Palmdale ranks third in regional vote

Five sites selected for Heartland catalyst project

  Glades County joined the five other counties in the Heartland Region, as well as the cities of Pahokee, Belle Glade, South Bay and Immokalee in selecting the top five of 13 sites submitted from throughout the region for a regional economic development "catalyst project."

  According to EDC executive director Tracy Whirls, her office is working with Florida Heartland Rural Economic Development Initiative (FHREDI), The Governor's Office of Tourism, Trade and Economic Development and Enterprise Florida, as well as other communities in the south central Rural Area of Critical Economic Concern, on the project which is expected to bring new healthcare related industries to the region.

During a daylong catalyst site selection meeting held at the Sebring Civic Center, April 27, Ms. Whirls, joined by EDC director Kevin Thomas, EDC secretary Mark Morton and Glades County Deputy County Manager for Community Development Larry Hilton, worked with other EDC directors and county staff from Hendry, Highlands, DeSoto, and Hardee Counties as well as the community of Immokalee to choose the top five sites which will be visited by consultants representing healthcare manufacturing and service companies looking to site in south central Florida.

The top five sites were:

1)      Sebring Regional Airport in Highlands County, located on US 98 and US 27. Property has water and wastewater systems in place, fiber optic, high broadband system, natural gas service will be completed within 12 months, rail is on site and Highlands County offers a comprehensive incentives package. The property is also in the path of both the East/West and North/South FDOT Corridor concept screening plans.

2)      Hendry Airglades Industrial Park in Hendry County, located on US 27 and SR 80, with an additional access available via a divided highway (Flaghole Rd.). The county controls the acreage, water and wastewater infrastructure is in close proximity to the site and there are no wetlands on the site. Land is leasable.

3)      Lykes-Palmdale site, Glades County. Property is divided along US 27 with rail access paralleling US 27. The largest of the submitted sites, at 1000 acres, it is 41 miles southeast of Sebring, five miles north of Moore Haven and proximate to IFAS agricultural, biological and plant pathology research and MacArthur Agroecology Research.

4)      Wal-Mart Distribution Area, DeSoto County. Property s adjacent to existing Wal-Mart Distribution Center, within 7 miles of I-75 and adjacent to US 17. Currently zoned light industrial. Water main to site along US 17. Rail within a mile, less than 50 miles to an international airport and proximate to Florida Gulf Coast University at Fort Myers and South Florida Community College at Arcadia.

5)      Florida Tradeport at Immokalee in Collier County. The site is 20 miles from I-75 (Everglades Parkway East/West and within the FDOT Future Cooridor Plan (north/south). Property is leasable.

  Ms. Whirls said the consulting company hired by FHREDI and Enterprise Florida to steer the catalyst project rated the 13 proposed sites based on their proximity to Interstate highway systems or multilane state highways, proximity to rail, proximity to major population centers for reasonable commuting times, expandable in size in stages as growth and development occur.

  “It was interesting in that the consultants had shortlisted four sites and the Glades Palmdale site was not on the original short list,” Ms. Whirls said. “We were given the option of adding a fifth site, and as the Palmdale site was the next highest ranked in the short listing and has the most potential to impact a regional area, given its proximity to Hendry and Highlands County as well as Glades, we were successful at having it added to the list,” Ms. Whirls said. “We were surprised and delighted when it came in third during the prioritization of the sites.”

  Now that the top five sites have been identified, the consultants will begin contacting companies in the healthcare industry, which may include companies ranging from manufacturers of pharmaceuticals, nuitraceuticals or prosthetics to research and development corporations like Scripps. They’ll provide all of the information that has been gathered regarding the proposed sites, including workforce demographics, average area wage scales as well as particulars on the properties themselves.

  As interested companies are identified, the consultants will work with the regional EDCs to schedule site visits and meetings, beginning with the top sites—those considered “shovel ready” and working their way down the list.

In addition to the benefit of having the Glades Palmdale site marketed as part of the catalyst package, Ms. Whirls said that participating in the process has given each EDC a wealth of information which they would not have been privy to otherwise. That information has been provided to each EDC on disc, and plans call for the information to be added to EDC and FHREDI websites.

  “Studies have shown that employees will travel from a 75 mile radius to work for companies offering high wage/high skilled jobs,” the EDC director said. “Now we not only have detailed information on the Glades Palmdale site, but we have demographic information on potential employees from throughout the region. We can compare incentives offered by neighboring counties with what we have to offer, compare real estate prices and other data which we can use strategically to level the playing field.”

  Glades County and property owner and EDC partner Lykes also benefit from the  “preclearance” review of the submitted properties prepared by the Department of Environmental Protection, Florida Department of Transportation and other state agencies as part of the site selection process. "The benefit of the preclearance review is obvious,” Ms. Whirls said. “ Even if a particular site is not selected for the “catalyst” project, that site is well ahead of the game for marketing to industry and companies, being now known by Enterprise Florida as a potential site.”

  The EDC and Lykes now have much of the information needed, not only on the Glades Palmdale site, but the property adjacent to the proposed FPL Power Park off SR 78 in Moore Haven, to market those properties to other prospective new businesses and industries. The EDC director would encourage other landowners to use the site description process outlined by the catalyst project consultants to provide information to the economic development council to assist in marketing those properties. 

  “While some of the other counties have other advantages—more pre-existing medical facilities, satellite community college and university classes, more existing housing and commercial establishments—we have more land with more rail in Glades County,” Ms. Whirls said. “We also have and intend to preserve more green space and natural areas, all of which speak to the kind of “quality of life” attributes companies are looking for when relocating or expanding. We think Glades County is the land of opportunity for new businesses and the catalyst project is going to help us convey that to new prospects.”  Ms. Whirls is quick to point out that whichever county ultimately “wins” the catalyst project, it will create opportunities throughout the Heartland region.

   “The Scripps project in Palm Beach County was a “catalyst” for the Torey Pines project in St. Lucie County. Just as the FPL project in Glades will create job opportunities in Hendry and Highlands County, if a large research and development park were created in Highlands County, as part of the catalyst project, for example, a great many future Glades County college graduates could expect to get jobs there,” Ms. Whirls said.