Building an economic hot spot - A trio of businesses are helping energize the area around SRQ
MANATEE -- Three new businesses are poised to generate
an economic synergy at the southern edge of Manatee County
that promises more than 100 new jobs and hundreds of thousands
of dollars in tax revenue.
The economic hot spot is being created by three firms that
intersect geographically and commercially and rely on the
economic strength of the nearby Sarasota-Bradenton International
Airport.
First came businessman Oscar Parsons, who, in 2001, paid
$3 million for a yawning former Sam's Club building, transforming
it with several million dollars' worth of renovation into
the Sarasota Bradenton International Convention Center.
The convention center covers 120,000 square feet and can
park 1,100 on 20 acres. It will host its first major international
convention beginning Jan. 21 when 2,500-3,000 attendees
arrive for a travel trade show. It generated about $65,000
in property-tax revenues last year.
The second business is a $15 million, full-service Holiday
Inn proposed for six acres on the southwest edge of the
convention center property.
The six-story project calls for 90,000 square feet of space
featuring 135 rooms, a restaurant and bar. Employees would
number 60-80. It could generate $400,000 to $500,000 each
year in tax revenues for Manatee County, estimates hotelier
Jiten Patel, who is seeking final approval for construction.
A third business, Rectrix Aerodrome Centers Inc., is building
a $15 million jetport diagonally across the street from
the convention center.
Rectrix is what is known as a fixed-base operator, a business
that sells fuel and otherwise caters to private jets and
their VIP owners. Going up at the 11-acre site at 8250 15th
St. E. is a three-story building that will boast 45,000
square feet of hangar space and 15,000 square feet dedicated
to top-drawer amenities for private jet passengers and air
crews. The building also will house Rectrix's headquarters.
"There's nothing like it in the country," said
Richard A. Cawley, president and chief executive officer
of Rectrix. "We're an agent of change in Manatee County."
Cawley said he chose the location of his business because
of the airport's obvious draw to those who own and charter
jets, but also because of its proximity to the convention
center.
Patel said he chose the location for the hotel primarily
because it was near the convention center and the airport,
but that he expected the jetport would help the hotel succeed
as well.
The jetport "will bring a lot of individual plane
owners, jet owners to the hotel because they don't have
to go too far once they land in the area," he said.
"It's complementary."
And Parsons is expecting people from the airport, the jetport
and the hotel to patronize the convention center.
"It's all a meshing thing," he said.
Cawley said the area's obvious growth and frenetic business
climate attracted him to the area. The company has a smaller
location in Hyannis, Mass., and eventually hopes to expand
nationwide.
"The Manatee County area and Sarasota area has tremendous
growth. A lot of the jet users are already here -- there's
congestion at the current FBOs (fixed-based operations),"
Cawley said.
On a nearby eight-acre site, Rectrix is also putting up
a 110,000-square-foot building to house "hangarminiums,"
similar to condos except designed to shelter airplanes,
with eight units priced from $900,000 to $3 million. Each
will be constructed to the owner's specifications and can
be sized to accommodate very large aircraft or even fleets
of aircraft.
Cawley said he already has 13 prequalified buyers.
This spring, he plans to begin hiring the first of about
50 new employees to man the facility, which is expected
to be complete before 2008.
Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport, created in 1941,
was the original spark that ignited business development
in the area.
Clusters of businesses often pop up in the same vicinity,
said Nancy A. Engle, executive director of the Economic
Development Council, affiliated with the Manatee Chamber
of Commerce.
"They're a natural feed," she said. "You've
got a convention center -- where are the people going to
stay and, if so, how are they going to get there? You will
find by our airport, or the airport in Tampa, hotels, convention
centers -- one feeds on the other."
Often, groups of similar businesses set together spur each
other by stimulating economic activity while at the same
time minimizing financial risks, said Vicki Vega, vice president
for small-business development and innovation at the Greater
Sarasota Chamber of Commerce.
And, in this case, all three companies expect to get a
boost from the economic strength of the airport.
"The airport is your solid stimulus and solid magnet
for things," she commented. "It's an obvious win
to be in and around the airport."
2%
economic growth seen in '07