Business Expansion
The Charlotte County Economic Development Office announces the Charlotte County business expansion of Done Right Pool Heating, and Built Right Pool Heaters.
Together, the companies relocated into a 20,400 square foot building on Challenger Boulevard in the Punta Gorda Interstate Airport Park (formally known as the Enterprise Charlotte Airport Park – ECAP) from a smaller facility south of the city of Punta Gorda, Florida.
“Before working with the Charlotte County Economic Development Office, we were seriously considering moving outside of Charlotte County primarily because we didn’t know about any available facilities large enough to accommodate our expansion plans. It would have been unfortunate to have moved from the area since the Punta Gorda Interstate Airport Park has great access to I-75, and is centrally located for both our client base and employees,” said one of the company’s owners, Chris Wasdin.
Tom Patton, Economic Development Director, stated “The construction and manufacturing industries are two focus sectors we are looking to expand and attract to the area to create jobs, and contribute to our tax base. These companies will be a great addition to the Punta Gorda Interstate Airport Park. We are very happy to keep them in Charlotte County.”
Done Right Pool Heating, has been in business for over 10 years combining pool heat pump and air conditioning repair. Built Right Pool Heaters design and manufacture pool heaters. Both companies boast, “All products used are sourced from American vendors, and we provide quality service in a prompt and reliable way to Greater Southwest Florida’s licensed pool suppliers,” added Wasdin. Combined, the companies currently have 13 employees and look forward to adding another five employees to the payroll within the next six months.
Entrepreneurial Support Organization
The Charlotte County Entrepreneurial Support Organization (ESO) held their quarterly meeting on March 19th. The ESO consists of representatives from organizations that provide support services to our local businesses including Goodwill, SCORE, Small Business Development Center (SBDC) and Southwest Florida Works.
Join Southwest Florida SBDC in recognizing the region’s 2013 Distinguished Entrepreneur at the May 22nd dinner. The scheduled keynote speaker is Jerry Ross, Executive Director, National Entrepreneur Center, Orlando. For more information or to register http://sbdcawards.com/.
Brownfield Symposium
Debrah Forester, Redevelopment Manager, and Lucienne Pears, Business Development Specialist, both from the Charlotte County Economic Development Office, attended the Southwest Florida Brownfield Symposium on March 1st. The symposium provided an opportunity to meet with representatives from the State and Region Environmental Protection Agency and to gain further knowledge of how the Brownfields program is being implemented throughout the State.
Economic Gardening
Does your business have 3 to 10 employees? Does your business generate the majority of its revenue from outside the State of Florida? If yes, your business may qualify to participate in Florida’s Economic Gardening program.
Economic Gardening is offered through the Florida Economic Gardening Institute at the University of Central Florida. The Enterprise Charlotte Economic Council (ECEC) is funding scholarships for three businesses to participate in the local program. Qualified companies will receive one-on-one consulting services from business experts that will focus on a review of the business’s core strategy, assist with defining the product/service being offered and develop a market approach to grow the business.
For more information on Economic Gardening please contact Debrah Forester at the Economic Development Office by calling 764-4943.
Urban Land Institute
Registration for the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Florida Statewide Summit is now open. The Summit will be held on June 6th and 7th in Naples Florida.
The ULI Florida Summit will bring together Florida’s leading experts and practitioners from private practice, public sector and academia to Learn How to “Get Ahead of Change” in creating and sustaining thriving communities. Established in 1936, the Urban Land Institute has nearly 30,000 members worldwide, representing the entire spectrum of the land use and development disciplines. It is through member involvement and information resources that ULI has been able to set standards of excellence in development practice. The Institute has long been recognized as one of the world’s most respected and widely quoted sources of objective information on urban planning, growth, and development.
For more information or to register please visit: http://ulifloridasummit.org.
CRA Annual Reports
The 2012 Annual Reports for the Charlotte Harbor, Murdock Village and Parkside Community Redevelopment Agencies have been filed as required by the State of Florida. To review the reports please visit:
Charlotte Harbor CRA
Charlotte Harbor Community Redevelopment Agency Advisory Committee hosted a community meeting on March 7th to provide an update on current projects and to seek input on future projects. Over 50 people participated in the meeting.
New Bathroom Facility Under Construction Projects currently underway include construction of a sidewalk along Bayshore Road between Edgewater and US41; construction of a new bathroom facility in Bayshore Live Oak Park and construction of two drainage improvements. There was also an update on the Harbor Walk Project, which has received final permits and is pending funding allocation from Florida Department of Transportation. Mike Haymans, CRA Advisory Committee member, also provided an overview of proposed changes to the future land use and land development code that the CRA Advisory Committee has developed and is recommending that the Board of County Commissioners adopt. The Board of County Commissioners and the Advisory Committee will hold a joint workshop on April 16 to discuss future projects.
