2016 Santa Rosa County Business Journal

Santa Rosa County

AN 850 BUSINESS MAGAZINE SPECIAL REPORT

2016 BUSINESS JOURNAL

OVERVIEW • TOURISM • EDUCATION • DEMOGRAPHICS

Table of Contents

11 4

7

O verview A talented

workforce, a strong school district and a high quality of life are key ingredients in Santa Rosa’s plan for future economic development success.

7 Tourism PRESIDENT/PUBLISHER BRIAN E. ROWLAND EDITORIAL DIRECTOR OF EDITORIAL SERVICES Steve Bornhoft EDITOR Linda Kleindienst SENIOR STAFF WRITER Jason Dehart

SALES & MARKETING VICE PRESIDENT/ CORPORATE DEVELOPMENT McKenzie Burleigh Lohbeck

AD SERVICES COORDINATORS Lisa Sostre, Tracy Mulligan

STAFF WRITER Shelby Bouck CREATIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR Lawrence Davidson PRODUCTION MANAGER Daniel Vitter ART DIRECTOR Jennifer Ekrut ADVERTISING DESIGNER Jillian Fry

Education Santa Rosa claims one of the best school districts in Florida and has a high graduation rate. Career academies emphasize “real life” learning.

14

Demographics An overview of Santa Rosa’s population, its major employers and industrial park offerings for businesses looking to relocate.

DIRECTOR OF NEW BUSINESS Daniel Parisi

EDITORIAL COORDINATOR Rebecca Padgett PROOFREADER Melinda Lanigan

11

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Bess Grasswick, Darla Harrison, Lori Magee, Rhonda Murray, Will Patrick, Dan Parker, Linda Powell, Paula Sconiers, Alice Watts, Brianna Webb MARKETING AND EVENTS ASSISTANT Mackenzie Ligas

On the Cover: From learning to working to enjoying a good quality of life, Santa Rosa County provides a variety of options. rowlandpublishing.com | 850BusinessMagazine.com

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COVER PHOTOS COURTESY OF SANTA ROSA COUNTY TOURIST DEVELOPMENT OFFICE AND SANTA ROSA COUNTY

COURTESY OF SANTA ROSA COUNTY TOURIST DEVELOPMENT OFFICE AND SANTA ROSA COUNTY

Tourism is a big economic driver for the area and the numbers keep going higher.

Visitors have wide variety of experiences to choose from.

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Overview

Vision for Success

Santa Rosa County is touting its talented workforce, good schools

by LINDA KLEINDIENST

A

ppRiver started out as a two-man operation in April 2002 in the town of Gulf Breeze. Co-founders Michael Murdoch and Joel Smith shared a vision for their company and a love for the area’s natural beauty and quality of life.

The region’s pro-business environment was another plus.

Today, the company has 242 employees, with 221 working in the Gulf Breeze location. It has offices in Atlanta; Austin; Lupfig, Switzerland; and Barcelona, Spain.

Perhaps most importantly, the average salary paid to employees working in the Santa Rosa location is double the prevailing local average wage and nearly two times the state’s average wage.

“The short history of AppRiver can be summed up as a sales call that led to a friendship that became a partnership that becomes one of the fastest growing and most successful email and Web security companies in America,” says Murdoch, CEO and president. “AppRiver, which began quite literally as two guys and a spam filter, now serves more than 47,000 corporate companies (and 8.5 million mailboxes) around the world.”

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Santa Rosa’s top economic drivers are currently tourism, military and agriculture.

AppRiver is an example of the type of company community leaders want to see more of. Especially with one of the country’s highest concentrations of retired military living within its borders and one of the best school districts in the state, not to mention available and affordable space, they feel the area is ripe for economic development.

“The talent you have will dictate your level of success,” says Santa Rosa County Commissioner Rob Williamson. “One of the strong suits Santa Rosa has is its workforce and talent. We have talent and space. We need to do a better job of selling ourselves. You’ve got to have the right leadership in place. And people finally have a light bulb going off.”

Growth From Navarre Beach on the Gulf to Milton, Pace and Jay further north, Santa Rosa’s growth spurt is evident. As the population grows, more apartments and subdivisions are sprouting up — 7 percent growth in new residential and commercial building permits in 2015 over the previous year — and new companies are moving in. The county is being courted by suppliers for AirBus, which has a new facility in Mobile, and there is growing interest in the county’s seven industrial parks.

“We are growing leaps and bounds,” affirms Shannon Ogletree, director of Santa Rosa County Economic Development. “Our sweet spot in terms of attracting people is that we have one of the best school districts in the state and one of the lowest crime rates in the state. That’s a good mixture.”

Nestled between Escambia County on the west and Okaloosa on the east, Santa Rosa has a workforce that is about 75,000 strong, but a majority of them commute to

Escambia or Okaloosa to work.

“Truthfully, we’re exporting people,” Ogletree says. “We want them to stay closer to home and we’re starting to have success in telling that story.”

The county boasts about 34,000 military retirees — people who have skill sets that companies, especially in the area of technology, are looking for. Many are in their 40s and 50s, looking to start a second career. That could be a major plus for AirBus suppliers.

Meanwhile, some of those who once left Northwest Florida for better job opportunities are beginning to return home.

“We’re finding younger generations who went off to college are coming back, mostly for opportunities in Escambia and Okaloosa.

New business coming in strengthens their ability to come back home,” says Shon Owens, president of Owens Custom Homes and a member of the Jay Town Council.

“Many people live in Santa Rosa and work outside because of the quality of life. You can live on the north end of the county and have 20 acres of horse pasture, yet within 45 minutes you can be on the beach.”

The population boom has helped local businesses involved in construction and led to a growing retail sector, says Donna Tucker, executive director of the Santa Rosa County Chamber of Commerce.

“You can’t get a painter right now. They are slammed. Flooring people, carpet people, concrete people, everyone is busy,” she says.

“And the retail sector is exploding, especially when you start looking at restaurants. We’re getting Cactus Flower, Tin Cow, Five Guys — some of the more trendy Pensacola restaurants.”

A new 40,000-square-foot Publix is coming to Pace and bringing its own strip mall. Dick’s Sporting Goods and Panera Bread are also on the way.

“What’s interesting is that for a long time you could drive from Navarre to Gulf Breeze and it was just vacant lots. Now you can’t find a vacant lot,” says Tucker. “Now from Milton to Pace the same thing is happening — we’re seeing a lot of commercial property going up for sale and residential being rezoned for commercial.”

COURTESY OF SANTA ROSA COUNTY

Future Focus

launched the Florida First Sites program in 2013. The purpose of the first regional site certification program in the state is to develop project-ready industrial sites.

Each site undergoes a rigorous screening process developed by McCallum Sweeney Consulting, which offers an objective, third-party analysis to ensure the sites are ready for development. The program ensures that preliminary work has been completed, taking the majority of the risk out of the site selection process.

So far, Santa Rosa has had three sites certified — more than any county in the region.

All are in Milton and close to Interstate 10. The sites are: Jeff Ates Road Industrial Park, with 132.4 developable acres; Vic’s

Ogletree is focusing his economic development efforts on manufacturing companies with a connection to aviation and aerospace.

“I’m trying to hit areas like San Diego and Seattle with high concentrations of aviation companies,” he says. “I tell them if they are looking to set up an east coast location, consider us.”

Last year, Aerosync Support Inc., a leader in helicopter repairs, modifications and upgrades, set up shop at the Santa Rosa Industrial Park in Milton. Aerosync purchased the former West Coast Metal Roofing building and is making a capital investment of over $1.75 million in the facility. With the anticipated creation of 25 jobs at an average rate of $60,000, the company qualified for a performance-based incentive program aimed at increasing highskilled, high-wage jobs in Florida.

In making the announcement, Greg Bartlett, president of Aerosync, said many factors brought the company to Santa Rosa County. “There is a large aerospace market in both commercial and military sectors that is in need of the services we offer. Milton and the Santa Rosa Industrial Park is a great location for us with room to expand as future demands increase.

We are very excited about Industrial park being here and look forward tenants like Trinity DNA Solutions to employing many talented (opposite page), folks in this area.”

Gulf Cable (this Williamson said there page, upper photo) and Fabbro has been considerable Marine Group interest in the I-10 indus(lower) have trial park, explaining brought hundreds of jobs to the area. “we’re at the edge of the bullseye” for Mobile’s Airbus plant — within easy traveling distance, via I-10, for a supplier to the manufacturing giant.

An ally in the county’s economic development efforts is Gulf Power, which

of Navarre, with 186 acres; and Northwest Florida Industrial Park @ I-10, with 88 acres.

Besides the state programs aimed at enticing new businesses to locate in Florida and existing businesses to expand, Santa Rosa also has a program that can reduce the price of county-owned land in an effort to attract companies.

Williamson believes that the town of Milton also offers a great opportunity for Santa Rosa to attract more millennials and entrepreneurs because of its scenic location on the Blackwater River.

“We need to push for a new urbanism.

You have to have a vision, and Santa Rosa has lacked a consistent shared vision,” he says.

2016 SAN TA ROSA COUNT Y BUSINES S J O U RNAL / 5

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Tourism

A Cornucopia of Adventures

COURTESY OF SANTA ROSA COUNTY TOURIST DEVELOPMENT OFFICE

Tourists can go from one extreme to another, from a beachfront condo to ‘glamping’ in a timeless state forest by LINDA KLEINDIENST

T

ourism is one of the top three economic drivers in Santa Rosa County. And it’s booming. The numbers don’t lie.

Tourist bed-tax collections are growing in the double digits. In the last fiscal year, which ended in September 2015, tax collections had grown by 23 percent over the previous year — for a total of $2,175,353.

And the current fiscal year is on track to do as well or better.

“It’s growing extremely fast,” says Julie Morgan, who is Santa Rosa’s tourist-development director. She speculates that one of the reasons for the recent growth is the decision after her arrival on Tourists and the job a year ago to reach out residents alike to the Atlanta travel market. can enjoy a day “We tapped into that, and it’s at the beach or kayaking on a proven to have paid off.” pristine river, And tourism means jobs. all in easy drivWhile the numbers have likely ing distance. grown since, a 2012 study by the University of West Florida’s Haas Center revealed that tourism at that time was responsible for more than 1,400 jobs and had a more than $113 million economic impact on the county.

While the majority of visitors come from Georgia, Texas, Alabama and Louisiana, the county has also expanded its summer tourism marketing to Arkansas and the Carolinas.

Unlike its neighboring Gulf-front counties, Santa Rosa doesn’t currently sport any beachfront hotels. The last one blew over when Hurricane Ivan mercilessly lashed Northwest Florida’s coast as a Category 3 storm in 2004. It was the strongest hurricane to hit the region in more than 100 years. But there’s a new hotel — a Marriott Springhill Suites — going up in the same location, and construction should be done by the end of this year or in early 2017.

TOURIST DEVELOPMENT TAX COLLECTIONS FISCAL YEAR TOTALS 2015-2016 October $142,138 November $79,679

2014-2015 $2,175,353 2013-2014 $1,766,401

2012-2013 $1,333,322 2011-2012 $1,190,476

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Camping under the stars, away from the city lights, is one of many offerings for vacationers.

COURTESY OF SANTA ROSA COUNTY TOURIST DEVELOPMENT OFFICE

SOLUTIONS

For those in the business of attracting tourists, the county has established a grant program that supports events which focus on increasing out-of-market awareness of Santa Rosa County, particularly during the shoulder (spring and fall) seasons, with the goal of increasing lodging room occupancy in the county. Allowable expenses can include promotion, marketing, program expenses, paid advertising, production and technical expenses, site fees, rentals, insurance, rights and sanction fees.

The majority of tourists who come to Santa Rosa rent beachfront condos that give them access to one of the most pristine — and quiet — sections of beach in the state.

“Our beach is protected forevermore … we’re bookended on east and west by a nature preserve. To the west is Gulf Islands National Seashore, an undisturbed beach,” says County Commissioner Rob Williamson, who represents Navarre Beach.

“You can go While the beach is an undisputed from one lure — in fact, the beach wedding extreme to the business is on a definite upswing other in this — there is also a growing interest county, such in ecotourism-related activities and as from living agritourism. The county’s artificial in a beachfront reefs draw scuba divers and visitors condo to interested in marine sciences. Coldglamping.” water Gardens in Milton brings in — Julie Morgan, tourists who want to know more Santa Rosa’s touristabout organic gardening, even development director providing private tours and the opportunity to go “glamping,” a little more glamorous way to sleep outdoors but not on the ground.

There’s also an opportunity to go ziplining over the timeless Blackwater River State Forest with Adventures Unlimited. Or visitors can canoe, kayak or tube down — and camp along — Coldwater River Creek.

“You can go from one extreme to the other in this county, such as from living in a beachfront condo to glamping,” Morgan said. “You can make your vacation what you want, especially if you are an outdoor person. And our shoulder seasons have really grown in the last couple of years.”

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Education

Preparing a Workforce

Santa Rosa students start learning key skills in the early grades by LINDA KLEINDIENST

COURTESY OF SANTA ROSA COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT

A

Williamson. “We are one of the state’s besttalented workforce is essential when performing school districts with one of the trying to attract new business to a highest graduation rates.” region. To provide that, Santa Rosa At Pace High School, the academy’s focus County’s public schools, among the best in is teaching the basics of how to become an the state of Florida, start preparing their entrepreneur, including accounting, niche students early to get jobs in the region’s marketing, protection of patents and tradetargeted industries. And that’s giving marks. economic development efforts a big shot in Students even get lessons in how to find the arm. investors.

Elementary school students are learning “It’s crazy the interest the kids have in critical thinking skills. From middle school starting their own business. It’s gotten a through high school, students have access to lot of buzz in the community,” says Charlin a variety of special training opportunities Knight, director of workforce education for that range from biotech and aerospace to the school system, which has received an “A” entrepreneurship, advanced manufacturing grade from the state for 11 years running. and the culinary arts, each one the focus of Knight is responsible for the district’s 47 one of the career academies scattered around the county. And eighth-graders can pursue a certification in Microsoft programs, which demonstrates they have the knowledge of a variety of programs, including Word and PowerPoint, that will help them be successful in a later career.

Santa Rosa’s career academies align with nationally recognized industry certifications, which help make students more competitive in college or the workplace following graduation. And studies show that career-academy students perform better in high school and are more likely to continue into postsecondary Santa Rosa education.

County’s school district has “One of the top predictors earned an ‘A’ of the workforce talent you grade from can provide — including what the state for 11 years running. skill sets your population can bring to the table to attract site selectors and CEOs looking at your area — is the graduation rate,” says Santa Rosa County Commissioner Rob

secondary and 15 postsecondary programs (at the technical center) that prepare students for jobs.

“We had to cap the entrepreneurship program because so many were interested,” Knight says. “We had 28 students involved and 20 ideas that developed. Now we’re trying to find money for those businesses.”

At Jay High School, students can enroll in the cybersecurity academy, which is only a year old. There is an academy focusing on agribusiness at Central School in Milton and a digital design program at Milton High School, where students are using a 3D printer to print their designs.

Some of the career academies are a direct response to the worker needs expressed by local businesses. There are currently 2,800 students enrolled in the academies. In 2015, 524 seniors graduated with nationally recognized industry certifications in a range of fields.

In another effort to better prepare students to enter the workforce, the district has a program dubbed STEAM, which stands for science, technology, engineering, arts and math.

“STEAM represents a paradigm shift from traditional education philosophy, based on standardized test scores, to a

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modern ideal which focuses on valuing the learning process as much as the results,” according to Deron Cameron, who was principal at the first STEAM-certified school and now works on curriculum. “In essence, we dare our students to be wrong, to try multiple ideas, listen to alternate opinions and create a knowledge base that is applicable to real life as opposed to simply an exam.”

Knight calls the STEAM effort an “incredible partnership” that has helped the school district teach students 21st-century skills, including an emphasis on critical thinking.

“There’s a lot of value in introducing artistic and creative skills,” she says. “We have the program in all 20 elementary schools, two middle schools and one high school. When I go to the schools, I am absolutely amazed. I’ve seen elementary school students in the early grades working on gravity and energy projects, kids working together in teams to put together their own circuit boards so they could get a propeller to spin or a light to come on. They were programming robots in one classroom.

They work in teams, with each “In essence, team having a leader and each we dare our member having a role and the students to be teacher facilitating.” wrong, to try Ask the teachers what they multiple ideas, think of it and they say it is more listen to alternate than gratifying to see students opinions enjoying their studies. and create a “The lightbulb has seemed knowledge base to brighten, showing students that is applicable they can be anything. Science to real life as and computer programming is opposed to viewed as fun now, as they beg simply an exam.” to ‘code,’ ” says Kristi Martin, a — Deron Cameron, fifth-grade teacher at Berryhill principal at the first STEAMElementary. certified school Joy Bunning, a secondgrade teacher at Holly Navarre Primary, is amazed at how her class has responded, saying, “I have watched them grow from shy, reserved students into confident, independent learners ready to take on any challenge!”

Jen Netro, another teacher at Holley Navarre Primary, said she has watched her students grow into problemsolvers and self-learners, always asking questions to further their thinking.

“One of my students is very active and struggles with focusing on a task at hand. At the beginning of the year this student came in needing a Progress Monitoring Plan based on last year’s scores,” Netro says. “After implementing the STEAM model into my classroom, it was obvious to me this child had such an in-depth thought process. It allowed me to assess his content knowledge in a setting that was more comfortable for him. He is now in the final testing stages for the gifted program. I’ve never participated in a conference where a parent was signing off on a PMP and permission to test for gifted. It has certainly opened my eyes.”

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Demographics

INDUSTRIAL PARKS ESCAMBIA

SANTA ROSA

OKALOOSA

Jay Industrial Park

EDUCATION SANTA ROSA COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT — “A” grade (11 consecutive years)

Whiting Aviation Park

10 Santa Rosa Industrial

HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION RATE (2014–2015 school year) — 83.2% (Florida graduation rate — 77.8%)

Gulf Coast Rail Industrial NWF Industrial Park @ I-10

Pace Industrial Area

10

Milton Northwood Park

Source: Florida Department of Education

POPULATION

Pensacola

Destin Gulf Breeze

2014 (ESTIMATED) — 163,422 % CHANGE SINCE 2010 — +8% AGE 18 TO 64 — 62.9% AGE 65 AND OVER — 14.5% HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATE OR HIGHER — 89.4% BACHELOR’S DEGREE OR HIGHER (age 25 and over) — 25.9% MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME — $57,700 COST OF LIVING — 2.3 percent lower than the U.S. average Source: U.S. Census Bureau

RANKINGS Santa Rosa’s quality of life is ranked the 8th best out of Florida’s 67 counties by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. (Milton and Gulf Breeze are considered among the healthiest cities to live in the state.) The same survey ranked it No. 5 for social and economic factors, including the county’s high graduation rate, income equality, lower unemployment and lower child poverty and crime rates.

SANTA ROSA INDUSTRIAL PARK Santa Rosa Industrial Park offers quality, affordable land — and lots of it — but also fertile ground for business, with rail access and located only a mile from Interstate 10.

JAY INDUSTRIAL PARK Jay Industrial Park is the perfect setting for businesses desiring a less hectic urban environment. Be as globally connected as you want, with plenty of room for expansion.

GULF COAST RAIL PARK The Gulf Coast Rail Park is a 200-acre site with a considerable logistical infrastructure strategically located on U.S. Highway 90 near Interstate 10. Transportation links give access to the top Southern markets in the United States, all within an 8-hour drive.

NORTHWEST FLORIDA INDUSTRIAL PARK @ I10 Begin with two acres or 40. Northwest Florida Industrial Park @ I10 is located off of Interstate 10 and adjacent to commercial property,

14 / 2016 S A N TA ROS A C OU NT Y BUS I NE S S JO U R NAL

providing the option of making products here and selling them next door — without needing to rezone.

NORTHWOOD PARK The land (50 acres or more) are preserved for one client, two at most. This means lots of land to build and grow. This park is located one mile from Interstate 10, and is an ideal location for large plants, warehouses, factories or a combination.

PACE INDUSTRIAL AREA This industrial area is part of one of the fastest growing communities in Northwest Florida, located strategically between Pensacola and Milton, home to a talented, diverse workforce for a developing company.

WHITING AVIATION PARK Nestled in the cradle of aviation amid top-notch industry leaders, this is the county’s newest park and a dream location for aviation and other booming businesses because of its access to a 6,000-linear-foot runway.

EMPLOYMENT

Public Organizations (# employees) STATE GOVERNMENT 1,282 SANTA ROSA COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT 2,750 FEDERAL MILITARY 1,336 SANTA ROSA COUNTY GOVERNMENT 949 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 751 Source: Santa Rosa Economic Development Office

COURTESY OF SANTA ROSA COUNTY AND MILITARY.COM

UNDER AGE 18 YEARS — 22.6%

EMPLOYMENT

Major Private Employers (September 2015) PRIVATE COMPANIES

INDUSTRY

# EMPLOYEES

Retail

1,285

Baptist Health Care

Health Services

543

Santa Rosa Medical

Health Services

400

Blackwater Correctional

Private State Prison

400

Grocery

380

Financial Services

340

Internet/Cable

300

Goldring Gulf Distributing

Warehouse/ Distribution

240

AppRiver, LLC

Internet Security

220

Ambulance Service

160

Wal-Mart Stores

Publix Navy Federal Mediacom

Lifeguard Ambulance

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MILITARY Home to Naval Air Station Whiting Field, Santa Rosa County is in the middle of one of the most active air traffic zones in the world, a tri-county area including Escambia and Okaloosa that is home to major military aviation installations and growing commercial operations. The area’s proximity to militaryrelated IT research, development and testing has created an emerging cluster of IT and aerospace companies.

Florida’s military and defense-related industries are critical to Florida’s economy. The $52 billion industry is the state’s third top economic sector behind tourism and agriculture; it tops the list in Santa Rosa County.

The mission of NAS Whiting Field is to provide support for the training of Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard and international student aviators. The base is host to Training Wing Five, which provides 100 percent of all Navy, Marine and Coast Guard helicopter training and 60 percent of all primary flight training. They account for 10.1 percent of all Navy and Marine Corps flight hours worldwide and train 1,534 student pilots annually.

Source: Santa Rosa Economic Development Office

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