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Tampa Bay leaders roll out video pitch for Amazon HQ2
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| Amazon to Tampa Bay: Education |
The City of St. Petersburg, Pinellas County Economic Development, the
St. Petersburg Area Economic Development Corporation,
and Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Corporation - the team that put together the Tampa Bay region's response for Amazon's HQ2 - continue to roll out the videos created in support of the proposal to the public.
"The videos were created to help us introduce our community to Amazon in a way that text alone cannot do," said Mike Meidel, director of Pinellas County Economic Development. "Amazon can experience the personalities of our leaders, hear what they have to say about why Tampa Bay would be a great fit for HQ2, and take a visual tour of our region. Our goal is to have Amazon imagine what it would be like for their people to live and work here and engage with our community leadership."
The most recent video released this week highlights the tens of thousands of college graduates that enter the Tampa-St. Pete-Clearwater area's talent pipeline each year. University of South Florida President, Dr. Judy Genshaft and Hillsborough Community CollegePresident, Dr. Ken Atwater discuss our region's many education options and how Tampa Bay's universities are willing to partner with Amazon.com
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Six-week program to provide $250,000 in radio and promotional advertising to businesses affected by the storm
While Tampa Bay was spared a direct hit by Hurricane Irma, many local businesses were still greatly impacted by the storm. Some were left without power, lost inventory, or even had to close their doors for days. Cox Media Group (CMG) announced it will launch its philanthropic initiative, Cox Media Group Cares Tampa Bay. With the generous support of sponsors, The Miggs and Swigg Radio Show, DeBartolo Family Foundation, Pepin Distributing Company and Great Bay Distributors, Cox Cares will help small businesses recover after Irma through marketing and promotional outreach.
Each Saturday between Oct. 21 and Small Business Saturday, Nov. 25, local companies will be featured on Cox Media Group radio stations. The businesses will receive free on-air, online and social media promotion throughout the week. The supporting station will also be on-site at each business location that Saturday. Cox Cares will provide assistance to more than 40 small businesses in the Tampa Bay area with approximately $250,000 in promotional support.
CMG understands local businesses are an important part of our communities," said Keith Lawless, Vice President/General Manager for CMG Tampa. "The disruption from Hurricane Irma has greatly impacted these businesses. We are proud to help support them at a time when they need it most. With the help of our local sponsors, we are promoting Tampa Bay area businesses across all six of our CMG radio stations."
The deadline to apply is November 10, 2017.
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Mayor Kriseman Tours the ONE St. Petersburg
On Wednesday, November 1st, Mayor Kriseman joined I Love the Burg St. Pete, Kolter's ONE St. Petersburg, and Kast Construction on a hardhat tour to the top of the new highest point in Pinellas County. With less than a year from completion, ONE St. Petersburg is already towering over its high-rise neighbors. The luxury condominium tower, under construction at the intersection of First Avenue North and First Street North, will be 41 stories with 253 units when it wraps up construction in late 2018. Units are selling briskly, it is estimated that the project is 90% sold.
Watch the recorded tour broadcast here!
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The Warehouse Arts District opens the doors to the ArtsXChange
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Video created by Oktane Media Ventures
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On October 26, 2017, the Warehouse Arts District Association celebrated the completion of Phase 1 of the ArtsXchange with Mayor Rick Kriseman and city officials,
artists, donors,
and more! Phase 1 consists of 28 sustainable, affordable art studios and over 2,500 square feet of gallery, education and event space including an artist incubator.
There's even a communal area with lockers for up and coming artist entrepreneurs who want to come in to share a workspace, says Mark Aeiling, president of the Warehouse Arts District Association Board of Directors
According to Aeiling, more than $1 million in grants, contributions from the state and city, as well as private donations have been raised to help get the center up and running.
The project has a multiple phase plan that stretches out over the next five to 10 years, says Aeiling. The first step is to get the building completed and artists moved in. Then comes landscaping, educational programming and branding for the area.
Read more on the ArtsXchange project
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First Home Bank Celebrates new Full-Service Banking Center
First Home Bank celebrated the opening of its newest full service banking and executive center in the historic west end area of downtown St. Petersburg. The ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on October 26th and officiated by Mayor Rick Kriseman along with the First Home Bank executive team. Approximately 150 guests attended the event including local business leaders, bank clients, staff, and members of the First Home Bank Board of Directors.
The new First Home banking and executive center is home to over 80 employees, including the First Home Bank executive team, SBA Lending Division, Residential Mortgage Division, and various administrative departments. To top it all off, fresh cookies will be served daily and the banking center is dog-friendly.
Located at 700 Central Avenue, First Home Bank offers numerous banking services to serve varying lifestyle needs, including a TrendSetters Club that offers special perks for over 50-year old clients, a Kids' Club to teach children smart money skills, and a NuStart account option aimed at helping individuals with past banking troubles.
According to Chief Executive Officer Anthony N. Leo, "As a growing community bank, First Home Bank is pleased to be a part of this vibrant area. We have a talented team of bankers ready to help local residents and businesses with their banking needs."
In the spirit of St. Petersburg's dedication to helping local businesses grow, First Home has a robust small business lending program. In fact, First Home Bank is a SBA Preferred Lender and currently ranks as a Top 10 SBA Lender.
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Skyway Marina District Welcomes Brea's Coffee
The rejuvenation of the
Skyway Marina District
continues to grow. On October 19th, Mayor Rick Kriseman, along with the Chamber of Commerce, cut the ribbon on the latest business to open in the reemerging Marina Mall,
Brea's Coffee
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The once mobile gourmet coffee concept has set roots at 4301 34th Street South - owners Bruce and Andrea McWilliams have already endeared themselves to the local community. Visitors can enjoy servings of Organo Brand Hot Coffee, Tea, Hot Chocolate, Mocha's & Espressos, along with Iced Coffee, Tea & Frappe's.
Very soon, Kaye's Vintage Jewelry will join Brea's at the burgeoning shopping center. Their respective arrivals complement an already diverse mix of food, fun and retail concepts - Doc's has long stood as a live music bastion in the recently rebranded Skyway Marina District.
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St. Petersburg Pier Construction Progress
The new St. Pete Pier project is in "full swing" with 422 piles to be driven into the bay as construction continues on the new pier. These support piles will be installed throughout the year, and construction of the pier deck is scheduled to begin this fall. Spa Beach is now fenced off and the old restrooms/storage building has been demolished. View the live stream of the construction project above!
There's going to be a lot of green space on the New St. Pete Pier including the Tilted Lawn in the Plaza, the Lawn Bowl in front of the pier head building, and the Coastal Thicket running nearly the length of the pier. Let's take a closer look at the Coastal Thicket.
The Coastal Thicket will be a boardwalk running along the north side of the pier at different intervals. Level with the boardwalk in 3 feet of soil will be Florida native plants, shrubs, and smaller shade trees such as wax myrtle, myrtle oak and white buttonwood. Lighted at night, the boardwalk will jut in and out towards the bay offering unique views and a nice shaded walk. All this green space makes the pier not only very environmentally conscious, but very unique as well.
The pier construction project is on schedule to completed in early 2019.
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PandaDoc Opens its East Coast Operations in Station House
PandaDoc is a San Francisco-based document automation company and opened its East Coast operations center at Station House in St. Petersburg. The company plans to hire up to 100 people here by the end of 2018.
Vice President of sales and business development, Jared Fuller,said th
ere are about 15 PandaDoc employees in St. Pete now. They handle customer support and sales. Most of the new hires will be for similar jobs, although Fuller also expects some tech jobs here as well.
Sergey Barysiuk
, the chief technology officer, also has relocated to St. Pete.
Fuller said PandaDoc will play a pivotal role in helping grow the tech industry locally and foster more startups.A grand opening for the company is planned for Nov. 16.
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Et Cultura Festival Returns to St. Pete
A
Festival of Creative Culture
This multi-day culturally immersive event will spotlight Florida-based artists, thinkers, musicians, filmmakers, and
entrepreneurs alongside their national/international counterparts while cultivating the City of St. Petersburg reputation as a premiere arts and innovation destination in America.
Et Cultura's roots grew from the 2015 Craft Film Festival and expanded in 2016 to a full-fledged, multi- faceted event created by the artists, makers, musicians, innovators, filmmakers , educators, and businesses that are blazing their own trail in the evolution of Saint Petersburg.
With the success of Et Cultura in 2016, the festival returns to the heart of St. Pete November 15th - November 19th
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Upcoming Events & Opportunities
City of St. Petersburg General Election
Nov. 7, 7:00AM - 7:00PM
Find your polling place
Ribfest 2017
Nov. 10 - 12th, 11:00am
Vinoy Park, 701 Bay Shore Drive NE, St. Petersburg
Nov. 14th, 8:30 - 10:00 AM
Microsoft, 5426 Bay Center Drive, Suite 700, Tampa FL
The Greenhouse Events
Special note:
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Have a development update, project announcement, or success
story to share?
Contact Sarah Hughart, 727-893-7784
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City of St. Petersburg
Economic Development Division
P.O. Box 2842
St. Petersburg, FL 33731
800.874.9026 (toll free)
727.893.7100 (phone)
727.892.5465 (fax)
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