Local city leaders and business owners have joined forces to associate Plant City growth with more than just strawberries.
On Monday, Nov. 9, Plant City’s Economic Development Corp. hosted its first meeting at Highland Packaging Solutions. The EDC formed in June and passed its bylaws in September.
To date, the organization has nine members on its executive committee, nine general members and 32 board members. Business leaders from Plant City who are partnered with the EDC attended the Nov. 9 meeting, and spoke about upcoming and ongoing projects in the community.
“I think there’s a lot of support behind this initiative,” Plant City EDC President Jake Austin said. Austin was named president of the organization in October. “We have to have something that this community owns. The public sector is the yin to this private yang.”
PROJECTS
Aaron Davis, a Plant City native and the CEO of Florida Agency Network was the first to announce upcoming development projects in the city. Hillsborough Title, part of Florida Agency Network, is the largest title company in the state of Florida.
Through a video presented at the Nov. 9 meeting, Davis announced that the company will be building a 12,000 square foot building in Plant City. The building will have a green campus style, and will include a walking track and outdoor eating areas. The project, which is a $5 million investment, will immediately bring 50 jobs to Plant City, and 100 jobs over the next five to 10 years.
Davis’ company isn’t the only one that sees Plant City as an untapped resource of growth and development. Jeff Lucas, of Central Florida Development, announced that a 100,000 square foot building will be completed in February at the Central Florida Commerce Center.
South Florida Baptist Hospital President Karen Kerr also gave updates on the hospital’s ongoing projects, including the 13,000 square foot critical care center that is expected to be completed in April 2016. The project began in September.
“We’ve been looking forward to it for a long time,” Kerr said.
Other business owners who presented at the meeting stated that the key to economic development and continued growth in Plant City was to allow for the potential to grow outside of city limits.
“You don’t create jobs if you don’t grow,” Andrew Samuel, president of Sunshine Bank, said.
Last July, Sunshine Bank had five branches and $220 million in assets. Since then, the company, which is headquartered in Plant City, has grown to 12 branches and $580 million in assets. The company has expanded to nearby cities such as Orlando and Sarasota, but remains a major business in the Winter Strawberry Capital of the World.
Over the last year, the company has added 58 jobs, including 16 new positions in Plant City. The bank’s Plant City headquarters has 55 employes. $1.5 million was invested into Sunshine Bank’s building and infrastructure improvements in Plant City. In addition, the company also processed $70 million in loans through the Plant City headquarters.
“This is or home, we have a rich legacy here,” Samuel said. “Our headquarters will remain in Plant City.”
Austin said that more projects throughout the city will hopefully be announced at the next EDC meeting. The meeting will be held at Stingray Chevrolet at 4 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 11, 2016.
Read the full story in the 11.13 issue of the Plant City Times & Observer.
Contact Emily Topper at etopper@plantcityobserver.com.