The University of West Florida is launching a new academic program through an arrangement with the city-owned Port of Pensacola. The City Council recently approved a lease for a 15,000-sq.-ft. warehouse site that will house UWF’s new research program for Water and Vessel Engineering, also known as “WAVE.” The program will partner with Americas Cup 2024 contender American Magic Yacht Racing Team that is based at the port. The WAVE program will offer UWF courses and hands-on experience in the research and development of watercraft manufacturing.
LAYOFFS
- CSG Systems is shutting down its call center operations in the Wakulla County community of Crawfordville. The closure permanently eliminates some 100 jobs. The layoffs will take place in four phases, terminating in December. CSG is an affiliate of an international accounting company specializing in billing and payment solutions.
HEALTH CARE
- Florida State University has announced plans to build an acute care hospital in Panama City Beach to be operated by FSU Health. Bond financing for the $414-million project was approved earlier this year by the Florida Board of Governors. The 180-bed medical facility will serve the residents of Bay and Walton counties. Approximately 16 acres for the hospital site were donated by the St. Joe Co. The facility will be in the same medical district and adjacent to a medical office building that opened in July 2024.
HOSPITALITY
- AlluxSuites at 1876, an extended-stay boutique hotel, opened this spring in Tallahassee. The 93-room hotel, located on Capital Circle Northwest, offers studios and one- and two-bedroom units featuring a kitchenette and other amenities.
HOUSING
- Escambia County’s housing boom continues as officials have approved nine housing projects that will add a total of 650 single-family and multifamily residential dwellings to the fast-growing areas of Beulah and land north of Interstate 10. Escambia County approved construction of more than 4,000 homes in 2024.
SHIPBUILDING
- Eastern Shipbuilding has been awarded a contract to build a 10,464-cubic-yard dredging vessel for the California-based Dutra Group, a major marine construction company. The vessel is scheduled for a 2028 delivery. Eastern is one of Panama City’s largest employers and has extensive experience building large sea-going dredges.
MANUFACTURING
- The state of Florida and Williams International — a Pontiac, Mich.-based company that designs, manufactures and supports aviation gas turbine engines — are making a capital investment expected to total more than $1 billion in Okaloosa County. Following a two-year search, Williams decided to locate a high-volume gas turbine engine manufacturing facility at Shoal River Industrial Park in Crestview. Okaloosa County received a $16.8-million grant from Triumph Gulf Coast to support the project, which will create more than 330 jobs. The company will begin construction on a 250,000-sq.-ft. facility later this year, with completion scheduled for late 2026. Subsequent facilities will be built in 2028, with a final 500,000-sq.-ft. facility slated to go up in 2035 or 2036.
Watt’s Next
GE Vernova’s Pensacola plant reached a milestone earlier this year when the 500th wind turbine since 2024 rolled off the assembly line. A majority of those turbines have gone to the SunZia wind farm in New Mexico. When fully online in 2026, SunZia will be the largest wind energy farm in the Western Hemisphere. The Pensacola plant also has received an order for 109 wind turbines for RWE New Energy projects in Texas. Assembly and delivery of those turbines will begin later this year.
Global Reach
More than $2 million from a matching grant will go toward the International Processing Facility at Tallahassee’s airport.
The 40,000-sq.-ft. facility will house a federal inspection area and customs port of entry that will be used for both commercial and general aviation. The facility will also allow the airport to offer direct international flights and shipping goods in the future.
“The IPF is a major component of TLH’s long-term vision to expand the airport’s economic impact and will bolster our region’s global market competitiveness,” says TLH Deputy Director Vanessa Spaulding. “Construction of the IPF is currently at 80% and anticipated to be complete by the end of the year.”
As the processing facility construction continues, the airport also is working to implement a fully operational Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) with customs oversight that will serve a region of up to 11 counties.
City of Tallahassee officials say establishment of an FTZ is underway and anticipated to create more than 1,600 jobs over the next several years and generate some $300 million annually in economic impact.