Quarterly - Volusia County Economic Development

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Quarterly - Volusia County Economic Development
Quarterly
                                       Economic                 Development

                         An official publication of the Volusia County Economic Development Division

                                              First Quarter 2016

Speedway ready for the green flag following
$400 million DAYTONA Rising renovation

 Economic Development Quarterly goes digital!
 Welcome to the first all-digital edition of Volusia County Economic Development Quarterly, a publication of the
 Volusia County Division of Economic Development. After 14 years as a printed publication, EDQ is now offered
 exclusively as a digital publication, so you can read it on your electronic devices at your convenience. As always,
 we welcome your comments, suggestions and story ideas. Email Joanne Magley, jmagley@volusia.org.
Quarterly - Volusia County Economic Development
Speedway ready for the green flag following
$400 million DAYTONA Rising renovation

What a difference a few years, $400 million, and millions of hours of labor can make. With Speedweeks
about to begin, excitement is building over the grand debut of the new Daytona International
Speedway. Completion of the DAytonA Rising project — the re-imagining of an American icon that
is Daytona International Speedway — has resulted in the world’s first motorsports stadium.
the project broke ground on July 5, 2013 and was completed in time for the Rolex 24 At Daytona
last month. Since then, punch list items have been addressed and the motorsports stadium is ready
to welcome loyal nASCAR fans for the 2016 edition of the Daytona 500 on February 21. the
spectacular new complex is a 21st century salute to the dream and determination of William “Big
Bill” France, whose vision for the original Speedway came to fruition when he built the original
Daytona International Speedway in 1959. Since then, nASCAR has become a wildly popular and
exciting spectator sport with fans around the world.

the new motorsports stadium makes        “the thing about this project is: We’re   Daytona International Speedway sign
a stunning visual statement even from    on schedule. We’re on budget,” said       was illuminated for the first time. the
the outside along International          Joie Chitwood III, Daytona Interna-       sign features letters that are more
Speedway Boulevard. nearly a mile of     tional Speedway president. “I’m not       than 13 feet tall and span 355 feet in
superstructure features sleek paneling   sure whether other projects of this       length. throughout the construction,
and colorful sponsor graphics sur-       size and magnitude could say that.”       which was halted periodically for
rounding five fan “injectors” and the                                              scheduled racing events, residents
“neighborhoods” fans discover once       throughout the DAytonA Rising             and visitors who bought a ticket for
inside the complex. there are more       project, the team at Daytona              the Speedway’s daily tours got a
than 1,200 video screens in the com-     International Speedway has put a          sneak peek of the project at various
plex, so fans need not miss a moment     premium on communicating its plans        stages of construction.
of the on-track excitement when they     and progress with the community,
wander from their seats. Inside the      drivers, teams and owners, the news       While the complex is the first state-of-
stadium, fans will find a seemingly      media and of course, the fans.            the-art motorsports stadium, it’s a
endless expanse of colorful seating,     Colorful events marked each stage of      perfect venue for non-racing events.
101,500 permanent, wider, more com-      construction beginning with a unique      Already, it is scheduled to host Coun-
fortable seats. More than 60 luxury      bulldozer race among drivers to break     try 500 this Memorial Day weekend, a
suites with trackside views and a        ground. Later, when 40 escalators         three-day festival featuring some of
completely revamped experience           were being installed, the green flag      the biggest names in country music.
await corporate guests and sponsors.     dropped on an escalator race, which       And, the Ferrari World Final will be in
                                         may be the only one of its kind in        early December. other events are
the massive project generated ap-        the history of escalators. A lighting     being considered, but for today, the
proximately 6,300 jobs, $300 million     ceremony was held as the gigantic         focus is welcoming the world to
in labor income and $85 million in tax                                             Speedweeks and the Daytona 500.
revenue.
Quarterly - Volusia County Economic Development
JetBlue commences nonstop flights, Daytona Beach to JFK in NYC

there was magic in the air as Volusia County welcomed
the inaugural JetBlue flight from John F. Kennedy
International Airport (JFK) in new york City to Daytona
Beach International Airport last month. After years
of working to get JetBlue to add Daytona Beach
International Airport (DAB) to its route map, the big
day arrived. the inaugural flight arrived ahead of
schedule, bathed in a water-cannon salute on the
taxiway, and to a warm welcome by 500 people in the
terminal building who helped celebrate the commence-
ment of JetBlue service to and from DAB.
Scott Laurence, Senior Vice President for Airline
Planning for JetBlue, reacted in his comments to the                    Scott Laurence, Senior Vice President for Airline Planning for
crowd. “We have opened in 93 other cities. none of                      JetBlue, addresses hundreds who assembled at Daytona
them have been like this. We are overwhelmed. And if                    Beach International Airport to welcome the inaugural flight
                                                                        from JFK. Among those in the background are (from left) Lesa
this continues, we are going to need more ribbon                        France Kennedy, CEO of International Speedway Corporation
and more scissors and more events like this. this is                    and Dr. John Watret, interim president of Embry-Riddle Aero-
absolutely outstanding.”                                                nautical University.

Landing JetBlue did not happen           Kennedy, CEo of International                people to fly JetBlue to DAB. Also,
overnight and it did not happen          Speedway Corporation, for her                Daytona Beach International Airport
without a countywide community           leadership in the effort recruit JetBlue     funded a targeted Central Florida
effort. In fact community support was    to DAB. He thanked the Volusia               marketing campaign encouraging
a major factor affecting JetBlue’s       County Council members for their             local people to support the new, non-
decision to serve DAB. It all began in   steadfast support of efforts to lure         stop DAB to JFK service on JetBlue.
2000 when airport and community          JetBlue, including approval of               the Daytona Regional Chamber
officials made their first pitch to      incentives. Dinneen also presided            coordinated an innovative “travel
JetBlue at the airline’s headquarters    over the dedication of the Dennis R.         bank” that affirmed the purchase
in Connecticut. Since then, there have   McGee Community Room at the                  tickets. “More than 25 businesses
been dozens of meetings and hun-         airport, as a tribute to the former          pledged a quarter of a million dollars
dreds of phone calls to support the      airport director and a key figure in the     in ticket purchases over the first two
case for serving DAB. In 2012, the       JetBlue recruiting initiative from the       years of JetBlue’s service to DAB,”
president of JetBlue visited DAB,        very beginning. McGee died in 2015.          according to nancy Keefer, President
after which efforts to win JetBlue’s                                                  /CEo of the Daytona Regional
confidence intensified, and in 2015      Rick Karl, Director of aviation and          Chamber of Commerce.
the decision was made to begin non-      economic resources for Volusia
stop service between JFK in new          County Government noted the                  JetBlue is using the Airbus A320
york City and DAB.                       impressive incentive package that was        aircraft for its DAB/JFK route. It seats
                                         created in support of the recruiting         150 and features free wifi service, a
At welcoming ceremonies at Daytona       effort, which is common in today’s           continuous stream of video entertain-
Beach International Airport, Volusia     competitive environment among                ment, expanded legroom and more.
County Manager Jim Dinneen               airport cities. He noted that the            the aircraft got good reviews from
summed up the sustained and county-      package was varied, focused and              passengers on the inaugural flight to
wide effort to land JetBlue, adding to   creative. Landing fees were waived.          DAB.
the to the outstanding service already   Ground handling fees were waived.
provided American Airlines and Delta     terminal rent was waived for the first       While efforts are focused on making
Air Lines.                               year. Daytona Beach International            the route a success for JetBlue, there
                                         Airport partnered with the Daytona           have been observations among those
“this truly has been a community         Beach Area Convention & Visitors             involved in the JetBlue initiative that
effort, and your presence here shows     Bureau, the West Volusia tourism             the airline could consider increased
the community’s enthusiasm for this      Advertising Authority and the South-         service to and from JFK and the
new nonstop service to new york. It      east Volusia Advertising Authority to        addition of a Boston flight from DAB
also shows what we can accomplish        fund a marketing campaign in the             in the future if demand is strong
when we work together,” said             new york City market, encouraging            enough.
Dinneen, who recognized Lesa France
Quarterly - Volusia County Economic Development
Teamwork, milestones and the road ahead
By JIM DINNEEN
Volusia County Manager

JetBlue was bowled over! More than 500 people on January
7 crowded the second floor of our airport terminal to greet
the inaugural JetBlue flight as it arrived from new york City.
Daily, nonstop service between Daytona Beach and Kennedy
International Airport is a reality.
                                                                                                                  Jim Dinneen

the outpouring of community support for        the first motorsports stadium in the           And speaking of tourism, the community
JetBlue service carried the day. JetBlue’s     world. this opens the door to a variety of     hosted a record 9.2 million visitors in
Scott Laurence, Senior Vice President for      racing and other events. Across the            2015. Hotel occupancy was up, as was the
Airline Planning, said of the 93 cities his    street, the Speedway/nASCAR family is          number of events at our ocean Center.
airline has opened, none topped the            about to launch the first phase of the         tourist tax collections were at an all-time
rousing welcome the air carrier received       onE DAytonA mixed use development.             high. In another example of setting the
in Daytona Beach. “We’re overwhelmed,”         Lesa France Kennedy especially deserves        table for our economic future, the county
he said, during a festive ribbon cutting       credit for the role she played in convincing   and Daytona International Speedway are
event.                                         JetBlue to come and her willingness to         now partners in the Daytona Beach ½
                                               invest in the community.                       Marathon. Being a longtime runner who
Landing JetBlue service at our airport is                                                     has participated in the biggest races in
among the many significant economic            tanger outlet Mall is coming out the           the country, I am confident our unique
development positives that are taking          ground along Interstate 95 in north            race will grow into one of the area’s most
place in Volusia County. there are count-      Daytona Beach. the Desert Inn on the           significant winter events.
less reasons to be positive as we focus on     beachside is being transformed into a
the challenges and opportunities that lie      four star Westin property. I mention these     Recreation, eco-based tourism is a strong
ahead. But while the JetBlue service is        projects because they all have something       point for our county. the county council
cause for celebration, it’s important to       in common. It took the willingness of the      now has created more than 125 artificial
keep in mind that economic development         Volusia County Council, and others, to         fishing/diving reefs, and continues work
takes hard work, a willingness to support      take the actions necessary to set the          on our amazing trails system. We have
the necessary financial incentives, and a      table for these projects.                      fine-tuned our beach management and
cohesive effort that includes governments                                                     are hoping to expand our enormously
and the private sector working in              As elected officials, it takes political       popular Marine Science Center.
harmony toward the same end game.              courage to “put your money where your
                                               mouth is”. the Desert Inn project comes        In closing, there are challenges we must
It should be noted that landing JetBlue        with a pledge by the county council to         tackle. We must find a cohesive solution
literally took years of sales calls and        remove vehicles from the beach in front        to the difficult problem of homelessness.
plenty of patience. In the end, the            of the project in exchange for an equal        the county is solidly behind the very
incentives supported by the Volusia            number of public parking spaces. the           promising goal to turn the vacant Hearst
County Council (airport), a pledge of real     county council went one step further and       Elementary school into a place where
money in the form of a travel bank by          vowed to create a two-mile, vehicle-free       homeless families can turn their lives
local businesses, and marketing dollars by     stretch of beach in the core area of           around. And, we are developing a com-
our tourism authorities to make this deal      Daytona Beach if any developer steps           prehensive program to address the needs
work. the one JetBlue flight a day will        forward with the completion of a similar       of homeless veterans. the homeless on
generate at least $1 million a year for the    four star hotel. this bold move by the         the street is going to require a compre-
airport. If we want JetBlue to be success-     county council is an economic develop-         hensive, short- and long-term strategy
ful and expand, we must pack the planes        ment incentive to spur the rejuvenation        with the same cohesive team approach
with passengers.                               of the beachside. It’s not, as some have       that led to the JetBlue success.
                                               suggested, a veiled move toward a car-
the JetBlue success story is noteworthy        free beach.                                    In addition, this county faces the very real
because it illustrates what we can do as                                                      problem of a lack of road construction
a community if we all work together.           And speaking of the core beachside, the        funding. you can’t see or feel the problem
Economic development is a “team sport”         county council has given a conceptual          now, but I promise you it’s coming and
and I believe our team has the right players   thumbs up to a long-range endeavor to          it will have a serious negative on our
and the right game plan for continued          expand the beachside boardwalk for two         future economic development initiatives
prosperity going forward. team Volusia,        miles. the county is working with the City      if we don’t find a permanent, consistent
the CEo Business Alliance, the county and      of Daytona Beach and the private sector        source of funding.
the cities, our colleges and universities,     on the myriad difficult steps we must take
our incubator and workforce organization       to make this happen. If we can pull this       I’m confident if we work together we can
are in the game.                               off, and I believe we can, this will be a      address these challenges.
                                               tourism game changer of epic proportions.
As we look ahead, the amazing DAytonA
Rising project is complete. We now have
Quarterly - Volusia County Economic Development
Daytona Beach Half Marathon set for February 7

February marks the debut of the newly redesigned
Daytona Beach Half Marathon, a 13.1-mile race that
also includes a two-person relay and 5k that has been
created by event partners Volusia County Government
and Daytona International Speedway. Registrations are
approaching 2,000 runners, making this an emerging
event among the half marathons in the Southeast, with
the potential to become one of America’s premier half
marathons.

“this has been designed as a first        and well beyond. It has the potential    — as well as our tourism advertising
class family event from top to            to double and re-double in size within   authorities in Daytona Beach, west
bottom,” said Jim Dinneen, Volusia        just a few years.”                       Volusia County and southeast Volusia
County Manager, an experienced                                                     County.”
marathoner and participant in             Dinneen said the response from the
numerous half marathons and other         community has been very positive.        the event includes a dazzling medal
events. “With the first leg of the        “We have had tremendous support          for finishers, upscale runner shirts for
course being a lap of the track at        from the community, which is encour-     men and women, exhibits on race
Daytona International Speedway, and       aging. this includes the generous        day and a breakfast for participants
then a stretch directly on the beach at   support of many corporate sponsors       following the race.
the midway point, this event is drawing   including our presenting sponsors —
                                          Florida Hospital and Brown & Brown       For information and registration, go
participants from throughout Florida                                               online to: DaytonaBeachHalf,com.
Quarterly - Volusia County Economic Development
TopBuild picks Daytona Beach for company headquarters

the nation’s biggest installer and distributor of insulation
and other building materials has broken ground on a
65,700-square-foot headquarters off Williamson Boulevard
in Daytona Beach. Community leaders joined company
officials for groundbreaking ceremonies in December.
Completion is expected later this year. the company
currently operates from a 46,000-square-foot building it
leases immediately north of Volusia Mall.
                                                                                    Jerry Volas           Robert Buck

the company’s origin dates back to       of where to locate its headquarters        the company’s current building. Dick
1995, when its then-parent company,      could have been in a number of cities.     Mcnerney, a commercial Realtor®,
Masco, purchased Gale Insulation, a      nationally, topBuild has 8,000 associ-     negotiated the deal on the family’s
locally-based company.                   ates in 43 states. It has 260 locations    behalf.
                                         in the United States and is active in 99
“In the next 10 years, great things      of the nation’s largest metropolitan       to ensure the selection of Volusia
happened,” said Robert Buck,             areas. topBuild has two divisions —        County as site of the company’s new
topBuild’s President and Chief           truteam, which manages installation,       headquarters, community leaders
operating officer. “the economy was      and Service Partners, which manages        worked together to provide an
cooperating, so we experienced good      distribution.                              incentive package of up to $385,000
organic growth, along with a major                                                  to underscore the appeal of the area
roll-up and acquisition strategy. We     the selection of Daytona Beach was         for the project. the incentives include
grew to a nearly $3 billion company      not difficult, according to Jerry Volas,   county and state funds based on the
over a 10-year period. our parent        topBuild’s Chief Executive officer,        company meeting its goal of adding
company (Michigan-based Masco            although the company looked at             at least 55 jobs here over five years.
Corp.) decided to spin us off, to        several locations including some in
become our own public, independent       Florida.                                   the team engaged in convincing
company in July and we were very                                                    topBuild to locate its headquarters
excited about that.”                     “When it came time for us to decide        here included the Daytona Regional
                                         where we were going to put our new         Chamber of Commerce, the State of
                                         corporate center, we had a lot of          Florida, Volusia County Government,
                                         history here; we had a lot of success      the City of Daytona Beach, and the
TopBuild CEO Jerry Volas has             here,” said Volas. “It’s a great commu-    CEo Business Alliance."
been ranked No. 81 of a list             nity. We have more than 200 employ-
                                         ees who work right here in this office     topBuild is a publicly traded company
of top CEOs for small-cap                                                           whose nySE stock symbol is BLD. It
                                         and they like it here. So when you roll
companies globally by ExecRank.          all that together, it was a pretty easy    joins three other publicly traded
based on 24 different perform-           decision that we should make perma-        companies in Volusia County —
ance measures.                           nent roots here.”                          Brown & Brown, Consolidated-
                                                                                    tomoka Land. Co., and International
                                         Consolidated-tomoka Land Co. sold          Speedway Corporation.
                                         the property for the new headquarters
As a company with a broad footprint      to the Fisher family, which also owns
across the United States, the decision
Quarterly - Volusia County Economic Development
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical begins site work on
Cornerstone Building for New Aerospace Research Park

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University has begun site
work for its Advanced Aerodynamic Lab, the first
step in the creation of its Research Park. the university
views the project as a milestone in its mission to
deliver applied solutions to aviation and aerospace
companies.

“this lab is designed to encompass          building, will come a commitment to          • Unmanned design, engineering
research enterprises in aviation, space,    provide free services for a specific           and flight
engineering, unmanned systems, and          number of hours a week. ERAU also will
environmental ventures,” said Rodney        recruit a panel of local entrepreneurs to    • Center for Cybersecurity and System
Cruise, ERAU Vice President for             become mentors for start-ups that are          Assurance, which encompasses
Administration & Planning. “the 50,000-     in the incubation process.                     the nextGen Engineering Applied
square-foot, state-of-the-art Advanced                                                     Research Lab
Aerodynamics Laboratory will include        overall, the 90-acre Research Park
                                            includes offices, labs and hangar space      • Eagle Flight Research Center, where
many critical components that will sup-                                                    faculty, staff and students work with
port a broad spectrum of research and       with direct taxiway access to Daytona
                                            Beach International Airport.                   industry on experimental flight test-
development applications throughout                                                        ing, design and testing of unmanned
the research park.” Among them are:         Embry-Riddle’s Research Park is conve-         aerial systems (UAS), development
• Composites center                         niently situated near orlando, tampa           and verification of high-fidelity flight
• Multiscale materials laboratory           and Jacksonville, and is well positioned       data models used in engineering and
• Large article testing laboratory          to leverage the resources of Florida’s         training simulators, and prototype
• Structural health monitoring facility     growing high-tech corridor.                    engineering solutions to advance
• Smart materials laboratory                                                               environmentally compatible alterna-
• Space technologies laboratory             “Developing new strategic partnerships         tives for aviation.
• thermal and energy laboratory             and evolving existing relationships with
• Advanced dynamics and                     leading companies is a top priority for      • Designated a Center of Excellence in
  control center                            Embry-Riddle, marked by our expanding          Unmanned Aircraft Systems, Embry-
• Robotics and autonomous                   research mission and global activities,”       Riddle will be the technical lead in
  systems facility                          said Dr. John R. Watret, Embry-Riddle’s        UAS airport ground operations and
• Radar and communications laboratory       interim president. “the park provides          UAS pilot and crew training and will
• Circuits, sensors and                     the opportunity for an interdisciplinary       co-lead in-command and communica-
  instrumentation laboratory                and collaborative approach between in-         tions research. this distinction was
• Computational sciences laboratory         dustry and academia to generate ap-            bestowed jointly by the Federal Avia-
                                            plied solutions to real-world problems,        tion Administration (FAA) and Alliance
In addition, the Advanced Aerodynamics      new products and ultimately high-              for System Safety of UAS through
Laboratory will feature 10,000 square       paying jobs.”                                  Research Excellence (ASSURE).
feet of flex lease space to meet tenants’
needs and a 5,000-square-foot special-      In addition to the new building,             • Under the guidance of the recently
ized technology incubator to bring          research park tenants, composed of             named Research Park Advisory Board
industry ideas from ideation to the         established industry leaders and               that is composed of local, state and
market place. Later in the spring ERAU      burgeoning enterprises, will have access       national leaders from industry, gov-
will recruit Resident Partners, such as     to use the facilities provided within          ernment and higher education, the
accounting firms and intellectual prop-     Embry-Riddle’s continually expanding           university will identify partnership
erty firms that will have a role in sup-    areas of research, that include:               opportunities with aviation and a
porting the start-ups. With space in the                                                   erospace industry leaders.

About Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, the world’s largest, fully accredited university specializing in aviation and aerospace, is a
nonprofit, independent institution that offers more than 75 baccalaureate, master’s and Ph.D. degree programs in its colleges
of Arts & Sciences, Aviation, Business, Engineering and Security & Intelligence. Embry-Riddle has residential campuses in
Daytona Beach and Prescott, Airozona, and a Worldwide Campus with more than 125 locations in the United States, Europe,
Asia and the Middle East through on-line programs. the university is a major research center, seeking solutions to real-world
problems in partnership with the aerospace industry, other universities and government agencies. For information go online
to: embryriddle.edu, follow ERAU on: twitter (@EmbryRiddle) and facebook.com/EmbryRiddleUniversity, and find videos at:
youtube.com/EmbryRiddleUniv.
Quarterly - Volusia County Economic Development
Team Volusia names vice president

Chris Wimsatt has joined team Volusia Economic Development
Corporation as Vice President of Business Recruitment. He comes to
the area from ohio, where he was economic development director for
the City of Fairborn. During his tenure there, he formed the nonprofit
Fairborn Development Corporation. Prior experience includes having
served as Workforce & Economic Development Director for the Dayton
Area Chamber of Commerce. Wimsatt holds a bachelor of arts degree
in management from ohio State University and a master of science
degree in community and economic development from Penn State
University.

                                                                         Chris Wimsatt
New DeLand hotels add to community’s warm welcome

Business is growing. Downtown is drawing crowds. Stetson
University is thriving. tourism is increasing. As such, there is
an increased demand for more hotel rooms. In DeLand, that
demand is being met.

the Hampton Inn & Suites DeLand               the Hampton Inn & Suites has proven        salvage operations at the existing
just celebrated its first year in business,   to be a popular property among             building (Gould Building) are
and plans for a new, downtown Court-          business and leisure travelers, accord-    complete and the buildings are
yard by Marriott are progressing.             ing to Samir naran, executive vice         demolished, we will schedule ground-
                                              president of Premier Resorts &             breaking, which could happen in
“We have seen a steady increase in            Management Company, which has 14           March.” the 104-room hotel is
tourism throughout west Volusia               hotels in the Carolinas and Florida.       expected to open in 2017.
County,” said Renee tallevast,
executive director of the West                “Hampton Inn & Suites came to the          the new hotel is viewed as a great
Volusia tourism Advertising Authority.        DeLand market with a great pack-           addition to the allure of the award-
Her organization promotes tourism             age,” he said. “It includes a conven-      winning downtown area, according to
in the region and currently has an            ient location near the intersection of     Wayne Carter, executive director
inventory of 912 guest rooms. “our            U.S 17 and 92; well-designed guest         of Mainstreet DeLand, which is
accommodations are perfect for                rooms with work areas for business         dedicated to supporting and
individual business or leisure travel-        travelers, free internet access, high      enhancing downtown the economic
ers, but also we routinely welcome            definition television; a fitness center;   development while protecting and
groups, sports teams and meetings             free hot breakfast or Hampton-on-          promoting DeLand’s historic heritage.
to the area. our properties offer             the-Run breakfast bags.”
great accommodations and small                                                           “there is so much to see and do
town hospitality. our new properties          the Courtyard by Marriott is being         downtown, there are so many
fit right in with that profile.”              developed by Avista Hotels & Resorts       professional offices, and of course,
                                              which has six hotels in Central Florida.   being so close to Stetson University
nick Conte, Executive Director of the         the new hotel will be in downtown          makes the location of this Courtyard
DeLand Area Chamber of Commerce               DeLand at the corner of Woodland           by Marriott particularly convenient,”
agrees. “With such a great downtown           Boulevard and Wisconsin Avenue.            he said. “It’s a nice complement to
area, having such great accommoda-            Demolition of existing buildings on        the evolution of our wonderful
tions right in the heart of the City only     the property will occur soon, accord-      downtown area.”
increases convenience and adds to             ing to Ajit nana, senior vice president
the City’s appeal.”                           of Avista Hotels & Resorts. “once
Row, row, row your boat
West Volusia sees growing interest in rowing

there’s something about the sight of a crew on the

                                                                                                                                     Photo by Mark Wilson
St. Johns River, rowing in perfect rhythm, skimming
across the water. Rowing, often referred to as
“crew” in the United States, is gaining in popularity
as a competitive sport and as a form of outdoor
recreation and exercise.

In west Volusia County, the sight of rowing     “We began offering rowing camps 17            cently brought 90 students and six
teams and individual oarsmen is becoming        years ago, first in tampa, then Melbourne,    coaches to the area for 10 days. “It is be-
more common as residents take up the            and now here in West Volusia County,          coming apparent that the impact on
sport and as competitors travel to the          where we have been for the last 13 years”     tourism and the economy is on the rise,”
area to compete in regattas.                    he said. “It is an exceptional location.      he said.
                                                “the water is great. the people are great.
 “Rowing is a sport steeped in tradition        And we love taking our guests to local es-    “It’s a wonderful sport that is attracting
and often associated with Ivy League            tablishments where they can experience        many visitors who otherwise might not
schools and their counterparts in Europe        the community on a personal level.”           have discovered west Volusia County,”
and elsewhere,” said April Stomberg, vice                                                     said Renee tallevast, executive director of
president of Hontoon Landing Resort &           Wilson said legends of the sport recognize    the West Volusia tourism Advertising Au-
Marina in DeLand. “the sport dates back         the area as an exceptional area for train-    thority. “People love to participate in the
to ancient Egypt and is based on pro-           ing and competition. For example, the         sport as competitors, for exercise, or just
pelling a racing ‘shell’ using oars. It has     head coach of the Canadian national Row-      for sightseeing. And even those who do
been an olympic sport since 1900. today,        ing team, who has rowed all over the          not participate are captivated at the sight
the sport is welcoming more and more            world, considers west Volusia County the      of teams or individuals rowing. often
teams and individuals – probably due to         best training place in north America.         there is a bit of a gallery watching those
the fact it is a healthy, non-contact sport                                                   on the water.”
that is enjoyed outdoors in beautiful sur-      Wilson cited the stunning growth of the
roundings.”                                     sport locally, noting that a growing num-     “this is a sport that features intense com-
                                                ber of college and university teams make      petition, reverence for its own history and
Situated on the banks of the historic St.       the pilgrimage to the area for training.      is so exciting to watch,” said nick Conte,
Johns River, Hontoon Landing is posi-           Among them are the universities of Vir-       Executive Director of the DeLand Area
tioned perfectly for the sport. In addition     ginia, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Iowa,     Chamber of Commerce. “It’s great that
to boat slips and boat rentals, daily nar-      oklahoma, Susquehanna, tufts, temple          the sport is growing right before our
rated river tours, and birdwatching galore,     and others. In addition, high school teams    eyes,”
the resort has 18 guest rooms, several          are coming here, including the noted Sid-
with full kitchens. Competitive teams stay      well Friends School in Washington D.C. as     the growth of the sport in the area is
at the resort to maximize time on the           well as junior teams from Boston and          spurred by the efforts of tallevast’s
water. Similarly, individuals who enjoy row-    toronto.                                      tourism marketing organization and those
ing and kayaking appreciate the resort’s                                                      of her counterparts in Volusia County. In
convenience.                                    From his perspective as the coach of Stet-    Daytona Beach, the Halifax Rowing Asso-
                                                son’s rowing team, Wilson sees nothing        ciation has been rowing on the Halifax
“Every year we host a variety of rowing         but growth on campus. “the university         River since 1996. Last summer, it hosted
camps whose participants come from all          recently received a $6 million donation to    the 19th Annual Halifax Summer Regatta,
over the country,” said Stomberg. “our          build an aquatic center and boat house,       marking the end of the sprint season.
resort offers a floating dock to launch, giv-   which is in the design stage and may          nearly 500 rowers from throughout the
ing rowers and kayakers easy access to          break ground later this year. that will ad-   Southeast competed.
the river and lakes. there are also private     vance our program in so many ways and
coaching programs for beginners, includ-        will have a ripple effect on the economy      Even national and international organiza-
ing safe practices, rowing instruction and      by attracting more students and more          tions’ efforts to promote the sport add to
video review of techniques.”                    teams.”                                       its growth locally. Among them is the gov-
                                                                                              erning body for the sport of rowing in the
All American Rowing Camp is an organiza-        In november, Stetson hosted the Fall          United States, US Rowing. In 2017, the
tion that offers rowing camps including         Rowing Rendezvous Head Race, a chase          FISA World Rowing Championships will be
many at Hontoon Landing. Many of its            style event that attracted 1,200 competi-     held in Sarasota and it is expected that
camps fill up well in advance. Mark Wil-        tors from across the state. He added that     several teams will do their pre-Champi-
son, one of the founding partners of All        similar events hosted by All American         onship training in DeLand on the St. Johns
American Rowing Camp, is also the head          Rowing Camp also draw people from             River and Lake Beresford.
rowing coach at Stetson University. He is       around the U.S. and the world. For exam-
bullish on the sport and its impact on west     ple, the Canadian national Rowing team        DeLand continues to excite and provide
Volusia County.                                 makes four two-week training trips to the     great experiences to all of its visitors.
                                                area each year. Dartmouth College re-
Economic development 101
By ROB EHRHARDT
Volusia County Economic Development Director

the title of this column ends in “101” which suggests the content is
related to economic development ‘basics’. In this context, let’s review
the results of 2015 activity in the local economy.
• the $400-million DAytonA Rising project at Daytona International
  Speedway was completed on time.

                                                                                                       Rob Ehrhardt
• JetBlue Airways began daily flights         in Daytona Beach for the construc-      • the Summit Hospitality Group is
  to new york City from Daytona               tion of a $100-million retail outlet      spending more than $20 million to
  Beach International Airport. Daytona        center, and tailwind Development          redevelop the former Desert Inn in
  Beach will be the seventh, but              opened the Country Club Corners           Daytona Beach into a four-star
  smallest, market in Florida that            shopping center in DeLand as part         Westin property, and a five-story
  JetBlue serves, but the daily service       of a larger 105-acre mixed use            Courtyard by Marriott hotel is
  is estimated to bring an added              development.                              planned in downtown DeLand after
  95,000 to 100,000 passengers in                                                       demolition of two buildings on a
  the first year and generate $1            • Embry-Riddle announced a $28-             site south of Stetson University.
  million in revenue for the airport.         million Advanced Aerodynamics
                                              Laboratory and Wind tunnel at its       • the City of Deltona completed
• World Class Distribution constructed        Research Park West and the                construction of a $27-million water
  an $88-million distribution facility in     university began construction of a        reclamation facility on the eastern
  Daytona Beach, and Boston Whaler            $75-million, 177,000-square-foot          side of the city off S.R. 415.
  completed a $10-million, 58,000-            student center.
  square-foot building at its manufac-                                                • Florida Department of transportation
  turing facility in Edgewater.             • Halifax Health is considering a           contractors reached 85 percent
                                              $100-million emergency and                completion on the $138-million
• Frontier Communications opened a            medical office complex in Deltona         Interstate 4 widening and 90 percent
  32,000-square-foot technical sup-           at the intersection of Interstate 4       completion on the $118 million
  port and security software center,          and S.R. 472, and Central Florida         Interstate 95 widening. Improve-
  which could increase the firm’s total       Regional Hospital has announced           ments to the Interstate 4/Interstate
  employment in DeLand to 1,500.              plans to construct a freestanding         95 interchange, valued at more than
                                              emergency department near the             $200 million, have commenced with
• topBuild Corporation, Volusia               same location.                            completion planned in 2018.
  County’s newest publicly-traded
  company, has begun construction           • Florida Hospital opened an $11-         • the $44-million Veterans Memorial
  of a 65,700-square-foot corporate           million outpatient clinic in Deltona,     Bridge over the Halifax River is
  headquarters and B. Braun Medical           while Florida Hospital Fish Memo-         scheduled to commence in 2016
  Inc. is considering a 54,000-square-        rial in orange City completed a           with completion planned in 2019.
  foot expansion of its existing              $1.75-million renovation and a
  FDA-rated facility, both in Daytona         $3-million upgrade of its ER and        In closing, let’s accelerate into 2016
  Beach. Combined, these companies            catheterization labs.                   by remembering a quote from famed
  could generate more than $150                                                       racer Mario Andretti that Joie
  million in new capital investment         • the Hilton Daytona Beach ocean-         Chitwood, Daytona International
  and create more than 625 new jobs.          front Resort was acquired by the        Speedway president, likes to use.
                                              Starwood Capital Group for more         “If everything seems under control,
• tanger outlet Mall completed the            than $92 million with reported plans    you’re just not going fast enough.”
  purchase of 39 acres adjacent to            to invest more than $25 million in
  Interstate 95 and LPGA Boulevard            renovations.
Residential permit activity up significantly in 2015;
commercial lags, but many projects loom for 2016

While the nation and the world come to terms with the Chinese economic tremors, depressed oil
prices, significant nySE corrections, and ongoing tensions in the Middle East, there are many
indicators the local economy is picking up steam. Chief among them is the number and value of
the residential and construction permits issued by the county and city building permit offices.

the Volusia County Economic Devel-          “It’s a good sign and may be a harbin-     Some of the noteworthy commercial
opment Division compiles the permit        ger of what could lie ahead,” said          permits issued during the fourth quar-
data every quarter as part of its moni-    Sandy Burke Bishop, Executive Direc-        ter include the tanger outlet Mall in
toring of the local economy.               tor of the Volusia Building Industry As-    Daytona Beach with a permit value of
                                           sociation. She said early indications       $30.3 million; Stetson University’s
Residential permit activity countywide     are that the year is off to a good start.   welcome center in DeLand with a
posted a healthy gain in 2015, while                                                   value of $6.5 million; two permits for
commercial construction leveled off        In looking at the residential permit        the Eagle Landings apartments in Day-
following permitting for the Daytona       activity by jurisdiction, the 94 permits    tona Beach with a combine value of
Rising project at Daytona International    ($30.6 million) issued by DeLand in the     $4.7
Speedway.                                  fourth quarter was the most. the            million; a Circle K in Port orange with
                                           county issued 67 residential permits        a value of $1.2 million, and an Aldi
During the fourth quarter of last year,    ($20.1 million); followed by the 50
building permit offices across the                                                     grocery store in new Smyrna Beach
                                           residential permits issued by new           with a value of $1.2 million.
county issued 391 residential permits      Smyrna Beach ($16.8 million).
with a total value of $120 million. this                                               of the 32 commercial permits issued
trumped the residential permits issued     on the commercial side, the numbers         countywide in the fourth quarter of
in the fourth quarter of 2014 when         were steady when viewed without the         2015, 21 were issued by Daytona
259 permits were issued with a total       tremendous impact of a single $152-         Beach.
value $86 million. this is a 50 percent    million permit issued in 2014 for the
increase in the number of permits          Daytona Rising project at Daytona           While the commercial construction
quarter-over-quarter, and an increase      International Speedway. A year-over-        permit values declined in 2015, several
of nearly 40 percent in dollar value.      year comparison of commercial con-          projects in the planning stages could
                                           struction permitting in 2015 versus         fortify the numbers in 2016 and 2017,
“Any increase is a positive indicator,”    2014 shows a slight decrease.               according to Ehrhardt.
said Rob Ehrhardt, Volusia County’s
economic development director. “But        During 2015, there were 93 commer-          “Hotel construction and some large
the fourth quarter was particularly        cial construction permits issued coun-      retail projects are in various stages of
robust as far as new residential           tywide, four fewer than the total for       planning,” he said. “Presuming each
construction permitting.”                  2014. the 2015 tally is a decline of 4      navigates through pre-construction
                                           percent. In a year-over-year compari-       processes, construction permits for
A comparison of year-over-year             son that includes the Daytona Rising        each will be significant. And if global
residential permit activity also yields    permit issued in 2014, the total value      economic and political affairs stabilize,
solid numbers. During 2015, there          of commercial                               that could be a catalyst for other
were 1,375 residential permits issued.     permit activity in 2015 was $153 mil-       projects.”
this compares to 1,182 residential         lion. this compares to the $324 million
permits issued in 2014, an increase of     value of commercial construction per-
16 percent. In terms of dollars, the       mits issued in 2014. Without the
value of permits issued in 2015 was        Daytona Rising permit, the 2014 dollar
$426 million, as compared to $377 mil-     amount comes in at $172 million.
lion for 2014, an increase of nearly 13    Under this scenario, 2015 permit
percent.                                   values declined 11 percent.
Volusia County Residential Permit Data by Quarter
    Value of Permits $ Million
 140

 120

 100

   80

   60

   40

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           $120 - 391 -permits
                                                                                                                                                                                                                           $107 - 348 permits
                                                                                                                                   $104 - 342 permits

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                $121 - 398 permits
                                                                                                                                                                   $116 -382 permits
                  $41 - 160 permits

                                                                                                                                                                                       $94 - 306 permits

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             $105 - 321 permits
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               $86 - 259 permits
                                                                                                               $71 - 240 permits

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                $91 - 280 permits
                                                                                           $54 - 187 permits
                                                                       $69- 239 permits
                                             $49 -176 permits

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           $93 - 295 permits

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   $80 - 265 permits
   20

      0
                     Q1                       Q2                       Q3                    Q4                Q1                  Q2                              Q3                  Q4                                  Q1                   Q2                         Q3                  Q4                  Q1                           Q2                           Q3                            Q4
                                                                2012                                                                                     2013                                                                                                       2014                                                                                             2015

          Source: Cities and County permit offices reporting new construction activity

                                                                               Residential Building Permits Issued in Volusia County Fourth Quarter 2015

                                                                                                                                                        October                                            November                                                   December                                                                                       Total
                                      Ranked by Total Value of Projects

                                                                AREA                                                                                    Permits                                            Permits                                                     Permits                                              Permits                                                                  Value

DeLand                                                                                                                                                    36                                                  3                                                              25                                                        94                                                         $30,578,626

Unincorporated                                                                                                                                            14                                                  17                                                             36                                                        67                                                         $20,171,337

New Smyrna Beach                                                                                                                                          17                                                  18                                                             15                                                        50                                                         $16,848,930

Ormond Beach                                                                                                                                                   6                                              25                                                             12                                                        43                                                         $16,735,156

Daytona Beach                                                                                                                                             24                                                       8                                                         30                                                        62                                                         $13,377,156

Port Orange                                                                                                                                                    4                                              18                                                             10                                                        32                                                         $10,087,004

Deltona                                                                                                                                                        3                                                       5                                                          7                                                    15                                                          $6,000,885

Edgewater                                                                                                                                                      9                                                       2                                                          6                                                    17                                                          $3,557,862

DeBary                                                                                                                                                         4                                                       2                                                          1                                                         7                                                      $2,266,091

Orange City                                                                                                                                                    1                                                       0                                                          1                                                         2                                                      $529,132

Oak Hill                                                                                                                                                       0                                                       1                                                          1                                                         2                                                      $303,575

Lake Helen                                                                                                                                                     0                                                       0                                                          0                                                         0                                                          -

Holly Hill                                                                                                                                                     0                                                       0                                                          0                                                         0                                                          -

Daytona Beach Shores                                                                                                                                           0                                                       0                                                          0                                                         0                                                          -

Pierson                                                                                                                                                        0                                                       0                                                          0                                                         0                                                          -

Ponce Inlet                                                                                                                                                    0                                                       0                                                          0                                                         0                                                          -

South Daytona                                                                                                                                                  0                                                       0                                                          0                                                         0                                                          -

Totals for Quarter                                                                                                                                        118                                                129                                                           144                                                         391                                                        $120,455,754

Cities listed in descending order by $ value for the most recent quarter
Source: Cities and county permit offices reporting new construction activity
Volusia County Comme
                                                                                                                  ercial Permit Data by Quarter
      Value of Permits $ Million
     70

     60

     50

     40

     30

                                                                                                                                                                                             1 permits
                                                                                                  1 - 15 permits

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      m ts
                                                                                                                                                                                       $14 - 12

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           $9 - 12 permi
     20

                                                                                                                                                                                                                   $216 - 34 permitts **
                                                                                                                                                                              mits *
                                                                           $44 - 20 permitts

                                                                                                                   $26 - 17 permitts
                     $21 - 16 permits

                                                                                                                                       $40 - 48 permits
                                                                                                $11

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               $50 - 26 permitss
                                                 $17 -15 permitss

                                                                                                                                                                 $162 - 30 perm

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         $38 - 28 permits

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            $61 - 23 permits

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       $27 - 17 permits

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  $23 - 18 permits

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               $53 - 32 permits
     10

        0
                    Q1                          Q2                         Q3                      Q4              Q1                  Q2                          Q3                  Q4                        Q1                        Q2                            Q3                 Q4                 Q1                      Q2                         Q3                           Q4
                                                                    2012                                                                                  2013                                                                                               2014
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                4                                                                                         2015

            Source: Cities and County permit of
                                             offfffiices reportin
                                                                ng new
                                                                     w construction activity                                                                                                                                                                    Note: Dotted lines represents permit total excluding
            *Q3 2013 includes single $105M permit fo     for Daytona International Speedway                                                                                                                                                                     single permit for the Daytona International Speedway
            ** Q1 2014 includes single $152M permit fo        for Daytona International Speedway

                                                                           Commercial Building Permits Issued in Volusia County Fourth Quarter 2015

                                                                                                                                                  October                                                November                                             December                                                                                    Total
                                        Ranked by Total Value of Projects

                                                                    AREA                                                                           Permits                                               Permits                                               Permits                                         Permits                                                               Value

Daytona Beach                                                                                                                                             1                                                 7                                                       13                                                       21                                              $41,728,885

DeLand                                                                                                                                                    1                                                 1                                                            0                                                         2                                            $6,905,473

Port Orange                                                                                                                                               0                                                 2                                                            0                                                         2                                            $2,135,712

New Smyrna Beach                                                                                                                                          1                                                 1                                                            0                                                         2                                            $1,275,000

Holly Hill                                                                                                                                                1                                                 0                                                            2                                                         3                                            $1,255,000

Unincorporated                                                                                                                                            0                                                 0                                                            1                                                         1                                                 $50,000

Oak Hill                                                                                                                                                  1                                                 0                                                            0                                                         1                                                 $5,000

Daytona Beach Shores                                                                                                                                      0                                                 0                                                            0                                                         0                                                    -

DeBary                                                                                                                                                    0                                                 0                                                            0                                                         0                                                    -

Deltona                                                                                                                                                   0                                                 0                                                            0                                                         0                                                    -

Edgewater                                                                                                                                                 0                                                 0                                                            0                                                         0                                                    -

Lake Helen                                                                                                                                                0                                                 0                                                            0                                                         0                                                    -

Orange City                                                                                                                                               0                                                 0                                                            0                                                         0                                                    -

Ormond Beach                                                                                                                                              0                                                 0                                                            0                                                         0                                                    -

Pierson                                                                                                                                                   0                                                 0                                                            0                                                         0                                                    -

Ponce Inlet                                                                                                                                               0                                                 0                                                            0                                                         0                                                    -

South Daytona                                                                                                                                             0                                                 0                                                            0                                                         0                                                    -

Totals for Quarter                                                                                                                                        5                                                 11                                                      16                                                       32                                              $53,355,070

Cities listed in descending order by $ value for the most recent quarter
Source: Cities and county permit offices reporting new construction activity
On the Economic Scene

Volusia County Economic Development Division publishes a useful, quick-read, one page newsletter
every Monday morning, on the Economic Scene. It arrives by fax and is a very popular little
publication. If you are not getting this publication and wish to receive it, submit your fax number
 to 386-248-8048, or fax it to 386-248-8037.
If you prefer to read it online, it is posted at floridabusiness.org/news-and-data-resources/index.stml

  Volusia County Economic Development Quarterly is a publication of
  Volusia County Government and is produced by the Volusia County
  Economic Development Division. It is produced for readers who have an
  interest in the area's business, economic development and real estate
  market. As an economic development tool, it is intended to provide
  information and statistics that have meaning to your business. To submit
  story ideas or offer comments, please contact Community Information
  Manager Joanne Magley at 386-822-5062 or by email at
  jmagley@volusia.org. If you want to add a name to the distribution list,
  email ssprague@volusia.org. For more information about economic
  development in Volusia County visit floridabusiness.org.
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