’s new fulfillment center near Orlando International Airport expects to hire 1,500 full-time workers.

CHALLENGE: Arts and Recreation

Orlando kicked off construction of the final phases of the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, with a total expected price tag of $600-million-plus. The final grand opening is scheduled in 2020.

Orange County’s extensive network of parks grew last year with Pine Park. Incorporated in the park are braille signs for the visually impaired and ramps and swings for children who use wheelchairs.

SEMINOLE COUNTY

CHALLENGE: Corporate Growth

Seminole County remains a leader in recruiting highpaying jobs. Even as land for development has grown more expensive, announcements of expansions continue. At the end of 2017, Superion, a software company, announced it was planning 355 jobs at its Lake Mary offices, investing $12.3 million in office expansion and build-out in three years. Wages will reportedly average $55,177, excluding benefits. The software company works for city, municipal and county governments. Seminole and Lake Mary goosed the deal with a local incentive package of $355,000. The corporate presence has helped boost business at the county’s airport as well. Orlando Sanford International Airport moved up to the fifth-most-active airport in Florida. Seminole County’s K-12 school system is top-ranked in the state, creating another carrot for corporate recruitment.

VOLUSIA COUNTY

CHALLENGE: Corporate Growth

Businesses that expanded in 2017 included the B. Braun distribution center in Daytona Beach, Security First Managers headquarters in Ormond Beach, Boston Whaler headquarters in Edgewater and 3D Material Technologies and Brown & Brown headquarters, both in Daytona Beach. The investment from those businesses is projected to exceed $144 million and create more than 950 jobs. The county has more than 13,000 enterprises that contribute $15 million to the area’s economy.

KISSIMMEE / OSCEOLA COUNTY

CHALLENGE: Economic Development

Osceola County enacted a six-month moratorium on residential construction, stalling the rapid development that had boosted Osceola to the 18thfastest- growing county in the country. There are exemptions to the moratorium, including developments that already have commercial zoning, approved planned developments, affordable housing developments, mixed-use projects and new transit-oriented developments. Home builders, who are facing scarce lot choices in Orange and other counties, worry about finding lots to meet demand.

County leaders see technology as part of its future path. BRIDG, a clean-room manufacturing facility for advanced semiconductor designs for micro-electronics, nano-electronics, sensors, fiber optics and photonics, is expected to be operational this summer. That will dovetail with NeoCity, a 500-acre technology district master plan.

BREVARD COUNTY

CHALLENGE: Sports Business

The region spent $30 million to upgrade Space Coast Stadium, the former spring training home of the Washington Nationals. In January, 15 artificial turf ballfields in Viera opened for tournament play for its new tenant, the U.S. Specialty Sports Association. The sports governing body is expected to boost the use of the stadium from 15 games a year to 45 to 50 weekend or weeklong events a year. USSSA’s contract guarantees its events will generate at least 75,000 nights a year of hotel room rentals in the first three years of operation and 100,000 nights a year beyond that. The county’s investment in the upgrade was $10 million, funded by Brevard County’s 5% tourism development tax.

LAKE COUNTY

CHALLENGE: Transportation

Lake County made considerable progress last year putting together new road networks and plans for others that will open back doors into the county’s rural southern and eastern boundaries with the extension of the Wekiva Parkway. Three planned roads will connect SR 429 along Disney to U.S. 27 in south Lake County, making it more accessible for commutes to Orange and Osceola job centers. The county also settled a dispute that delayed development of the 25-square-mile Wellness Way, which abuts Orange County’s nearly built-out Horizon West and Disney on its east side. Another new access into rural Lake County also opened in 2017, a new exit off the Florida’s Turnpike at Minneola, just north of Clermont.

THE VILLAGES / SUMTER COUNTY

CHALLENGE: Home Building

In Sumter, tract homes continue to displace what once was agricultural land. The trend is expected to continue as The Villages marches south across SR 44, with homes on non-contiguous land. Between October 2016 and September 2017, 1,231 newhome permits were issued to The Villages, with 306 outside the development. The new rooftops are sparking commercial development as well. Some 240,000 square feet of new commercial space inside The Villages and 485,000 outside popped up last year.

People to Watch

Jim Karr: Karr is the spokesperson for a group of south Lake County property owners who pooled their land into a development plan called Wellness Way, which will include homes, hightech health-care jobs and other industries.

Paul Johns: The COO of South Lake Hospital has spearheaded the hospital’s rapid growth.

Gerry Guenther: Guenther’s G3 Development in Mount Dora specializes in health care and medical office buildings and housing projects.

Tim Giuliani: The new president and CEO at the Orlando Economic Partnership is tasked with integrating operations of the former Orlando Economic Development Commission and the Central Florida Partnership.

John Callahan: Callahan is the new vice president of technology for BRIDG, the consortium led by UCF, Osceola County and the Florida High Tech Corridor Council. It off ers businesses the opportunity to share equipment and conduct research to develop next-generation sensors.

Brett Hage: The president of T&D Distribution heads the Sumter County Chamber of Commerce. He was named Volunteer of the Year for 2018 by the Florida Economic Development Council’s East Central Region.

Regional Roundup

Brevard County
County Population: 583,690, +5.9% vs. 2013
5-Year Change in Wages / Salaries: 10.8%
Per Capita Income: $44,137

Elon Musk and his SpaceX program launched a Falcon Heavy into space in February, bringing two of its reusable boosters back to the space center. Blue Origin is also launching from the space center.

Lake County
County Population: 347,158, +12.7% vs. 2013
5-Year Change in Wages / Salaries: 20.5%
Per Capita Income: $40,750

The Villages of Fruitland Park neighborhood has fewer than 60 lots remaining. Close to 2,000 homes have been built there since 2014, with some approaching $1 million. In January, Leesburg city commissioners agreed to rezone 2,631 acres not far from downtown to allow another Villages community to be called The Villages of West Lake. The development is expected to have 7,900 homes and 535,000 square feet of retail.

Orange County
County Population: 1.35 million, +10.3% vs. 2013
5-Year Change in Wages / Salaries: 24.3%
Per Capita Income: $42,932

FattMerchant, an Orlandobased payment technology provider, tapped into $5.5 million in venture capital from Atlanta’s Fulcrum Equity Partners in 2017. Suneera Madhani, founder and CEO, says the money will allow the company to hire 50 people, most in Georgia.

Osceola County
County Population:350,060, +16.6% vs. 2013
5-Year Change in Wages / Salaries: 32.0%
Per Capita Income: $33,017

Osceola’s vacation home industry is attracting foreign investors as well as other buyers interested in homes near Disney. Margaritaville, a resort/vacation/entertainment development, is expected to open this year.

Seminole County
County Population: 472,281, +8.2% vs. 2013
5-Year Change in Wages / Salaries: 24.1%
Per Capita Income: $46,972

Seminole County attracted 907 new jobs with an average wage of $52,024 in 2017. Capital investment amounted to $25.3 million. A year earlier, the county netted 1,526 new jobs with an annual wage of $61,647. Capital investment that year was $107.1 million.

Sumter County
County Population: 129,707, +19.8% vs. 2013
5-Year Change in Wages / Salaries: 26.5%
Per Capita Income: $42,659

Boat manufacturer Crevalle expanded, adding 20,000 square feet to meet demand for its center console bay boats. The former Central Beef plant, the largest packing facility in Florida, closed in 2016 only to be bought and reopened by Florida Beef of Zolfo Springs.

Volusia County
County Population: 531,832, +6.1% vs. 2013
5-Year Change in Wages / Salaries: 17.1%
Per Capita Income: $41,213

The county expects to be debt-free by the end of this year after paying off three bonds in October. County Manager Jim T. Dinneen says it is rare for local governments in Florida to be debt-free. The lack of debt should allow the county to buld a county courthouse.

 

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