'A heart for growing local entrepreneurs': At 20, Sarasota EDC fosters business diversity

VENICE – As the Economic Development Corporation of Sarasota County celebrates its 20th anniversary, the nonprofit still carries the mission of helping to diversify the local economy, but it has morphed into nurturing growth among existing businesses instead of merely trying to attract new businesses.

“At my heart and what the team’s heart is growing local entrepreneurs,” Erin Silk, president and CEO of the EDC of Sarasota County told members of the South County Tiger Bay Friday in a discussion moderated by Venice Area Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Kathy Lehner.  “It's the local companies that are growing and already here having an impact on our community and our families that are at my heart and are at our board’s heart and staff’s heart.

“They are more likely to come to fruition, too – rather than just throwing out and trying to attract a big fish,” she added. “I think that’s the best use of our resources.”

The EDC still has a goal of attracting new businesses that strengthen the economy outside of its core strengths of tourism, hospitality, construction and healthcare.

Siik noted how the EDC and other local officials, including North Port Economic Development Division Manager Vinnie Mascarenhas, started the week by hosting a group of site selectors – basically location scouts for corporate expansion or relocation.

The EDC has also partnered with Visit Sarasota County on the successful “Work Where You Want to Live,” campaign that attracts talented job-seekers, and more recently the “Cultural Coast,” rebranding to promote Sarasota’s Arts community.

A common thread for targeted industries is that they’re selling products outside of Sarasota County, “so essentially they’re bringing wealth into our community, which is then spreading out throughout our community,” Silk said.

She added that while that wealth spreads through the community, because the businesses aren’t dependent on the local market, it offers a layer of protection against the impact of hurricanes or red tide.

Fostering the growth of local entrepreneurs

To illustrate the EDC’s emphasis on aiding existing businesses, Silk showed a recently completed video with Big Top Brewing CEO Mike Bisaha, where they discussed the way the EDC helped the craft brewer find a new location, as well as navigate permitting requirements as it expanded from its existing two locations – on Cattlemen Road and in Lakewood Ranch− to include a third one in Fruitville Commons.

To show the impact of business expansion, Silk highlighted the recent growth of South Sarasota logistics company D-Trans, LLC, which is at the Sarasota County Interstate Business Center off of the Jacaranda Boulevard interchange with Interstate 75.

The 10-year-old company is adding 50 new jobs, which translates to $3 million in annual payroll, while the $6.8 million spent on construction created 40 construction jobs that another $1.7 million in construction payroll.

Scentsational Soaps & Candles just underwent a 50,000-square-foot expansion and produces 3 million candles a day.

The EDC is also working with DMSI International, which makes fiber optic cabling for government buildings and is growing quickly.

“Each one of these growing companies plays a really important piece in our economy and allows our community to grow and improve,” Silk said.

What brings in new businesses?

The No. 1 one thing that lures businesses to Sarasota County is the area's quality of life. In some cases the members of the executive team or CEOs have moved here and want to bring their business with them.

“That’s not happening in other metropolitan areas across the country; there are people leaving in droves to find a better quality of life,” Silk said.

The quality of Sarasota County’s public school system and diversity of higher education opportunities, including the Ringling College of Art & Design, University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee, New College of Florida and multiple State College of Florida campuses have an impact, too.

“We have incredible higher education – most communities don’t have this level of higher education so the talent that we’re growing here is a huge asset to companies,” she added.

Increased awareness still a key

For all its growth, many of the high tech businesses the EDC hope to attract are unaware of what the area offers.

Silk noted that none of the site selection consultants they spent time with last week – the people who make decisions on where businesses should move – had been to Sarasota County.

“A lot of them said we didn’t even realize there was an opportunity south of Tampa,” she said.

In response to a question posed by Taylor, regarding the need for more affordable housing, Silk said that the site selection process is all about the data.

“They’ll know the average cost of housing before they make a recommendation to their clients.”

While the county is seeking high-tech companies that already pay what would be a living wage in Sarasota County, Silk stressed that the top question she gets is about workforce housing.

Silk said she was encouraged by the efforts made by Sarasota County and local municipalities to fast-track more workforce units, by earmarking funding from both the American Rescue Plan Act and the yet-to-be-awarded post-Hurricane Ian Resilient SRQ funding.

Both she and Lehner added that increased availability of childcare is another concern.

Lehner noted that many people who left the workforce during the COVID-19 pandemic could not return because of lack of affordable child care.

Silk cited recent efforts by the Early Learning Coalition as a positive, then added that one of the things she liked about the community was the willingness for a variety of agencies to pitch in.

Still, she stressed, affordable housing and child care, “are two issues I think we should keep top of mind to support our community.”

What hinders business relocation or expansion?

The main hindrance is lack of potential sites. Silk said it can be tough for existing businesses seeking to expand from 50,000 square-feet to 100,000 square feet, because of the lack of locations.

She praised the foresight of the Sarasota County Commission in creating a district where property owners can opt into a rezone for a business park – which would also offer space for ancillary businesses such a delis and child care – with those sites strategically located on main roads, near I-75 and aligned with future infrastructure growth.

North Port, which can now boast a population in excess of 86,000 people, is in the midst of a similar undertaking. As part of the rewrite of the city’s Unified Land Development Code, it is creating mixed-use zoning along major arteries and activity centers.

Mascarenhas and North Port City Commissioner Debbie McDowell expanded on that after Silks’ question and answer session, following a prompt by Tiger Bay host Ed Taylor.

McDowell noted that the most promising area is in the east, where both the city and Charlotte County are asking the state of Florida to create a double exit off of Interstate 75 at Raintree and Yorkshire boulevards.

“It’s not something that’s going to be happening now, it’s something that’s going to happen in the future,” McDowell said, then added that it could open up the entire region – including Charlotte and DeSoto counties.

Growth of the non-residential tax base in Sarasota County’s largest city is an immediate need.

McDowell characterized North Port’s current non-residential tax base at 8 to 11%, depending on how one crunches the numbers while a healthy percentage is 15 to 20%.

Mascarenhas stressed that the city desperately needs commercial land for existing businesses.

“We get calls almost every day from businesses that are in North Port that want to expand, that want to scale up, that want to grow and there’s nothing available,” Mascarenhas said. “Our vacancy rate is at less than 2%.”

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: EDC marks 20th year with renewed push for Sarasota Co. business growth