Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Corporation

DEVELOP AND SUSTAIN A THRIVING LOCAL ECONOMY THROUGH HIGH WAGE JOBS AND CAPITAL INVESTMENT.

THE TAMPA HILLSBOROUGH ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION BEGAN USING THE DBA TAMPA BAY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL (TBEDC) ON OCTOBER 29, 2019. THE ORGANIZATION WILL HENCEFORTH BE REFERENCED AS THE LATTER IN THIS NARRATIVE.THE TAMPA BAY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL (TBEDC)'S BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT TEAM CLOSED 21 PROJECTS THAT ADDED A TOTAL OF 1,301 NEW JOBS AND $189,350,000 IN CAPITAL INVESTMENT TO HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY. EIGHT EXISTING BUSINESSES EXPANDED THEIR OPERATIONS, ADDING 535 NEW JOBS AND INVESTING $123,450,000 LOCALLY. THIRTEEN NEW COMPANIES WERE RECRUITED TO TAMPA AND HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY IN FY2023, INCLUDING SEVERAL FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT PROJECTS: UK-BASED STRIVE SALES, AUSTRALIA-BASED AUTOSLIDE, CANADIAN-BASED WELLNESSLIVING AND ISRAELI-BASED CYBECS. THESE RECRUITMENT PROJECTS CONTRIBUTED 766 NEW JOBS AND $65,900,000 IN CAPITAL INVESTMENT TO OUR MARKET.THE BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT TEAM PROVIDED COMMUNITY INFORMATION AND COMPETITIVE DATA FOR 111 RELOCATION OR EXPANSION PROJECTS THIS YEAR AND HOSTED 25 SITE VISITS WITH PROSPECT COMPANIES LOOKING TO RELOCATE OR EXPAND TO HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY. LOCALLY, THE BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT TEAM CONNECTED WITH 160 EXISTING HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY BUSINESSES THROUGH THE EXPAND TAMPA BAY BUSINESS RETENTION AND EXPANSION PROGRAM. THESE LOCAL COMPANIES REPRESENT CLOSE TO 49,000 EMPLOYEES AND NEARLY HALF OF THOSE SURVEYED REPORTED YEAR-OVER-YEAR INCREASES IN SALES, AND A THIRD OF THEM PLAN TO EXPAND OVER THE NEXT THREE YEARS.OUR BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT TEAM CONTINUED TO SELL OUR MARKET AT INDUSTRY TRADESHOWS AND CONFERENCES THIS YEAR, INCLUDING SITE SELECTORS GUILD, AREA DEVELOPMENT AND INDUSTRIAL ASSET MANAGEMENT COUNCIL, ALONG WITH SECTOR-SPECIFIC EVENTS LIKE BUSINESS OF BIOTECH AND THE CONSUMER ELECTRONICS SHOW. BUT THEY ALSO CREATED NEW OPPORTUNITIES TO TAKE OUR MESSAGE DIRECTLY TO SITE SELECTORS BY HOSTING BROKER EVENTS AND TRAVELING WITH A GROUP OF INVESTORS TO CHICAGO FOR A DOMESTIC SALES MISSION. THE INTERNATIONAL TEAM WAS ALSO ON THE ROAD ATTENDING MAJOR GLOBAL FDI EVENTS LIKE SELECTUSA AND SEUS JAPAN. WITH OUR REGIONAL PARTNERS IN GLOBAL TAMPA BAY, THEY ALSO MET WITH PROSPECTS DURING A FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT MISSION TO THE UNITED KINGDOM. ALSO WITH OUR REGIONAL PARTNERS, WE ASSISTED TAMPA BAY COMPANIES GAIN ACCESS TO NEW CUSTOMERS IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC DURING AN EXPORT SALES MISSION TO THE CARIBBEAN ISLAND NATION.

THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT TEAM HAS MADE RAPID PROGRESS WITH OUR PLACEMAKING INITIATIVES IN FY2023. AFTER RECEIVING INPUT FROM LOCAL BUSINESS AND PROPERTY OWNERS, DOZENS OF COMMUNITY PARTNERS AND OUR INVESTOR-LED COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT WORKING GROUP, WE COMPLETED A REDEVELOPMENT PLAN FOR AN INDUSTRIAL CORRIDOR IN EAST TAMPA. THE PLAN INCLUDES A STRATEGY FOR PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS, CATALYTIC PROJECTS, AND NEW PROGRAMS TO ENHANCE JOB CREATION AND STARTUP ACTIVITY IN AN ECONOMICALLY DISTRESSED COMMUNITY. THE TAMPA BAY EDC EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE AUTHORIZED THE CREATION OF A NEW 501(C)(3), OPPORTUNITY TAMPA BAY INC (OTBI), TO PROVIDE INVESTMENT CAPITAL AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SERVICES IN LOW-INCOME AREAS. OTBI WILL LEAD THE CHARGE ON THIS REDEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE AND CONTINUE ENGAGING MORE PARTNERS TO INVEST IN THE PROJECT.ANOTHER NEW BOLD AND AMBITIOUS INITIATIVE THE TAMPA BAY EDC EMBARKED ON THIS YEAR IS A HISTORIC FIVE-YEAR AGREEMENT SIGNED WITH TAMPA GENERAL HOSPITAL TO DEVELOP AND PROMOTE THE TAMPA MEDICAL AND RESEARCH DISTRICT. THIS DISTRICT IS THE NEXT EVOLUTION IN A LONG-TERM STRATEGY TO PUT TAMPA AMONG THE TOP DESTINATIONS IN THE WORLD FOR LIFE SCIENCES AND TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION. THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT TEAM HIT THE GROUND RUNNING, HIRING A NEW HEALTHCARE AND LIFE SCIENCES INDUSTRY DIRECTOR TO SPEARHEAD THE PROJECT AND CONVENING AN ADVISORY COMMITTEE OF BUSINESS AND COMMUNITY LEADERS TO GUIDE THE STRATEGIC DIRECTION OF THE DISTRICT.

IN FY2023, THE TBEDC FINANCIAL POSITION REMAINS STRONG WITH THE ACTUAL PERFORMANCE FAR EXCEEDING OUR BUDGET. PRIVATE SECTOR FUNDING WAS AT $2,742,225. THE ORGANIZATION ALSO CONTINUED TO RECEIVE GENEROUS SUPPORT FROM ITS PUBLIC SECTOR PARTNERS HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, THE CITY OF TAMPA, THE CITY OF PLANT CITY, AND THE CITY OF TEMPLE TERRACE. THE TBEDC WELCOMED 16 NEW INVESTORS THIS YEAR, INCLUDING SUNCOAST CREDIT UNION AS THE NEWEST CIRCLE OF CHAMPIONS INVESTOR AND BDG ARCHITECTS, ERTC.COM, GOOGLE, RELIAQUEST, TAMPA BAY BUSINESS AND WEALTH, TIGER CONCRETE AND SNEED, AND VERIZON ALL JOINED AT THE CHAIRMAN'S COUNCIL LEVEL. ADDITIONALLY, SEVEN NEW PRESIDENT'S COUNCIL AND TWO GAZELLES CAME ON BOARD WHILE BRADLEY UPGRADED TO CHAIRMAN'S COUNCIL. THE TBEDC RETAINED 92% OF ITS INVESTORS AND EXCEEDED ITS BUDGET GOALS FOR THE YEAR. CASH RESERVES HAVE INCREASED AND NET ASSETS INCREASED BY MORE THAN 1% OVER THE LAST YEAR.

THE TBEDC'S MARKETING TEAM ENHANCED ITS ONLINE PRESENCE IN FY2023 WITH NEW ENGAGING CONTENT ON SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS AND LAUNCHING SEVERAL DIGITAL ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS ON LINKEDIN. 84,272 NEW USERS VISITED THE WEB SITE IN FY2023. DAILY POSTINGS ON TBEDC'S SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS GREW THE AUDIENCE TO 30,792 TOTAL FOLLOWERS AND A TOTAL OF 1,624,594 SOCIAL MEDIA IMPRESSIONS. THE MARKETING TEAM INVESTED MORE THIS YEAR IN OUR SUCCESSFUL, HIGHLY TARGETED LEAD GENERATION ACTIVITIES ON LINKEDIN AND THOSE INVESTMENTS PAID OFF. OUR LEAD GENERATION CAMPAIGNS COLLECTED CLOSE TO 450,000 IMPRESSIONS, MORE THAN 1,500 CLICKS TO THE WEBSITE AND 20 HIGH-QUALITY PROJECT LEADS. THE CAMPAIGNS ALSO EARNED ANOTHER INDUSTRY AWARD, TAKING HOME IEDC'S SILVER PAID ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN AWARD FOR 2023 IN THE LARGE MARKET CATEGORY.ADS WERE RUN IN KEY LOCAL AND NATIONAL PUBLICATIONS INCLUDING SITE SELECTION AND THE TAMPA BAY BUSINESS JOURNAL. THE TBEDC'S MEDIA OUTREACH RESULTED IN 270 PUBLISHED ARTICLES IN LOCAL AND NATIONAL OUTLETS.