On Monday, June 30, 2014, GrayRobinson’s Orlando office hosted a Community Leader Forum featuring Don Fisher, Osceola County Manager. Fisher gave an update on recent happenings within the County.
Osceola County is evolving and this transformation is being driven by two economic trends, the number of jobs and the quality of jobs. There is an emerging bio-tech cluster as the addition of Medical City in Lake Nona has created a new path of growth. Osceola County is well positioned to accommodate this growth as it has 110,000 acres available for development within its Urban Growth Boundary; Orange County has 10,000 acres in its Urban Service Area; Seminole County has less than 1,000 in its designated urban area. The Northeast District is Osceola County’s key property that can successfully compete in the emerging bio-tech cluster. Five factors crucial to successfully developing a biotech cluster: an outstanding research university; a dynamic entrepreneurial culture; strong advocacy leadership; available risk financing; and appropriate real estate.
Four key infrastructure projects are on the horizon: Poinciana Parkway, Southport Connector Expressway, Northeast Connector Expressway, and the Osceola Parkway Extension. The Osceola Parkway Extension will be a multimodal corridor, there are dedicated transit lanes. The County is also in discussions with the Florida East Coast Railway (FEC) about possibly using part of the corridor for the route into OIA. This would provide a direct connection to SunRail. These projects will create a full loop in the urbanizing area of Osceola County. This will also provide much needed connectivity for our residents as well as other users. This is especially important for the Poinciana residents.
The County recently announced its partnership with the University of Central Florida to build the Florida Advanced Manufacturing Research Center. The Center will promote collaboration among experts and academia to share advanced sensor related expertise and perform research and development on innovative sensor manufacturing systems. Having this type of facility in Osceola County will be an economic game changer, not only for our community, but for all of Central Florida as well, as tens of thousands of jobs are anticipated.
Fisher has been serving as Osceola County Manager since 2010. Previous to his Manager position he was Growth Management Administrator from 2007 – 2010 which included oversight of Building, Code Enforcement, Customer Resources, Development Review, Mosquito Control, Natural Resources, Planning, Technical Review Staff, and Zoning. In 2001, he was selected as one of the 100 Most Influential People in Central Florida by the Orlando Business Journal. Fisher graduated from the University of Central Florida magna cum laude with a degree in public administration.
Through its Community Leader Forums, GrayRobinson brings together clients, attorneys and friends of the firm to hear high-profile business and community leaders and elected officials discuss issues of importance to the state of Florida.
To view a picture from the event, please click here.