Competitive sites program spurs south county economic development
By LINDA CHION KENNEY
Hillsborough County’s competitive sites program, run under the Economic Development Department, aims to create better jobs, attract private capital investment, increase the tax base and position Hillsborough as a key player in targeted industry relocation and expansion.
Toward that end, the program is set to “identify, analyze and inventory” land throughout the county able to support targeted industry office and industrial development and to guide public sector investment in that regard.
Sites eligible for the competitive sites program must be at least 12 acres and within the urban service boundary of unincorporated Hillsborough County. There’s no limit to the number of sites that can be considered for this distinction, other than that the property needs to meet qualifying real estate attributes.
“Private sector decision-making is moving faster than ever,” county officials say, in promoting the competitive sites program. “One way that we can position Hillsborough County to win more corporate relocations and expansions is to reduce the time frame and risk associated with development, as well as to increase the inventory of site options available to companies. The competitive sites program is designed to do this through increased knowledge of development opportunities, regulatory assistance and strategic public sector investment.”
County staff works with property owners and business and commercial real estate industry representatives to identify and promote sites for targeted industry development. For a list of competitive sites, including those in Apollo Beach, Gibsonton, Riverview, Ruskin and Sun City Center, visit: https://bit.ly/3eUPGo3.
The link, maintained by the Tampa Bay Economic Development Council, as of noon June 8, featured in its long list of properties, 12 that collectively amounted to 2,333.57 acres. All but 18.3 acres in Tampa were in the unincorporated south county area, including Apollo Beach (1,879.10 acres), Gibsonton (31.07 acres), Riverview (63.90 acres), Ruskin (314.8 acres) and Sun City Center (26.4 acres).
The largest project in the featured section is in the Waterset community in Apollo Beach, at 2810 N.E. 19th Ave., amounting to 1,554 acres. The second largest, at 314.8 acres, is in Ruskin, at the South Shore Corporate Park.
For more on Hillsborough’s competitive sites program, visit: https://bit.ly/3eNdGcB.
For more information, call Eric Lindstrom, competitive sites and redevelopment manager, at 813-272-2747, or Jonah Katz, competitive sites coordinator, at 813-272-1156.