The St. Petersburg Area Economic Development Corp. celebrated five years of impact, at the Don Cesar, last week.
Since the organization’s founding in 2016, it has announced nearly 2,000 jobs, opened 267 job creation projects and assisted 45 companies with relocations, expansions or openings, according to a statement.
Here is a recap of the five major takeaways from the meeting:
- Don’t be surprised if you start hearing “Team Become St. Pete” around town. The EDC is describing economic development as a “team sport” and plans to “quarterback” private and public businesses, organizations and community stakeholders. The team theme was used throughout the evening.
- Why St. Pete? Companies say they are choosing St. Petersburg because of its talent, strong tech network and supportive community. Testimonials from newcomer companies all mentioned the “extreme welcome” they received, from everyone they met, as part of the relocation process.
- In 2021, the EDC helped companies that announced 630 jobs, including ARK Invest, Citrus Media, CodeBoxx, Code-X and more.
- Two of St. Pete’s targeted Grow Smarter industries are financial services and data analytics, and the EDC is partnering with the University of South Florida and the Tampa Bay Wave to bring FinTech X Accelerator, to St. Pete, to attract fintech companies to the area and position St. Petersburg as a fintech leader.
- St. Petersburg is “Still in it” on the Tampa Bay Rays. Mayor Ken Welch told the crowd they’re working to keep the team in in the city.
Photos by Tacy Briggs-Troncoso Photography[image_slider_no_space on_click=”prettyphoto” height=”300″ images=”15440,15439,15438,15437,15436,15435,15434,15433,15432,15431,15430″]
