Why Central Florida?
A recent NAIOP event shed light on an important question; Why Orlando,Why Central Florida? The panel consisted of Sean Malott (Central Florida Development Council), Dave Porter (Metro Orlando EDC), Danielle Ruiz (Duke Energy), Rob Sitterley (Merit advisors), and Eric Ushkowitz (Orange County). A main point that the panel touched on is that Central Florida is home to a variety of economy drivers. Central Florida’s population is continuing to grow and job growth is one of the contributing factors that helps bring companies to relocate their headquarters here.
A guest of the event inquired, “Is there any specific information I can provide my clients that would make them want to relocate here?” The panel went on to explain that Orlando is the modeling, simulation, and training capital of the world. Central Florida is also home to many research parks and is very technology driven. This most recently shows with the KPMG Training Center in Lake Nona and Verizon Communication Inc. in Lake Mary. Lastly, the most obvious reason is the tourism and hospitality that Central Florida brings to the table being home to Disney, Universal, Sea World and many other popular attractions.
There are many new developments coming to Central Florida that will also aid the growth. Some of these developments include the Downtown UCF/Valencia Campus and the Creative Village. With the growth of colleges, universities, and technical schools, the Orlando Economic Development Commission has stated that Central Florida also has a strong talent pipeline.
For more information and a recap of the subjects discussed at the event, check out this article by the Orlando Business Journal: