SMARTstartIn the News
2023
Pasco County uses ‘Ready Sites’ program to help local job market keep pace with growing population
November 7, 2023
Fox 13 News
As more and more people choose to call Pasco County their new home, the Pasco Economic Development Council, or EDC, is taking steps to ensure the local job market can keep up.
In 2015, Pasco EDC launched the Ready Sites program. Working with landowners, local municipalities, and utility companies to transform vacant, undeveloped properties into industrial-zoned sites.
(Read Full Article)What Pasco is selling and how: Adaption to site selectors’ preferences is trial and error
November 3, 2023
Tampa Bay Business Journal
On a morning road tour designed to provide a snapshot of Pasco County's economic development priorities, Pasco EDC Director of Business Development Tom Ryan tells about a recent Chicago encounter with a site consultant. A woman entered a boardroom with her arms full of brochures and pamphlets and threw them on the table.
(Read Full Article)Workforce development is a top EDC priority, but strategies differ
November 3, 2023
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Eleven Tampa Bay economic development organizations were asked about strategy and planning.
Organizations were asked to tell readers how workforce development fits into their work for the remainder of 2023 and into 2024 and how they measure if that work is making a difference. Beyond the workforce, they also provided goals and strategic priorities for 2024.
(Read Full Article)After Amazon retreat, Sunlake business center in Pasco is repositioned as flex space
November 3, 2023
Tampa Bay Business Journal
A poster child of the Great Recession impact, the prime site envisioned for years as a sprawling corporate campus of T. Rowe Price is now 360,000 square feet of finished flex space.
(Read Full Article)Economic developers find new cooperation, especially in seeking foreign direct investment
November 3, 2023
Tampa Bay Business Journal
With so many county-based and local economic development organizations around the Tampa Bay region, results have suffered in the past from silos and fiefdoms.
While there are still overlapping redundancies, there's a new understanding of the importance of how organizations can work together, said Craig Richard, CEO of the Tampa Bay Economic Development Council.
(Read Full Article)Bauducco Foods to locate in Pasco County
November 2, 2023
Spot On Florida
The Pasco Economic Development Council, FloridaCommerce, the city of Zephyrhills, and Pasco Board of County Commissioners have welcomed Bauducco Foods to Pasco County.
(Read Full Article)New website tool focuses on helping employers, job seekers
October 31, 2023
Laker Lutz News
The Pasco Economic Development Council (Pasco EDC) recently added new features on workforceCONNECTpasco.com.
The new ConnectOPP tool allows employers to help bridge the gap between employers and job seekers, according to a Pasco EDC news release.
(Read Full Article)Zephyrhills can soon add cookies and cakes to its claims to fame
October 26, 2023
Tampa Bay Times
Move over bottled water and Sky Dive City because the city of Zephyrhills has a new product to pitch, panettone.
The moist holiday cake made with candied fruit and raisins is among the products produced by Bauducco, a company that snagged a $4.4 million economic incentive package from Pasco County on Tuesday. The company, which is based in Brazil, plans to build a new factory on a 72.5-acre site at the corner of Sixth Avenue and Chancey Road near the Zephyrhills Municipal Airport.
(Read Full Article)Zephyrhills can soon add cookies and cakes to its claims to fame
October 26, 2023
Florida Trend
Move over bottled water and Sky Dive City because the city of Zephyrhills has a new product to pitch, panettone. The moist holiday cake made with candied fruit and raisins is among the products produced by Bauducco, a company that snagged a $4.4 million economic incentive package from Pasco County on Tuesday.
(Read Full Article)Brazilian food manufacturer invests $200M to build warehouse on Pasco County site
October 26, 2023
Fox 13 News
A Brazilian food manufacturer will soon call the Tampa Bay area home.
Bauducco Foods recently purchased 72 acres of the Zephyrhills Municipal Airport Industrial Park. The property is a part of a Pasco EDC program. The manufacturer, known for its panettones and biscuits, plans to invest $200 million into building a 400,000-square-foot facility that would create 600 jobs.
(Read Full Article)