The Scoop On Duval Economics

Xorail, a Jacksonville-based subsidiary of Wabtec Corp., is proposing to add 55 jobs at its Gate Parkway location by the end of 2012, pending approval of an incentives package by Jacksonville City Council. Xorail was founded in Jacksonville in 1988 as Southwest Signal Engineering Co. The average wage for the new jobs would be $57,000 a year.  The JEDC approved the incentives package at its April meeting.  The JEDC also approved an incentives package for Aviation Systems Engineering Company, Inc. The company proposes to add 10 jobs by the end of 2010 to a Jacksonville branch office on the Westside pending approval of incentives by Jacksonville City Council. The average wage would be $79,242. The company's headquarters is in Lexington Park, Md. Jacksonville is the 13th best place to launch a new business in 2010, according to a new study on Portfolio.com, up from 25th last year.  Rankings were based on a formula that took into account population, employment and small-business growth of 100 metro areas. Governor Crist unveiled his proposed $69.2 billion budget recommendations for Fiscal Year 2010-11.  The proposed budget recommended a $9.7 billion investment in economic development, which includes infrastructure, workforce development and incentives for small businesses and also included $15 million for the film and entertainment industry. Kaman Aerostructures delivered its 500th H-60 helicopter cockpit to Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation, a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp.  Kaman has been manufacturing H-60 structures and expanding in Jacksonville since 2005.  The company began with 60 employees and now employs 400 people in a 220,000 square foot manufacturing facility located on the Northside. Calling all FEDC Young Professionals!  The Florida Economic Development Council (FEDC) has launched a new Young Professionals (YP) group.  The group is open to individuals ages 21-40 or those with less than five years in the economic development field.  The goals and objectives of the FEDC YP group are to provide a consolidated resource center for young and new professionals working in economic development to reach, teach and train young executives to take the baton as the new generation of leadership building on the successes of our peers.  Contact Amy Evancho at aevancho@fedc.net or Peter Tokar at Peter_Tokar@Davie-fl.gov for more information. The JEDC’s Film and Television Office permitted 19 productions in the first quarter of 2010, which created 289 jobs and had an economic impact of $584,340.  Productions included: a national commercial for Shoney’s, an episode of the Food Network’s "Diners, Drive Ins & Dives," SanMar photography production for a national ad campaign, J.Jill photography production for a national ad campaign, Zip Cars photography production for a national ad campaign, production of VEER! - an independent film, production of the FOX Network’s "America’s Most Wanted" and production for a Lending Tree national commercial.     The JEDC’s Film and Television Office, along with the International Visitors Corps of Jacksonville (IVCJax), and Digital Video Arts hosted a familiarization tour for six international film and television producers and directors from Bangladesh, Berma, Kenya, Singapore, South Africa and West Bank.  The tour began with an overview of the JEDC’s Film Office, City Hall and local prominent film and television locations.  For more updates from the JEDC’s Film and Television Office, visit www.filmjax.blogspot.com. Jacksonville was mentioned on FOXnews as a great travel destination.  The article is excellent publicity for Jacksonville since FOXnews.com has more than 8.8 million visitors per month.   Click here to read the article. Beaver Street Enterprise Center (BSEC) broke ground on a new facility that will house stage-two and high-growth companies and the resources they need to be successful. Beaver Street Enterprise Center, a FreshMinistries initiative and two-time National Business Incubation Association (NBIA) Finalist for Incubator of the Year, has expanded its facilities and programs in support of high-growth, innovative companies who have the potential to scale to significant market share and/or revenue growth rate. The Entertainment Industry Economic Development Act, co-sponsored by Jacksonville’s Rep. Jennifer Carroll, has been introduced to the Florida House of Representatives and Senate.  The proposed legislation sets forth a tax credit incentive program intended to attract and grow the entertainment industry in Florida.  The proposal would allow Florida to retain and create more high-wage jobs by attracting production spending immediately, while avoiding any fiscal shortcomings in upcoming budgets.  Both the House and Senate Bills are intended to take effect beginning July 1, 2010; however, both proposed bills differ on the amount of funds to be allocated.  Specifically, the House Bill proposes $186 million in tax credits spread over the next five years while the Senate Bill proposes an allocation of $75 million per fiscal year, which totals $375 million from 2010 to 2015. For the first time, the Jacksonville MSA has a higher per capita income ($40,028) than other comparable regions in the Southeast including Atlanta ($38,336), Charlotte ($39,621) and Raleigh ($39,602).  This is according to Luke Planning Inc. via preliminary data for MSAs from the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis. The Coast Guard Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron (HITRON) located at Cecil Field, was recently featured in a documentary, "Modern Sniper: Coast Guard", on the Military Channel. The JEDC and Jacksonville City Council approved a public incentive package for Systems Services Enterprises (SSE), a St. Louis-based IT company that is proposing to open a satellite office in Jacksonville.  SSE proposes to bring 60 jobs to Jacksonville paying an average salary of $58,445 plus $7,500 in benefits with an annual payroll of approximately $3.5 million. Most of the jobs would be hired from the local market and the company anticipates a capital expenditure of more than $90,000 in office space improvement and infrastructure.   SSE develops custom software for training and programming purposes for defense contractors and other third parties.  The training is provided to people worldwide over the Internet.  SSE is looking to open the satellite office in Downtown Jacksonville and would be the company’s first expansion outside St. Louis. Guy Fieri, a popular host on the Food Network was in Jacksonville visiting several restaurants including the Fox, Sun Dog Diner, Culhane's Irish Pub, 13 Gypsies, Singleton's Seafood Shack in Mayport and more.  Cameras were rolling as Fieri traveled to get footage for the hit show "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives."  Shows based on Fieri’s visit will air in late spring or early summer. Lender Processing Services, Inc. (LPS) announced it will add 350 new, full-time economic-based jobs to its Jacksonville campus following the approval of an incentives package by Jacksonville City Council.  The new jobs will pay an average salary of $44,807 and will include a benefits package valued at $11,202.  LPS will also invest approximately $1.5 million in new private capital at its existing location.  The additional jobs will accommodate LPS’ expanding technology platforms and systems, data and analytics division and loan transaction services division.  The deal is pending approval from the State of Florida. The 18th Annual Small Business Week Celebration will be Thursday, May 13, 2010 at the UNF University Center from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.  This annual luncheon event includes the presentation of the prestigious U.S. Small Business Administration’s Small Business Week and Top Lender awards. The keynote speaker will be Warren Brown, owner of the Washington, DC-based CakeLove and host of the Food Network's "Sugar Rush."  Click here for registration information. The JEDC helped Pilot Pen secure a $127,900 state road grant to improve public roadway infrastructure adjacent to their newly constructed headquarters built in the East Park Business Center, next to the pen maker’s manufacturing plant and distribution facility.  In June of last year, Pilot Pen announced the relocation of their corporate headquarters from Trumbull, CT to Jacksonville, creating 66 jobs and generating $7.5 million in private capital investment.  Digital Risk LLC announced it will bring 175 new jobs to Jacksonville with an average salary of $45,564 pending approval of incentives by the State of Florida.  The company would also invest approximately $500,000 in new private capital for machinery, equipment, furniture, fixtures and leasehold improvements.  Digital Risk provides business consulting services by providing mortgage holders with predictive modeling analytics to value mortgage portfolios, identify and execute loss mitigation and asset recovery opportunities, execute loan repurchase and loss indemnifications, ensure regulatory compliance and identify fraudulent activity.  The incentives package has been approved by the JEDC and Jacksonville City Council. Ireland’s Atlantic Way Region, home to the cities of Galway, Limerick and Cork, has a unique partnership with Jacksonville that was created to foster business relationships and commerce between the two regions.  Cornerstone has worked to establish this relationship, hosting key officials and building ties to advance the economic objectives of both regions. The Atlantic Way Region has a population of more than one million people and is also home to the Shannon International Airport, a major cargo and passenger gateway from Europe to America.  For more information about the partnership and how to get your business growing in Ireland, visit www.atlanticway.com or contact Mike Breen with Cornerstone at (904) 366-6682 or michael.breen@jacksonvillechamber.org. Congratulations to JEDC’s Business Development Chief Lindsey Ballas, CEcD, for making “The Business Journal’s 40 Under 40” list of most promising professionals for 2010.  Each year the editors of The Business Journal choose 40 young executives from Northeast Florida who have achieved a high level of responsibility in both their careers and our community to be honored. Boeing was awarded a $69.7 million contract with the U.S. Air Force to build new drones at Cecil Field.  The drones will be built by modifying existing F-16 aircrafts.  Boeing will begin the aircraft conversions in May 2011 and is expected to add 40 new jobs to their Cecil location.  The drones will be used to test the military’s newly developed weapons and can be flown manned or unmanned.  Mayport Naval Station will become the home port of the littoral ship, the Navy’s newest combat ship.  Eventually, the base will receive 32 of the new ships and approximately 7,200 military personnel.  The ships will begin arriving in 2016.  By 2020, the base will have 17 of the ships with the rest arriving after 2020.  The 400-foot littoral combat ships are designed to operate in the area between the shore and deep water. They can handle surveillance, counter-mine and anti-ship missions. Congresswoman Corrine Brown, along with the City of Jacksonville, is hosting the 18th Annual Job and Resource Fair on Monday, May 17, 2010 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Prime Osborn Convention Center.   This year’s event will include a host of on-site resource organizations and agencies, as well as pre-job fair workshops to assist applicants.  There is no fee to participate.  For more information, contact Carolyn Chatman or Ken Johnson at (904) 354-1652. Proposed legislation that is currently awaiting Governor Crist’s signature would be beneficial to Cecil Commerce Center and Cecil Field.  If passed, House Bill 143, would give concurrency exemption to aviation manufacturers in Florida, giving Cecil Field another advantage over locations outside of Florida. American Airlines added three nonstop daily flights from Jacksonville to Chicago.  The new flights will depart from the Jacksonville International Airport (JIA) daily at 7:10 a.m., 12:05 p.m. and 5:10 p.m. JIA now serves 27 markets with 94 average daily departures and 10,308 daily seats. Cecil Commerce Center Master Developer Agreement Approved The JEDC approved the Cecil Commerce Center (CCC) Master Developer Agreement between the City of Jacksonville and Hillwood (a Perot company) at its April meeting. Through the relationship memorialized in the Agreement, Hillwood will bring its expertise, capital and relationships to provide jobs, investment and an expanded tax base for the City of Jacksonville. The capital investment required to develop CCC is tremendous and will be borne by Hillwood.  Most notably, all new public infrastructure will be funded by Hillwood and the city has no obligation to fund any new infrastructure.  In addition, Hillwood must fund $1.3 billion in land development and vertical development costs to execute the Master Plan.  This investment will result in benefits to the city in terms of increased tax revenue and land-purchase payments.  The increase in tax revenue is estimated to be between $50.3 million and $88.8 million over the term of the contract depending upon the pace of development.  Increased tax revenue from CCC diversifies the tax base, lessening the proportional burden on residential property. The proposed agreement has a 10-year initial term and with their performance, there is potential for up to three five-year extension periods during which Hillwood can purchase and develop parcels at CCC as development opportunities and end users present themselves.  The purchase price for city-owned property is reflective of the entire site in its current condition.  This spreads the risk of development across the entire property, which has varying degrees of complexity.  This ensures that the entire area will reach its full economic development potential.  The agreement has built-in performance benchmarks and provides for the city to receive a portion of Hillwood’s net proceeds from development.  The operations/maintenance costs and obligations also will shift from the city to Hillwood as development progresses.  There are no special city incentives and no tax increment financing (TIF) included in this agreement.  The agreement will now be considered by the Jacksonville City Council. Engaging Hillwood now means the developer can position CCC as “Alliance Florida,” Hillwood’s premiere brand name, which will bring with it national attention.  The agreement allows Hillwood to engage prospects, respond to market demand and execute a long-term development plan for Jacksonville to benefit through job creation and tax base diversification.  New Federal Legislation May Assist Local Businesses The Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act is a new federal program designed to promote job creation.  The program was allocated $17.5 billion to spur hiring and help small business owners. HIRE Overview: Payroll tax holiday for the remainder of 2010 for employers who hire workers that have been out of work for at least 60 days: Includes a $1,000 bonus tax credit for every new employee retained for 52 weeks, provided that the employee’s wages for the last 26 weeks do not drop below 80 percent of what she/he received for the first 26 weeks Hire must occur between February 3, 2010 and January 1, 2011 Extension of surface transportation programs through December 2010 Extension of enhanced small business expensing (Section 179) to allow a write-off for certain capital expenditures up to $250,000 Direct payment option for certain tax credit bonds (qualified school construction bonds, qualified zone academy bonds, clean renewable energy bonds, and qualified energy conservation bonds) For more information, visit www.hireact.org.

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