Tallahassee Business Outlook 2012

LEON, GADSDEN, WAKULLA AND JEFFERSON COUNTIES

2012 Business Outlook THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL’S

for Florida’s Capital Region

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3 / 2012 BUSINESS OUTLOOK

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On behalf of the Economic Development Council of Tallahassee/Leon County, Inc., (EDC) we invite you to learn more about our region through the EDC’s 2012 Business Outlook for Florida’s Capital Region.

We are so proud of what will surely be-come a valued resource for those looking to learn more about our diverse business com-munity, as well as those looking to celebrate how far we have come.

You most likely know that Tallahassee is home to the Florida Legislature, two state universities and one of the largest commu-nity colleges in Florida. However, within this journal you will learn so much more about the competitive advantages our area has to offer, as well as the growing targeted indus-try sectors that are providing for a sustain-able regional economy.

We hope that the Business Outlook will pique your interest in the Tallahassee area and how the EDC can elevate your business.

Thank you,

W E LCOM E L E T T E R

WELCOME!

Karen B. Moore Chairman

Beth Kirkland, CEcDExecutive Director

Karen B. Moore Beth Kirkland

In Business toWrite Business.SM

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2012 BUSINESS OUTLOOK / 5

5 Welcome Letter

8 Targeted Industries

13 Business Incentives

16 Transportation + Infrastructure

20 Site Selection

24 Research + Development

26 Startups

28 Educated Workforce

30 Area Vital Statistics

TA B L E OF CON T E N T S

CREATIVE. PRINT. SOLUTIONS.™

About the Economic Development Council of Tallahassee/Leon County

As an affiliate organization of the Greater Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce, the Economic Development Council of Tallahassee/Leon County, Inc. (EDC) is a public/private partnership between the city, county and private investors committed to establishing a competitive business climate that results in job creation. By connecting the private sector, education and local government, the EDC helps join forces to:

» foster entrepreneurialism; » advance local businesses; » grow targeted industry sectors; and —» attract innovative companies to our area.By supporting new business development, providing technical assistance

and advocacy to regional employers, as well as managing a suite of business retention, expansion and attraction resources, the EDC is creating a sustainable regional economy. To find out more, please visit www.TalEDC.com

Produced in partnership with:


From helping small, high-tech com-panies increase their chance of success in the marketplace to as-

sisting in identifying markets and nego-tiating licenses for new technologies, the Economic Development Council (EDC) of Tallahassee/Leon County provides spe-cialized business resources for industry sectors that have been targeted to match the region’s strengths, goals and assets — as well as provide for a diversified and sustainable regional economy.

These diverse target sectors include: aviation, aerospace, defense and national security; health sciences and human per-formance enhancement; transportation and logistics; renewable energy and the en-vironment; engineering and research; and information technology. Most importantly, business clusters are forming around the leading targeted industries, strengthening the region’s competitive advantage.

The goal of the EDC is to promote high-wage job retention and expansion and to be a one-stop shop for business resources and opportunities, which in-cludes connecting private companies that are seeking research and develop-ment support with university-based re-search institutions.

No surprise then that the region’s aviation and aerospace industries are growing when Florida State University is breaking new ground in the area of aero-propulsion. Or that Florida’s capital re-gion has become a hub of clean technol-ogy start-ups, many using research from local university programs to spark their inventions and products.

For new businesses considering the region, the EDC can provide help with site selection, labor market analysis and job training assistance. And there are a variety of state and local incentives de-signed to help new businesses relocate here or give a boost to existing business-es looking to expand.

While Tallahassee is home to the Flor-ida Legislature and state government, it also boasts a vibrant business sector. By connecting the private sector, education and local government, the EDC works to foster entrepreneurialism, move projects from research to production, attract inno-vative companies to the area and create a competitive business climate.

What follows is a snapshot of what is happening with some of the targeted in-dustry sectors in the region.

Defense and National Security

The War on Terror needs to be fu-eled with ammunition, logistics and sup-port equipment, a demand that several defense-related companies located in and around the Tallahassee area are helping to meet without disruption.

From a commercially strategic stand-point, national defense companies are finding that the Tallahassee area has several attractive features. The region offers workforce stability, a diverse and sustainable economy fairly insulated from the woes faced by other areas of the country, it’s a right-to-work state and labor costs are low. Employees enjoy the laid-back quality of life, and engineers appreciate being so close to technologi-cally advanced and world-renowned re-search institutions.

Chemring Ordnance is a premier man-ufacturer of all types of 40-mm ammuni-tion; pyrotechnic marking, signaling, and tactical illumination devices; battlefield effects simulators; hand grenade fuses and other ammunition components. The manufacturing facility is in Perry and ad-ministrative offices are located in Talla-hassee. The company, which won $100 million in new business in 2011, is a center of excellence for the design, de-velopment and production of ordnance, pyrotechnic products and other munition

components for the military, homeland security and first responders.

Recent contract wins for the compa-ny’s facility in Perry include $52 million for the modification of an existing con-tract to procure an anti-personnel obsta-cle breaching system; $9 million for ma-rine smoke and illumination signals; and $22 million for smoke and illumination signals used in marine search and rescue.

More than 95 percent of all U.S. mili-tary small arms ammo is loaded with pro-pellants from St. Marks Powder, a local manufacturing plant south of Tallahassee. Large-caliber rounds for mortars and ar-tillery are stoked by St. Marks Powder as well. But the company is also the leading maker of commercial smokeless powder

BOOMINGBUSINESSTargeted industry sectors provide for a diversified, sustainable regional economy

TA RG E T E D I N DU ST R I E S


for civilian use, including the award-win-ning .22 Rimfire Match powder.

Of course, communication is vital for battlefield success, and TeligentEMS of Havana makes sure signals don’t get crossed. This high-tech electronics plant provides service for many original equipment manufacture industries in the fields of radio frequency, fiber optic communication, medical, industrial, in-strumentation, computer and military. For more than 25 years, TeligentEMS has been manufacturing products contain-ing RF (radio frequency) technology and its workers are familiar with assembling, testing and troubleshooting RF prod-ucts. This includes GPS tracking devices,

radio communications equipment, RF smartcards, microwave antennas and RF amplifiers and transmitters.

Once you produce the product, you need a way to get it into the hands of sol-diers protecting the homeland. Syn-Tech Systems Inc., a company that specializes in materials handling, munitions support equipment and automated fuel manage-ment systems, gets that job done. The Tallahassee-based developer and manu-facturer of fuel management hardware and software serves 14,000 military and commercial clients nationwide and was recently awarded a $35-million research and development contract with the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center.

U.S. Rep. Steve Southerland, R-Pan-ama City, applauded the announcement of the three-year contract saying, “It will ensure that Syn-Tech has the opportunity to expand their operations and create new quality jobs in Leon County and the surrounding areas.”

Health CareA growing region has need of ex-

panded health care options and the area’s hospitals, universities, colleges and the private sector have joined forces to ensure the best is available — from cancer and birthing centers to surgical and urgent care facilities — while at the same time creating a learning environ-

While Tallahassee is home to the Florida Legislature and state government, it also boasts a vibrant business sector.


ment to educate the next generation of health care workers.

In Florida’s capital city region, world-class health care is not just a saying but a reality. The area’s health care footprint is not limited by county or state lines, and the quality of care consistently wins na-tional recognition.

Capital Health Plan is a local health maintenance orga-nization with a net-work of 425 doctors serving more than 118,000 members in the Tallahassee area. It’s rated as one of the top health care programs in the na-tion, especially when it comes to patient satisfaction. In 2011 CHP ranked third in a performance review released by the National Committee for Quality Assurance and has a “5 Star” Medicare Advantage plan — one of only three in the country.

The best of both worlds is offered with the non-profit and private hospi-tals serving the region — Tallahassee

Memorial HealthCare and Capital Re-gional Medical Center.

With a staff of 500 physicians repre-senting 50 specialties, the non-profit Tal-lahassee Memorial is the seventh largest hospital in Florida. The 770-bed acute care facility provides private patient rooms and has been designated by the

state as a Level II trauma center. A wide range of services includes a small psychi-atric hospital, a cancer center (which is affiliated with the renowned Moffitt Can-cer Center in Tampa) and a heart and vascular center. Because of increasing demand, plans are underway to build a new free-standing ER near Interstate 10 and Thomasville Road which will include a

separate entrance for pediatric patients. A new state-of-the-art daVinci HD

surgical system, a cancer center, the only pediatric emergency room in the Big Bend region, the area’s only Tomo-therapy treatment center and a sepa-rate health care center and 24-hour emergency room in neighboring Gads-

den County, are just some of the benefits that Capi-tal Regional Medical Center brings to the Tallahassee area. The private hospital, which has only pri-vate rooms and pro-vides a full range of services, is owned

by HCA and is planning to add an eighth floor. The hospital was recently named one of the nation’s top performers on key quality measures by The Joint Com-mission, the leading accreditor of health care organizations in America.

A collaboration of Tallahassee Memo-rial Hospital and 35 local physicians from several area practices, led to the Red


AREA MEDICAL INTERESTS HAVE ALSO COLLABORATED WITH THE LOCAL HOSPITALS

AND UNIVERSITIES TO TRAIN THE NEXT GENERATION OF MEDICAL WORKERS, FROM

FRONTLINE CUSTOMER SERVICE TO DOCTORS.


Hills Surgical Center, a 17,000-square-foot multi-specialty ambulatory surgery center designed to answer the shortage of operating rooms. The recently opened facility features five operating rooms and several pre-op and recovery rooms and is being used by physicians representing four specialties including: Otolaryngol-ogy (Ear, Nose and Throat), Orthopedic Surgery, General Surgery and Obstet-rics/Gynecology.

Area medical interests have also col-laborated with the local hospitals and universities to train the next genera-tion of medical workers, from nurses to doctors. The surgical center is a prime example as it provides an observation corridor where high school, nursing and medical students can observe multi-spe-cialty surgical operations through a glass window, aided by video cameras show-ing the details.

FSU’s College of Medicine was formed with the goal of providing the state with more doctors specializing in family medicine. And, not surprisingly, it has consistently ranked among the top five schools in the nation for the percentage of graduates choosing to do that. More than 1,700 doctors around Florida have agreed to take on FSU’s medical stu-dents for one-on-one training. Out of the first 450 graduates, 67 percent have gone into primary care.

Florida A&M University has one of the largest colleges of pharmacy in the nation, expanding its operations from the main campus located in Tallahassee by opening extension campuses in Mi-ami, Jacksonville, Tampa and Crestview. These campuses, all affiliated with a ma-jor teaching medical center, create out-standing clinical training opportunities for students, provide unlimited opportunities for research and support the infrastruc-ture for the college’s statewide commit-ment to pharmacy education and public service. The college has produced more than 2,500 graduates, representing 20 percent of the nation’s African-American pharmacists. Graduates average a 92 percent first-time passage rate on the National Board of Pharmacy Examination.

The 82,000-square-foot Ghazvini Center for Healthcare Education houses nearly all of Tallahassee Community Col-lege’s health care programs and is locat-ed in the growing medical complex that includes the Red Hills Surgical Center and Tallahassee Memorial Hospital. Ac-companied by cutting-edge technology, students’ training includes responding to

Danfoss Turbocor Compressors was among several businesses to receive the 2011 Governor’s

Business Diversification Award.


emergencies in simulated real-time set-tings. The Ghazvini Center also houses classrooms, conference rooms, a library, laboratory space and a simulation center. The center is expected to allow TCC to increase enrollment in health care pro-grams by 100 percent in five years.

At their Tallahassee campuses, Lively Technical Center and the privately-run ITT Technical Institute and Keiser Univer-sity provide a wide variety of courses that

enable students to earn degrees in a wide range of medical areas, including nurs-ing, health science and health services administration.

Clean TechnologyThe new and emerging “green” in-

dustry sector is starting life with several great advantages here in the Tallahassee region. The Florida Green Building Coali-tion, Inc., has even designated the City

of Tallahassee as a Gold Certified Green City under the Local Government Stan-dard, making it the first in Florida to win that designation after moving from silver to gold in only one year.

Perhaps the best advantage of all for green industries is the fact that this community is a hub of education, inno-vation and research. So it’s only natu-ral that green technology should find a home here and link up with the area’s higher education institutions. In addi-tion, new “clean” technologies and in-ventions created right here at local uni-versities are heading down the path of commercialization.

One example of ongoing research is the National High Magnetic Field Labo-ratory, known simply as the “Mag Lab.” The only facility of its kind in the United States, it is the largest and highest-powered magnet laboratory in the world. Located in a sprawling 370,000-square-foot complex near FSU, the Magnet Lab has employees from 50 countries. Among them are physicists, chemists, biologists, engineers, entrepreneurs, artists, electricians and machinists. A key program located at the Magnet Lab is the Future Fuels Institute, which was created to analyze bio-fuels and other fuels derived from fossil resources, and to serve as a global center for fuels re-search and development.

The materials being tested at the Mag Lab, and other think tanks, will pave the way for future technologies that lo-cal companies will be able to take ad-vantage of.

Forward-thinking employers like Danfoss Turbocor Compressors have done well here. This company, which moved its headquarters and manufac-turing plant from Montreal to Tallahas-see, was among several businesses to receive the 2011 Governor’s Business Diversification Award. The plant makes high-performance, energy-efficient oil-free magnetic bearing compressors for large scale air-condition systems and won the award based on its leadership in green technologies.

A particularly daring high-tech com-pany, Bing Energy, in partnership with researchers at FSU, is trying to develop a less expensive, more marketable hy-drogen fuel cell. Such an achievement would be the Holy Grail of the “green” marketplace. Located at Innovation Park, Bing Energy has pioneered a fuel cell that incorporates a thin membrane composed of carbon nanotubes that reduces the



LOCAL INCENTIVES

City of Tallahassee/Leon County Targeted Business ProgramOffers incentives to new and existing businesses that create value-added jobs within the city and county, rewarding businesses that will diversify the economy, are suited to the local business mix and will gen-erate revenue growth from the sale of goods and services outside the lo-cal economy. The program also seeks to reward businesses that locate in designated target areas for economic growth and development; that build environmentally sensitive projects; and that do business with other local businesses. Funds awarded under this program are used to reim-burse up to 100% of the cost of development fees and a portion of the cap-ital investment of the business project, based on ad valorem taxes paid.

Community Redevelopment Agency The Tallahassee CRA, created in 1998, consists of more than 1,450 acres of residential, commercial/retail and industrial land uses, all conveniently located near the heart of downtown Tallahassee. Included within the boundaries of the redevelopment area are 13 neighborhood communi-ties; seven major commercial/retail areas; and numerous mixed-use areas. The area borders parts of Florida A&M University and Florida State University. Extensive city infrastructure, including water, sewer, electric-ity and gas, are available throughout the redevelopment area.

STATE INCENTIVES

Enterprise ZoneThe Tallahassee/Leon County Enterprise Zone is nearly 20 square miles in size. New businesses that want to locate there, or existing businesses that want to expand jobs, equipment or square feet, can earn a monthly credit against their state corporate or sales and use tax for wages paid to new employees. Also available: a sales tax refund on equipment, ma-chinery and building materials used in the enterprise zone; a corporate tax credit for a company that establishes five or more new jobs; property tax exemption for child care facilities; tax credits for businesses that do-nate to approved community development projects.

Capital Investment Tax CreditUsed to attract and grow capital-intensive industries in Florida, it is an annual credit against the corporate income tax for up to 20 years in an amount up to 5 percent of the eligible capital costs generated by a quali-fying project.

Quick Response Training Program Designed as an inducement to secure new value-added businesses to Florida as well as provide existing businesses the necessary training for expansion. The program is flexible and structured to respond quickly to meet training objectives. Reimbursable expenses include curriculum development, trainers’ wages and textbooks/manuals. Workforce Flor-ida, Inc., the state’s public-private partnership created to coordinate job-training efforts, administers the program.

Urban Job Tax Credit ProgramThe program provides tax credits to eligible businesses that are located within the 13 Urban Areas designated by the state’s Department of Eco-nomic Opportunity and hire a specific number of employees. In the Talla-hassee Urban Area, the credit is $1,000 per qualified job and can be taken against either the state’s corporate income tax or sales and use tax, but not both.

Rural Job Tax Credit — Gadsden, Jefferson, WakullaAn incentive for eligible businesses located within one of 36 designated Qualified Rural Areas to create new jobs, the tax credit ranges from $1,000 to $1,500 per qualified employee and can be taken against either the Florida corporate income tax or sales and use tax.

Economic Development Transportation Fund (Road Fund)Designed to alleviate transportation problems that hinder a specific company’s location or expansion decision. The award, up to $3 million, is made to the local government.

Qualified Target Industry Tax Refund Program Available for companies that create high wage jobs in targeted high value-added industries. Includes refunds on corporate income, sales, ad valorem, intangible personal property, insurance premium and cer-tain other taxes. Pre-approved applicants who create jobs in Florida re-ceive tax refunds of $3,000 per net new full-time equivalent job created ($6,000 in an Enterprise Zone or Rural County). For businesses paying 150 percent of the average annual wage, add $1,000 in tax refunds per job; for businesses paying 200 percent of the average annual salary, add $2,000 per job. New or expanding businesses in selected targeted indus-tries and corporate headquarters are eligible. Cap of $5 million to single qualified applicant. No more than 25 percent can be taken in one year.

Incumbent Worker Training ProgramProvides training to currently employed workers to keep Florida’s work-force competitive in a global economy and to retain existing businesses. Administered by Workforce Florida, the program is available to all Florida businesses that have been in operation for at least one year prior to ap-plication.

High Impact Performance Incentive Grant In order to participate in the program, the project must: operate within designated high-impact portions of the following sectors — clean en-ergy, corporate headquarters, financial services, life sciences, semicon-ductors and transportation equipment manufacturing; create at least 50 new full-time equivalent jobs (if a R&D facility, create at least 25 new full-time equivalent jobs) in Florida in a three-year period; and make a cumulative investment in the state of at least $50 million (if a R&D facil-ity, make a cumulative investment of at least $25 million) in a three-year period. Once recommended by Enterprise Florida and approved by the state’s Department of Economic Opportunity, the high impact business is awarded 50 percent of its eligible grant when operations begin and the remainder when full employment and capital investment goals are met.

FOSTERING A COMPETITIVE BUSINESS CLIMATEThe Economic Development Council of Tallahassee/Leon County (EDC) manages a suite of resources designed to foster the expansion of existing companies and attract new businesses that create high-wage jobs and invest in facilities and equipment. Business dollars go a lot further here because there is no state personal income tax, no corporate income tax on limited partnerships and subchapter S-corporations, no state-level property tax, no property tax on business inventories and no sales and use tax on goods produced in Florida for export outside the state. To assist economic growth, the EDC maintains an inventory of the best local, state and federal programs that support new business development and provide one-on-one navigation through state and local regulatory, permitting and incentive application processes. By helping to keep projects on schedule, from start to finish, businesses are able to accomplish their goals within their required time frames. For further information, as well as a complete list of incentives, contact the Economic Development Council of Tallahassee/Leon County at (850) 224-8116 or TalEDC.com


need for expensive platinum. The innova-tion promises to produce a fuel cell that is more efficient, more durable and sig-nificantly less expensive — benefits that could transform the transportation and power generation sectors. Bing, which moved its world headquarters from Cali-fornia to Tallahassee in 2011, was also a winner of the 2011 Governor’s Business Diversification Award.

Meanwhile, other ventures are ex-ploring a different type of fuel: Natural gas. Leon County Schools signed an agreement with Tallahassee-based no-petro to build a natural gas fueling sta-tion for the district and share back royal-ties from private sales. The station, set to be operational by August 2012, is the first of at least 11 stations the company plans to build around Florida. Along with reducing the district’s fuel costs, the switch to natural gas will reduce emis-sions by 89 percent.

The one inevitable cost of doing busi-ness in Florida is the tremendous cost of electricity. A new Tallahassee-based company, Verdicorp, is helping com-mercial buildings and industry reduce their consumption of expensive energy — especially at peak hours of the day — by turning waste heat into electricity. “We turn waste heat into dollars,” says Gary Stallons, the company’s chief op-erating officer. As much as 65 percent of the energy consumed by large gas and diesel engines in commercial buildings and industry goes up the exhaust pipe as heat waste, which is wasted energy. Verdicorp captures part of that waste heat and turns it into electricity, which can be used by the customer to reduce electric bills or be sold back to the utility. The result is saved dollars. And Verdi-corp’s state-of-the-art technology can be applied to just about any source of low-grade waste heat.

But what about putting Florida’s abundant sunshine to work? That’s exact-ly what two new Tallahassee companies are doing. SunnyLand Solar, a recently formed manufacturing company, plans to make solar tubes, the technology of which was invented by physicists at FSU. The company says the technology will revolutionize the concentrated solar mar-ket by creating a high-efficient, low-cost solar power system. SolarSink, a kindred spirit, is working on creating a “heat sink system” that captures and recycles heat energy and will be developed as part of a solar power generation system. ★



When Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, it was right in the middle of nowhere. Today,

it’s at the center of a commercial world bustling with advances in transit, air trav-el, public utilities and high-tech business communications.

Land, Sea and RailThe Tallahassee-Leon County region

has approximately 271 miles of principal highways and 343 miles of other roads that serve as major transportation corri-dors within the central Panhandle region of Florida. Interstate 10 is a major high-way that cuts across Tallahassee and pro-vides approximately a 3-hour trip to both Jacksonville on the east and Pensacola on the west. (Its western terminus is Los Angeles.) Other principal highways impor-tant to commerce include U.S. Highway 90, U.S. Highway 27, State Road 267 and U.S. Highway 319.

Railroads, too, play a pivotal role here. CSX Transportation has a main rail line that runs east and west through Gadsden, Jefferson and Leon counties and carries commodities such as non-metallic min-erals, chemicals and coal. Several short-line carriers connect with CSX at strategic north-south points such as Panama City and Perry. Rail shipments serve vari-ous distribution nodes and warehouses throughout the region.

Ports are another important com-ponent of Tallahassee’s transportation network. Nearby Port Panama City is a major global hub for shipping, and it is deep enough to handle most ships in the world. It is one of the primary U.S. ports

for copper imports and it is the port used to transport a half-million tons of energy-providing wood pellets to Europe each year. Just to the east, the Port Authority in Gulf County’s Port St. Joe has plans for a $67 million port expansion.

Come Fly With UsOn the west side of town, Tallahassee

Regional Airport continues to make impor-tant improvements to attract customers and stay competitive.

“Tallahassee Regional Airport, first of all, is an extremely fiscally resilient air-port,” said Sunil Harman, director of avia-tion. “It serves the capital and serves a loyal base of business travel customers. That’s indicated by the fact that all major carriers operate from Tallahassee Airport (including) Delta, US Airways, American Airlines and Continental/United Airlines. Furthermore, the airport is viewed as both a high-class structure and a high yield fa-cility. Many similar-sized cities have lost a great deal of, if not all, of their scheduled air service as the airlines slash capacity in order to manage costs.”

To gain an edge over the competi-tion — and lure more passengers — the airport took an extremely proactive ap-proach in diversifying its aviation-related, as well as non aviation-related, streams of revenue, Harman said. In October a plan was completed to implement low-cost, high-impact customer service im-provements in the terminal. These im-provements include a 40-space cell phone lot, where people can wait for their party to call them without having to enter the airport’s revenue parking area. Harman

said this cuts down the hassles of having to be asked to “move along” according to TSA regulations. Another project in this plan created a new airport entrance mar-quee/ passenger information center. A third project involves updating the main terminal’s old floor, as well as building in a number of other customer service ame-nities to the concourse. The airport’s use of smart financing will allow it to be debt-free on the renovations by 2013.

Harman envisions transforming the Tallahassee Regional Airport into an inter-national port of entry and airport officials plan to submit an application seeking the designation to the Department of Home-land Security.

“That will enable us to begin

T R A NSP ORTAT ION + I N F R A ST RUC T U R E

GLOBAL TRANSPORTATIONPOSSIBILITIESCentrally located between three mega regions, Tallahassee is serving as a transportation hub for worldwide commerce


construction of a federal inspection facility to serve international arrivals, initially from the business and charter markets, and ul-timately with some scheduled passenger service as well as air cargo service,” Har-man said.

The airport is pursuing a commercial economic development master plan to evaluate five parcels of land roughly 500 acres in size for non-aviation develop-ment. This will include a number of high-revenue activities, such as a technology and business park, university extension center, shopping/retail, logistics, bonded warehouses, light manufacturing, vehicle service plaza, amusement areas and inter-national air cargo.

“Those are the uses we put in the

master plan. The airport has 1,200 acres available for commercial economic de-velopment,” Harman said, noting the air-port’s strong footprint and the clear land that surrounds it. “It’s the Department of Aviation’s plan to have at least 500 acres under lease within five years for third party development. This would result in roughly 60 percent of the airport’s oper-ating cost being offset through land rent. It’s anticipated that the savings will be passed on to the airlines in significantly reduced costs for operating at the future Tallahassee International Airport. So, that is the roadmap of where we’re going, to enhance and draw both air service and employment-generating activities.”

Next door at Flightline Group, CEO

Danny Langston said the company’s com-merce park, Compass Pointe, is ready to accommodate such an international port of entry. Compass Pointe is located in the “old airport” section, and with a few modifica-tions could fill the bill for that need.

“The old terminal for some time was earmarked as a location for customs for the airfield and a port of entry facility,” Langs-ton said. “It makes sense, because the airport already has components in place to make the international airport happen with minimal build-out.”

Meanwhile, Compass Pointe is work-ing toward becoming a showcase of tech-nology and innovation. High Performance Magnetics (HPM) broke ground last year on a production facility located just north of

Flightline Group began work on the first phase of a new HondaJet dealership in August 2011.


Compass Pointe, and Flightline Group began work on the first phase of a new HondaJet dealership in August 2011.

HPM produces high-tech cable, which will be used in groundbreaking nuclear re-search in France. It’s just one small step, but could become a springboard for more high-tech tenants that aren’t necessarily related to aviation. The trickle-down ef-fects could be positive for all involved.

Streamlining Public Transit

StarMetro Executive Director Ron Garrison has a vision. He wants more people taking the bus, and he wants to get them to their destination as quickly and efficiently as possible. His team of ef-ficiency experts recently decen-tralized busing routes to make better use of time.

“The models have shown rid-ership over the next three years will grow between 25 and 35 per-cent,” Garrison said.

Garrison said the city’s award-winning transit authority is going to put four zero-emission electric buses in service in January 2012. He also predicts that, in time, some old-fashioned streetcars can help the local economy by taking customers and employees directly to downtown destinations.

“People love (streetcars), they cost half as much as light rail, they cost less to operate, they revitalize downtown areas and provide for better downtown connectivity,” Garrison said. “We have a whole host of new technologies, like the electric buses. We are only the second city in the nation to get them.”

Cutting Edge TechnologyCommunity and business develop-

ment can’t happen without the telecom-munication infrastructure to support it, and Tallahassee has diverse utility options offering the best of all worlds, including municipally owned, cooperative-owned and investor-owned.

Paul Watts, president of Electronet Broadband Communications, said his company has a long tradition of providing innovation in the field of business com-munication. A local company and eco-nomic driver, Electronet began providing DSL service in the late 1990s. From that they built a fiber optic network for the private exchange of medical information,

then in recent years have offered busi-ness bundles featuring business tele-phone service, long distance, Internet ac-cess, server co-location, and email, spam and virus protection.

Another leading broadband provider is FPL FiberNet, which is committed to grow-ing its network and better serving its cus-tomers, said spokesman Steve Stengel. A subsidiary of NextEra Energy, Inc., FPL FiberNet serves telecom companies, wire-less carriers, Internet service providers, enterprise and government customers in Florida and Texas through its carrier-grade, fiber-optic network.

CenturyLink, the nation’s third largest telecommunications company, features robust products and comprehensive lo-cal support, according to Carmen Butler,

CenturyLink’s manager-marketing devel-opment officer for the region. CenturyLink maintains a best-in-class, national 207,000 route-mile fiber network that spans the U.S. from coast to coast and includes more than 1,800 transport access points.

Comcast rounds out the list of high-tech telecom/Internet companies that are ready to serve new customers as they ar-rive, providing high speed Internet, digi-tal cable television, digital voice and wire-less Internet.

“Economic development is critical to the success of our community,” said KC McWil-liams, vice-president and general manager of Comcast Florida Panhandle.

The power and utility providers servic-ing Tallahassee don’t just keep the lights on these days. They are on the frontlines of providing not only sustainable energy production but sustainable business de-velopment as well.

The City of Tallahassee, which provides power and water service to thousands of customers, is on the cutting edge of energy management with its “smart meter” tech-nology, the backbone for a “smart grid” system. In 2009, the city was one of 100 nationwide to receive federal grant money to help modernize the nation’s power grid. In areas not covered by the city, Talquin Electric Cooperative stands ready to pro-vide service, and has done so for many industrial and commercial accounts for more than 70 years. Talquin services a four-county area providing electric, water and wastewater services. The company’s engineering plan includes building lines for capacity and growth in 20-year projections to ensure adequate response to demand.

Meanwhile, it’s not uncommon for

service utilities to have their own econom-ic development managers on staff. These certified experts help companies keep existing customers and attract new cus-tomers, according to Marc Hoenstine, the economic development manager for Prog-ress Energy. Progress Energy is poised for growth, and serves more than 11,000 commercial, industrial and residential cus-tomers in the four-county area, includ-ing Opportunity Park and Century Park in Wakulla County and Jefferson County In-dustrial Park.

“What that means is new jobs, new capital investment, an increase in tax rolls and it’s going to lead to a diversifi-cation of the local economies so they’re not just depending on one industry, es-pecially in times like this,” said Hoen-stine. “We are community partners, and we look at ways to help (clients) be suc-cessful in economic development.” ★

T R A NSP ORTAT ION + I N F R A ST RUC T U R E


11TBJ_Prime Meridian Bank.indd 1 11/30/11 4:02 PM


Daniel Wagnon looks over the Tallahas-see commercial

landscape and sees lots of room for new businesses. Many options are now open to them, including leasing or buying buildings for-merly occupied by state offices, or privately held properties, or high-tech broadband campuses with “smart” amenities.

“The availability of sites and buildings … many peo-ple don’t realize they play a major role in bringing jobs into the area,” said Wagnon of Structure Commercial Real Estate, a full-service firm in Tallahassee. His company provides strate-gic, brokerage and prop-erty management services in all areas of commercial real estate.

According to the Eco-nomic Development Council of Tallahassee/Leon County (EDC), there is more than 1.5 million square feet of office space available throughout more than 250 buildings available, ranging from single-office suites to 265,000-square-foot spac-es. Many state agencies have recently left commer-cial space to occupy new state-owned buildings, giv-ing out-of-town businesses looking to locate here a wide variety of unused, privately owned administrative office space to choose from. There is currently about 500,000 square feet of office space available, with several blocks of at least 100,000 square feet under one roof, or in adjacent cam-pus-style buildings.

“It has been a long time since large corporations that need 200,000 square feet in one building could take a serious look at Tallahassee. Now, they can,” Wagnon said. “While no one likes a

lot of empty space, these vacancies are not a sign of a struggling local econ-omy. This is simply a state issue and the moving of large state agencies. A sig-nificant upside is that the large vacancies can create a competitive environment for companies looking to relocate to or within the Tallahassee region.”

Historically, that hasn’t always been the case for Florida’s capital region. Tal-lahassee is landlocked by government and universi-ties and that’s good, but it also means there haven’t been many empty build-ings to choose from. Now, with more buildings avail-able, there are better deals that a business can get, because with more supply comes better prices.

“If I’m a company that needs 50,000 square feet, Tallahassee has histori-cally never had that. Our occupancy rates are very healthy, mainly because of the government,” Wagnon said. “By being healthy, we haven’t had a lot of supply. But now we have supply and some oppor-tunities and I see that as a means to add jobs that are private in nature and not necessarily in govern-

ment, which is cutting back and trying to become more efficient. (That’s) the silver lining.”

One giant opportunity for business growth is at Innovation Park, Tallahassee’s 208-acre research park and jewel in the crown of a high-tech research and development sector.

“We have about 70 acres of land that can be developed,” said Catherine Kunst, executive director of the Leon County Research and Development Authority, the agency that runs Innovation Park.

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11_TBJ_Capital Health Plan.indd 1 10/21/11 5:09:29 PM

SI T E SE L EC T ION

“In terms of pre-built structures, the (for-mer building location of Elbit Systems of America) is currently up for lease. That’s a 78,000-square-foot manufacturing fa-cility. Otherwise, we probably have about 4,000 square feet of office space available for lease, ranging from 150 square feet to 500 square feet.”

Kunst said Innovation Park receives “three or four calls a month” from busi-nesses making site selection inquiries. Helping along the process is the EDC, which she said has done a wonderful job promoting the former Elbit facilities to po-tential users. Meanwhile, the park’s devel-opment authority makes it easy for new-comers to move in.

“If you want to develop here we can make it easy. You don’t have to go through the city or county development review committee,” she said. “You still need ev-erything permitted, but in terms of having a site plan reviewed, that’s done internally through the development authority.”

Overall, Kunst said there are plenty of wonderful locations in Tallahassee, or the four-county metropolitan statistical area (Leon, Jefferson, Gadsden and Wakulla

counties), for new businesses to settle in.“I think the (EDC) is terrific at show-

casing those properties that are best suit-ed for the needs of the companies looking to locate here,” she said. “I think there is enough diversity of sites to accommodate everybody.”

Innovation Park is just one of sev-eral Tallahassee success stories. Summit East, a 117-acre high-tech office campus is another.

Summit East General Manager George Banks said the commerce park near Inter-state 10 is a technology-ready, high-ameni-ty commercial campus supporting forward-thinking companies and their employees in the 21st century. Unlike most technology parks, he said, Summit East handles the leasing, the property management, site development, building design and features “green” LEED-certified construction.

“We have 14 new parcels in our Phase Two that we just opened that are ready for construction, fully permitted with en-titlements; when you buy it, you can build your building, they are shovel-ready,” Banks said.

On site, 300,000 square feet of office

space is already built, and 100 percent of it is under lease. “We’re one of the few that enjoy that,” he said.

In addition, there is 700,000 square feet of office space-ready land parcels that are permitted, with infrastructure in place and ready to go. Three of the par-cels have been sold. At least one building is under construction now, while work on two others was slated to start in Novem-ber and December 2011.

Canopy, Tallahassee’s newest tradi-tional neighborhood community, promises to become another success story. It’s com-pletely permitted and shovel-ready.

When Canopy (named for the charac-teristic canopy roads in the area) is com-plete, the 505-acre tract on the south side of Centerville Road will be home to as many as 1,500 single-family homes, townhouses and apartments, more than 160,000 square feet of commercial and office space and a planned 7-acre school site — all protected by green spaces that exceed local and state standards. Accord-ing to Tim Edmond, president of CNL Real Estate & Development, which is devel-oping the site, the community is based on a concept known as the “traditional neighborhood development,” which em-phasizes homes, parks, sidewalks, roads and retail centers all joined together in a “walkable” environment.

The EDC has a team of recruitment and expansion professionals standing by to help out-of-town companies collect all the facts needed to thoroughly evaluate the re-gion. It provides a full complement of ser-vices for free. The EDC staff can help with site selection, labor market analysis, local industry contacts, job training, customized research, coordination of state and local incentives and can provide information on the commercial buildings and sites that are currently available. The EDC’s web portal, www.taledc.com, features an interactive property search feature that gives prospec-tive tenants a glimpse into the markets of the four counties included in the local met-ropolitan statistical area.

Tallahassee itself was named one of the 100 most desirable places to do business in the Spring 2011 issue of Area Development magazine. The list considers 14 highly re-garded surveys ranking desirable locations for companies of all sizes. Each survey considers different values and statistics re-lated to job growth and opportunity, which makes this list valuable as a big-picture view of the cities being considered. ★

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11TBJ_DJ_EyeCenterofNorthFlorida.indd 1 11/29/11 9:26 AM

Two of Tallahassee’s biggest business assets are its educational power-houses that lie minutes from down-

town: Florida State University and Florida A&M University.

These schools offer more than just en-tertaining football. Each is home to cutting-edge research that has spawned start-ups and jobs, and produces a talented, skilled workforce to satisfy the growing demands of a thriving community, meeting needs that range from business to the fine arts.

From FSU’s world-renowned National High Magnetic Field Laboratory that is the envy of magnet scientists everywhere, to the university’s Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship, to the Florida A&M University School of Business and In-dustry, Tallahassee offers all the right in-gredients to make the city a sought-after hotspot for technology startups.

It’s already happening, with companies like Bing Energy, PortStar, SolarSink and SunnyLand Solar, which chose to relocate or expand in Tallahassee because of the availability of its world-class research.

Start-Ups Flock to Tallahassee

When Bing Energy chose to relocate its headquarters from California to Florida in 2011, it could have chosen populous South Florida or bustling Tampa Bay.

Instead, it picked Tallahassee. That’s because Bing is working with re-

searchers at Florida State University to turn revolutionary nanotechnology pioneered at FSU into a better, faster, more economical and commercially viable fuel cell that will re-duce the need for expensive platinum com-ponents that have made fuel cells too ex-pensive. This means fuel cells will be more durable and less expensive, which could revolutionize the transportation industry and transform how power is generated. The technology is based on the research and

development of buckypaper at FSU’s High-Performance Materials Institute.

Bing, which will bring 244 jobs to the region, isn’t alone. Companies are being spun off from FSU research every year, from companies that specialize in port se-curity to solar energy. And it isn’t just the presence of FSU that is luring Bing and oth-ers to Tallahassee.

The capital region’s economic develop-ment arm has also made great strides in helping businesses blossom, using local, state and federal solutions to help guide high-tech companies and researchers be-yond their early, vulnerable stages of devel-opment into the commercial marketplace.

“Our organization identified tax incen-tives and workforce training programs that gave Tallahassee the edge over other com-munities under consideration,” said Kim Williams, immediate past chairman of the Economic Development Council of Talla-hassee/ Leon County (EDC). “Bing Energy is a perfect example of why connecting industry, education and government is so important. In this case, these connections helped us to retain our talent, as well as our university technologies and commer-cialization, within our community.”

Tallahassee is also on the front lines of an effort to license solar tube technol-ogy. Two FSU inventors recently created the technology that uses parabolic mir-rors to focus sunlight on vacuum-sealed tubes to generate heat. This sought-after invention will be used to generate energy to provide water heating, electric power and refrigeration.

A company called SunnyLand Solar is already building a test site in Tallahassee to commercialize this technology.

Another example of Tallahassee’s busi-ness appeal is Danfoss Turbocor Com-pressors. The company designs and manufactures the world’s first oil-free magnetic-based compressor for air condi-tioning systems. The company relocated

its corporate headquarters from Montreal to Tallahassee in 2006.

“In Tallahassee, we found a location that could support growth for a high-technology product from both a work-force and a logistics perspective,” said President and CEO Ricardo Schneider. “We’re very happy here.”

The inventor of the Turbocor technolo-gy, Ron Conry, has started a new company based on similar technology. Verdicorp is working on a way to develop power by con-verting waste heat into energy.

Just like Silicon Valley start-ups, Ver-dicorp has found financial support for its efforts from a local venture investment fund and a local investor who has found

R E SE A RC H + DEV E LOPM E N T

STARTUP CITYTallahassee’s research universities offer opportunities for new businesses


success with his own company, Mainline Information Systems.

“We would love to see other Tallahassee business people and entrepreneurs be suc-cessful as well, so there is a certain amount of community spirit behind our motivation,” said Rick Kearney, the head of Mainline, an investor and a leader of Vision 2020, the county-seeded investment fund that pro-vided financial support to Verdicorp.

The Right People and PlacesTallahassee doesn’t just offer a huge

depth of world-class research. It also has strived to build the right manufacturing and incubation facilities and programs to nurture entrepreneurialism and start-ups.

There is Innovation Park, a research and development park on 208 acres in southwest Tallahassee that is nestled close to the renowned National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, the largest and highest-powered magnet laboratory in the world.

FSU is now building the new Aero-Pro-pulsion, Mechatronics and Energy Build-ing (AME), which will merge several dif-ferent disciplines.

The idea is to work toward the devel-opment of new energy resources that are more efficient, cost-effective and mitigate environmental impacts. The researchers will collaborate on projects that deal with energy storage, thermal power and the de-velopment of a smart power grid.

Aero-propulsion deals with transporta-tion systems and other objects that move through air, influencing the design and fabrication of aircraft, spacecraft, automo-tive transport and all manner of vehicles in motion. Mechatronics typically includes disciplines such as robotic systems and au-tomated guided vehicles.

The magnetic laboratory and the Cen-ter for Advanced Power Systems (CAPS), which focuses on electronic power sys-tems modeling and simulations, and the High Performance Materials Institute (HPMI), which improves the performance of advanced composite materials and structures, “will be an anchor point for FSU to expand multidisciplinary research

Bing Energy is working with researchers at Florida State University’s High-Per-formance Materials Institute to turn revolutionary nanotechnology pioneered

at FSU into a better, faster, more economical and commercially viable fuel cell.


programs by connecting many neighbor-ing research centers,” said Chiang Shih, an FSU professor and chair of the Mechanical Engineering department.

Together, these research and educa-tion facilities not only attract talent to the region, they are helping to train the next generation of experts in competitive fields such as aerospace, alternative energy and health sciences. And grants are helping to fund the research. In 2010, the National Science Foundation awarded the Flori-da Center for Advanced Aero Propulsion (FCAAP) $3.2 million for development of a next-generation Polysonic Wind Tunnel, which will help develop transformational flow control technologies.

“The unique combination of the three

distinctive yet interconnected disciplines of aero-propulsion, mechatronics and energy is crucial for creating the context for the development of transformational innova-tions,” Shih said.

This building will also help ensure Florida retains its reputation as one of the top states for aerospace and aviation-related research.

To cope with the coming quantum leap in private sector jobs that Tallahassee is expecting from this recent boom in start-ups and commercialization activity, eco-nomic development officials have launched several new programs for start-ups.

The EDC maintains an inventory of the best local, state and federal solutions to support new business development. A

recent addition to the local economic de-velopment offerings is the EDC’s Entre-preneurial Excellence Program, a course providing resources for small, high-tech companies looking to increase their chance of success in the marketplace through ad-vice on effective business models, team development, legal foundations, market-ing strategies, funding opportunities and the sharing of entrepreneurial experiences. The organization also supports technology transfer, licensing and commercialization; research and development; capital raising/venture capital connections and incubator support. The EDC can also help with site selection, regulatory maneuvering and tax incentives to cultivate a technology cluster unrivaled in Florida. ★

PORTSTAR: A company called Educational Development Group, a spin-off of a five-year FSU research effort, offers Port-Star as a security training and an online reporting system to protect the safety of the nation’s commercial ports.

BING ENERGY: This fuel cell development company moved from California to Tallahassee in 2011 to work with FSU-based technology to create more durable and less expensive fuel cells. The company plans to generate 244 high-paid jobs.

ADVANCED MANUFACTURING TRAINING CENTER: Located at Tallahassee Community College, the center customizes the training of workers to meet local business needs, providing the technology and tools needed to compete in an efficient manu-facturing world.

SUNNYLAND SOLAR AND SOLAR SINK: These locally owned companies have linked projects that involve the design and manufacturing of innovative solar technologies that will ad-vance the effectiveness of solar power generation.

NATIONAL HIGH MAGNETIC FIELD LABORATORY: The nation’s biggest and highest-powered magnetic laboratory. Known as the “Mag Lab,” it is a huge economic driver for the region, gen-erating jobs and spin-off businesses.

HIGH PERFORMANCE MAGNETICS: A manufacturing and management firm that specializes in providing high-quality superconducting magnet products. This business landed a federal contract to demonstrate the feasibility of fusion power.

AERO-PROPULSION MECHATRONICS AND ENERGY BUILDING: This building marries three different disciplines to collaborate on projects that will help establish new energy resources that are cost-effective and environmentally friendly.

FAMU COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE: Providing the founda-tion for the university’s land grant status, the college prepares students to become world class leaders and problem solvers in the fields of food and agricultural sciences and engineering and technology.

FSU ENTREPRENEURIAL BUILDING: This helps faculty-gen-erated research projects become independent companies by providing the incubation space for early development.

INNOVATION PARK: This manufacturing and technology of-fice park, managed by Leon County Research & Development Authority, is located in southwest Tallahassee on more than 200 acres and is home to many of Tallahassee’s cutting-edge technology businesses, such as SunnyLand Solar and Bing Energy.

VERDICORP: A new company that captures waste heat and turns it into electricity using state-of-the-art technology that can be applied to a variety of sources.

APPLIED SUPERCONDUCTIVITY CENTER: Housed at the Mag Lab and FSU, researchers at the center advance the science and technology of superconductivity and, in particular, su-perconductivity applications. This is done by investigating low temperature and high temperature materials through research grants and collaborations with other universities, national laboratories and industry.

A SAMPLING OF TALLAHASSEE START-UPS AND RESEARCH FACILITIES

R E SE A RC H + DEV E LOPM E N T

The National High Magnetic Field Labratory


A skilled workforce and economic development go hand-in-hand — and Tallahassee has one of the

best-educated talent bases in the world.More than two-thirds of Leon County’s

residents have some college education, the public school district consistently earns an “A” from the state for school and student performance, and the region is home to two major state universities plus one of the largest community colleg-es. It’s a compelling package of reasons why businesses should consider moving to the region.

“Every CEO who gets surveyed on why a company is moving from one place to another, at the top of their list they will put access to universities and the quality of the educational environment,” said Eric Barron, president of Florida State Univer-sity. “It makes an enormous difference to have a good public school district and universities to partner with.”

FSU is a top tier research university that has prompted several research-to-industry spinoffs and Florida A&M University (FAMU) is a premier school among historically black colleges and universities. Both have nationally rec-ognized business schools that graduate savvy entrepreneurs while also provid-ing a wide range of resources to help the local business community, especially emerging companies.

Barron said he views FSU as a “big partner” to business, especially as it helps ideas and innovations move from the university’s classrooms and labs into the marketplace. His goal is to make FSU a comprehensive entrepre-neurial university.

Businesses that locate in Tallahassee get access to some of the brightest and most talented students available, said FAMU President James Ammons.

“FAMU contributes immensely to the potential of the Tallahassee region,” he explained. “I say potential because we are in the business of talent acquisition.

As we talk with prospective students, we tell them, ‘Any place you want to be in life, you can get there from our academic programs.’”

Tallahassee Community College’s Center for Work-force Development adds to the talent equation by offer-ing training in fields where workers are most in demand, including information technol-ogy, allied health, manufac-turing and business, as well as construction and trades.

“When new companies are brought in to town, we are usually brought into the con-versation to let them know about the programs that we offer,” said TCC President Jim Murdaugh. “If there are cer-tain skills that those compa-nies need, we can modify our programs.”

The recently opened Ad-vanced Manufacturing Train-ing Center — a joint effort of TCC and the Economic Development Council of Tal-lahassee/Leon County (EDC) — provides customized and technologically advanced training for workers in busi-nesses that are already here and is considered a signifi-cant resource for attracting new manufacturing businesses to the region with its ability to provide quick response training.

Construction of the 24,000-square-foot training center was funded in part by a $1.8 million grant from the De-partment of Defense and U.S. Army Research Office that was facilitated through the EDC.

Target Industries The EDC supports targeted industry

sectors that match the region’s strengths, goals and assets and help ensure the lo-cal economy is diversified and sustain-able while providing quality, high wage jobs. Those sectors include: aviation, aerospace, defense and national securi-ty; engineering and research; health sci-ences and human performance enhance-ment; information technology; renewable energy and the environment; and trans-portation and logistics.

Many educational offerings and pro-grams in the region have been designed

TRAINING WORKERS FOR TOMORROWRegion offers an educated workforce trained and ready for in-demand jobs

E DUC AT E D WOR K FORC E

Tallahassee Community College’s Advanced Manufacturing Training Center


to complement those targeted sectors. “When you look at the program mix

we have at FAMU, many of the academic programs are drivers in this new econo-my,” explained Ammons. “As we look at the new jobs in the 21st century, they are high tech, they are in the health care sector … and about one-third of our stu-dents are majoring in disciplines such as science, technology, engineering, math-ematics and the health sciences.”

TCC has opened the Ghazvini Center for Health Care Education in the heart of the city’s burgeoning health care cor-ridor, close to both major hospitals and the Red Hills Surgical Center. All of the school’s health care programs (except for the dental program) are now located at the 85,000-square-foot Ghazvini Center, where students train on cutting-edge technology that allows them to respond to emergencies in simulated real-life set-tings. Within five years, TCC is expected to double its enrollment capacity in health care training programs.

Just down the road is the Red Hills Surgical Center, where nursing students from TCC, medical students from FSU and students from local high school ca-reer academies are able to watch surgical procedures from a separate observation room. The surgical center is a joint ven-ture between Tallahassee Memorial Hos-pital and 35 local physicians from several area practices. The EDC worked with the city and county to provide the center with innovative permitting and tax incentives and also ensured that the observatory would be included to help train the future health care workforce.

“We work hard to create a competi-tive business climate where our economic engines, like health care, can thrive,” said EDC Chairman Karen Moore.

Public SchoolsThe Leon County School District has

consistently earned top grades from the state on the performance of its public schools and the area’s individual public high schools earn mostly A and B grades each year. Operating in support of the schools is the Lively Technical Center, which operates a wide variety of pro-grams designed to prepare workers for several of the key target industry sec-tors, including renewable energy, health care and IT.

The school districts in the four coun-ties covered by the EDC also offer career academies that give students multiple

educational choices, ranging from culinary arts to health sciences to finance and engineering. In Leon County, career academies offered at the five high schools include: criminal justice, engineering, fi-nance, construction, information technol-ogy, early childhood and health sciences. A technical training center for high school age through adult, Lively provides a var-ied curriculum that prepares students for the work place and includes courses in

careers as varied as cosmetology, graphic design and practical nursing.

Lively’s aviation program at the Tal-lahassee Regional Airport is designed to train students in the skills, knowledge and related abilities necessary for entry into the aviation maintenance profession. When finishing the program, students are prepared to take the Federal Aviation Administration Airframe and Powerplant (A&P) Certification exam. ★

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Population, 2010

Tallahassee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275,487MSA (Leon, Gadsden, Jefferson and Wakulla counties) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .367,315

Age Distribution of People (Leon County):Under 15 . . . . . . . .16.3% 15 to 19 . . . . . . . . . . 9.9% 20 to 24. . . . . . . . .15.9% 25 to 34 . . . . . . . . .14.6% 35 to 44 . . . . . . . . . . . 11%45 to 54 . . . . . . . . . 12.2%

55 to 59 . . . . . . . . . .5.8%60 to 64 . . . . . . . . . . .5% 65 to 74 . . . . . . . . . . 5.3% 75 to 84 . . . . . . . . . .2.9%85+ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.2%

Income (Leon County)

Median Household Income, 2009 . .$40,725Average Annual Wage, 2010 . . . . . . . .$39,556

Education Level, Leon County, 2010

Graduate or Professional Degree . . . . . 18.76%Bachelor’s Degree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26%Associate’s Degree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.14%Some college, no degree. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18.9%High school diploma or equivalent . . 18.86%Less than high school diploma . . . . . . . 8.32%

High School Graduation Rate, 2010 . . 80.2%

Educational Institutions

Barry University — Bachelors, MastersEmbry-Riddle Aeronautical University —

Associates, Bachelors, Masters Flagler College — BachelorsFlorida A & M University — Bachelors

(11,289 Undergraduate Enrollment), Masters, Professional, Doctorate

Florida State University — Bachelors (31,418, Undergraduate enrollment), Masters, Professional, Doctorate

ITT Technical Institute — Associates, Bachelors

Keiser University — Associates, Bachelors, Masters

Lively Technical College — Associates Tallahassee Community College

(Enrollment, Approximately 14,000) — Associates, Certificate Programs

Labor Force, 2010

Leon County . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148,389

Unemployment Rate (October 2011)

Tallahassee MSA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7.9% Leon County . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.7% Gadsden County . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.9%Jefferson County . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.4%Wakulla County . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7.6%

Housing

Tallahassee Median Residential Sale Prices (Januray-September 2011):Detached Single Family Home . . . . .$164,675Condo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $74,900Townhouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $80,500Manufactured/Mobile Home . . . . . . . $38,500

Taxes

Corporate Tax — 5.5 percent of Florida net income (less $5,000 of net income exempted, $25,000 starting Jan. 1, 2012)

Personal Income Tax — NoneSales and Use Tax — 7.5 percent total rate

in Leon County

FAC T S + F IGU R E S

Innova�on Park is home to top-notch university and commercial R&D. Join leading technology innovators such as the Na�onal High Magne�c Field Laboratory, Danfoss Turbocor, Bing Energy and the High Performance Materials Ins�tute. Innova�on Park offers businesses the room and resources to grow.

850-575-0343 | 1736 West Paul Dirac Drive, Tallahassee, FL 32310 | www.innova on-park.com

Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bureau of the Census, Economic Development Council of Tallahassee/Leon County, Tallahassee-Leon County Planning Department, Department of Economic Opportunity



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Tallahassee Business Outlook 2012

Documents

Transcript of Tallahassee Business Outlook 2012