Global Direct Investment Solutions

Corporate Development for a Networked World

OnTheShortList.com     SurgeUSA.org

ShortListNews.com

Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce

Bruce Donnelly   bruce@gdi-solutions.com    (Biography)

This is not yet a completed GUIDE Area Profile.

For background about why they won the award, follow this link (Adobe PDF) to see a copy of the detailed 2 page award nomination which they submitted.

It highlights their success over many years at developing long-term relationships with corporate investors and the professional advisors who assist them with their projects.  Their consistent strategy and promotional efforts for more than a decade have been very successful at helping to change the traditional mix of business in their area by attracting a diverse group of major investors in target industry sectors.  They created new clusters of major investors in "Developments of Regional Impact", where fast-track approvals made it faster and easier to set up, and made their progress quite visible.

Many of the investments they helped Tampa to attract have continued to expand there, or have in turn helped to attract other investors, creating an upward spiral of economic development which has helped the area overcome some of the past vulnerabilities to the impact of economic cycles.  They have achieved this with limited resources, and now have a new initiative to expand upon their growing trade relationship with Mexico.

The award was established by Corporate Real Estate Leader, the official publication of CoreNet Global, and is featured in their September 2003 issue, where you can find more background.  Nominations were not limited to CoreNet Global members.

We presented the award before the estimated 3400 attendees at a general session of the CoreNet Global Summit in Atlanta on October 14.  See : Events

Although we had no role in the selection process, we were very pleased to discover that they were selected as one of the first winners of this new award program.  Robin Ronne and Bea Bare are widely known and respected as leaders in economic development, and any areas which may be facing challenges similar to those faced by the business community leaders in Tampa more than a decade ago should find their sustained and effective development strategy, and their service focus, to be an inspiration for what is possible to achieve.  Tampa did not become a success story by accident.  Executives with a potential interest in the Tampa Bay region should definitely give them a call.

map of the Greater Tampa Bay region

or the Southeast US region

• Selective major corporate real estate listings in Florida (not yet)

• Florida project announcements - selective list for convenience

• Companies - Florida - selective, not yet complete - see local highlights below

• Familiarization, networking activities and events, trade shows

GUIDE Area Profile : Standard Template

This illustrates the structure and potential content of a GUIDE Area Profile so that it is easier for corporate executives and area representatives to visualize the potential benefits of this service, and for participating area representatives to prepare suitable drafts for publication.     This is obviously not a completed GUIDE Area Profile - merely an example of the structure.  Additional background and relevant links will soon become available here for convenient reference by executives and their advisors.

The Committee of One Hundred serves as the primary entity for the support of US and international economic development activities for Hillsborough County and the cities of Tampa, Plant City, and Temple Terrace, with a population of 1.044 million people.

Some of the major companies and recent investments in the area are listed below.  Their recent award nomination also highlights many aspects of their success at the attraction and retention of business investment for many years, and their plans.

Refer to their "Market Overview" for facts about the area

http://www.tampachamber.com/edc100-marketoverview.htm

NOT YET COMPLETE

Bea Bare

Director of Corporate Recruitment & Expansion

Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce

Committee of One Hundred

401 East Jackson St., Suite 2100

SunTrust Financial Center

Tampa, FL 33602

TEL  (813)276-9458

FAX  (813)221-6095

e-mail:

Anna Vega, Executive Assistant    (813)276-9411

Mail to:

PO Box 420

Tampa, FL 33601-0420

List of available sites or facilities :

The website for the Committee of 100 includes a link to LoopNet for queries about available properties in the area.  For assistance, contact Bill Moline, (813) 276-9407

http://www.loopnet.com/brokers/tampachamber/qryvert.asp

We can highlight properties in major corporate real estate listings in Florida from a perspective which addresses the business attractions of the location rather than just the standard descriptive attributes of the site or building in a real estate listing.

Other Resources

Other suggested contacts or resources for investment planning in this region :

Tampa Bay Partnership : www.tampabay.org  (with surrounding counties)

Enterprise Florida : www.eflorida.com   (state)

Other suggested economic development links which may be helpful :

http://www.tampachamber.com/edc100-links.htm

NOT YET COMPLETE

I

Data Pointers - see also Consultant Tips

Suggested sources of timely statistical data for location selection issues

News and newsletters

Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce - member directory

Major employers in the greater Tampa area include :

American Express

Black & Decker

CapitalOne

Coca Cola Enterprises

JP Morgan Chase

Citigroup

Creative Games International

Enporion

Ford Credit

General Motors

The Hartford

Home Depot

Household / Beneficial

James Hardie Industries

Maritrans

Medco Health Systems

MetLife

New York Life

PricewaterhouseCoopers

Progressive Insurance

St. Paul Companies

Voicestream Communications

Walt Disney Attractions

Major foreign investors in the greater Tampa area include :

NOT YET COMPLETE

http://www.tampachamber.com/edc100-representativeprojects.htm

Coca Cola Enterprises - 700 employee shared services center

Citigroup CitiCards - 700 employee expansion

Household International - 520 job expansion

Computer Associates - 386 job national customer contact center

Tropical Sportsware International - 150 job expansion and relocation, new HQ

Liquidmetals Technology Corp. - 110 jobs

Plastipak Packaging, Inc - 75 jobs

NOT YET COMPLETE

See the 2003 CoreNet award nomination for selective quotes from two companies :

JPMorgan Treasury Technologies Corporation

Citigroup - Corporate Realty Services

List of many investors who support the Committee of 100's work financially

http://www.tampachamber.com/edc100-investors.htm

Steering committee, guiding Tampa economic development strategy and work

http://www.tampachamber.com/edc100-steeringcommittee.htm 

NOT YET COMPLETE

We have no direct working relationship with the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce at this time, beyond periodic friendly networking contact and respect for their achievements.

Relationship leader at GDI Solutions for potential investors :

•  Bruce Donnelly

  • bruce@gdi-solutions.com

  • TEL 847-304-4655 (Chicago)

  Please advise regarding any necessary corrections to this Area Profile. 

   

  The relationship leader is responsible for maintaining sufficiently frequent contact and knowledge at GDI Solutions about the participating area.  The leader keeps published GUIDE Area Profiles timely and consistent, and serves as an initial point of contact for any investors who may choose not to contact the local area representatives yet about their interests, such as at a very exploratory or confidential stage of project planning or information gathering.

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