Glenn Atwell, left, president of ComCept Solutions LLC, and Randy Wadle, CEO of NetWise Technology Inc., share a building in downtown St. Petersburg as they work to make their marks on the world of information technology.

It would seem only a miracle could pull the Devil Rays out of the lowest rankings among Major League Baseball teams this year. And it's no secret that as the team struggles, the fans stay away from Tropicana Field, and the suffering extends to the businesses that were created to serve the them. But this may be the only major blemish on the screen for St. Petersburg, which otherwise is developing a thriving downtown.

New residential development along the waterfront, for instance, has been a success story. And that's complemented by the community's embracing the newly opened BayWalk entertainment, restaurant and retail complex with its 20-screen Muvico theater that is said to be among the best attended in the Tampa Bay area.

"This downtown is diverse," says Don Shea, executive director of the St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership Inc. "It has residential components, a strong office sector and an enormous amount of cultural and entertainment venues, all of which are healthy and growing - and poised to grow even more."

With two hospitals, a growing university and seven museums, it's a downtown that seems to have in place all the components to meet the needs of residents and employers.

"I love living here," says commercial real estate developer Grady Pridgen, who moved into downtown last year. "Everything we need is just within two blocks." And that, says Shea, "is the mark of a healthy downtown. Twenty-four-hour communities are more appealing."

If that's the key, it may be noted that even more residential is on the way. Meanwhile, businesses are also choosing a downtown St. Petersburg address. Two technology gurus from Arthur Andersen in Sarasota selected St. Petersburg for their new firm two years ago. "I was living in Tampa and my partner in Sarasota. We decided to meet in the middle," says Randy Wadle, chief executive officer at NetWise Technology Inc. "We liked the feel of St. Petersburg. It seemed like a cool place to live. We love it here."

The e-commerce and software development firm occupies half of a 12,000-square-foot building in the central business district and has 20 employees.

While other Internet firms have suffered, NetWise has continued to grow, with annual sales at $1.5 million last year. "We're on track for $2 million this year," says Wadle. "What has kept us growing is additional business from existing customers."

One of those customers, in Winston-Salem, N.C., was so satisfied that the owner decided to relocate his information technology company into the other half of the building occupied by NetWise. "ComCept Solutions moved here to be closer to our development staff," Wadle says. "We built an e-commerce interface into their software. They needed to be closer to us to get familiar with their new technology."

ComCept Solutions LLC provides hardware and software to a niche market in the automotive paint distribution industry. "I stumbled into this, and in 1986 sold the licensing rights to our software system to DuPont," says Glenn Atwell, the firm's president. "That put me on the map. Five years later I started working with PPG [Industries Inc.]. A thousand stores in North America use our software. We try to be the IT department to these businesses."

The firm, with annual sales of $3.2 million, relocated 16 employees to St. Petersburg. But it was an apparent stroke of good fortune that precipitated the move into the other half of the building occupied by NetWise Technology. "That space was taken by a DSL marketing company that never opened for business," says Atwell. "I took over the lease and was given a fully equipped and furnished office."

With a ready-made office waiting for ComCept right next to its research and development department, "the situation made it a no-brainer,"

Atwell says. Atwell likes the business climate in the area. "I've received lots of calls from [economic development] officials here," he says. "The Winston-Salem chamber didn't know I was leaving because they didn't know I was there. Employees who have moved here love it."

St. Petersburg's IT brain trust is further enhanced by DataGlyphics Inc., a Web site development company that has recently established an advisory board of local business people to guide the company's strategic direction. Peter R. Betzer, Ph.D., dean of the University of South Florida's College of Marine Science, and James E. MacDougald, former chairman of Ceridian Corp. [formerly ABR Industries of Palm Harbor], are among those serving on the board. "We're fortunate to be working with such an impressive group of leaders representing the influences that drive our business," says Bill Stover, the firm's chief executive officer.

A Non-Profits Investments Stream It's not just residential and commercial development that is transforming St. Petersburg's landscape. Several non-profit groups are adding significant capital investments in new and renovated facilities in the city. Among the more notable projects: The St. Vincent De Paul Society is renovating the former St. Petersburg Hospital at 4th Avenue North and 15th Street North as a food center and 88-bed, short-term housing facility. Boley Centers Inc. has purchased the 28,000-square-foot former Florida Blood Services building at 4th Avenue and 31st Street North. "This is a consolidation of several locations in Pinellas," says Ann Walters, a commercial real estate broker at Vector Realty. Catholic Charities has purchased a 15,000-square-foot building from the American Heart Association Inc. at 16th Street North and 13th Avenue North. "They're renovating and expanding the building," Walters says. "It's very pretty. This is a consolidation of some of their operations from Hillsborough County." Hennessey Construction Services Corp. is building the Resurrection House at St. Anthony's, which is a project in partnership with St. Peter's Cathedral. The firm is also nearing completion of a 55,000-square-foot YMCA at 31st Street and 1st Avenue South. "This new facility will have an indoor pool, basketball, a climbing wall and a ropes course in addition to its fitness center," says Jim Williams, a construction manager at Hennessey. Perhaps a more unusual project under construction by the firm is the Salvation Army's $2.5-million Children's Village at 9th Avenue North and 39th Street North. This residential project is designed to create a stable community for children who would otherwise grow up in a number of different foster homes. The unique concept essentially recruits teams of parents to dwell in the community and raise six children per household. "The Department of Children and Families asked us to look at a foster care alternative," says Charles Coles, director of development with the Salvation Army of South Pinellas County. "The neighborhood will have seven single-family homes and each will house six children. Our vision is to concentrate on children who seem to be stuck in the foster care system and who are not likely to achieve some kind of permanent placement. They'll also be members of sibling groups. Many of these kids will have already endured multiple address changes. "Studies aren't positive for children who go through these multiple changes and are never really able to acclimate themselves to the community," Coles says. "We'll be bringing together as much of a family as we can for them and give these children a chance to grow up with their siblings. We hope to give them roots." Finding parents to commandeer this new family structure is a process currently under way. "We're looking for people who have had experience with foster care and are willing to make a multi-year commitment to raising the children they receive," says Cole. "It's not easy to find people willing to raise six of somebody else's children. That takes a special person." Notwithstanding that challenge, Cole has hired parents for the first house that is opening. "We've been doing a nationwide search for people who can catch what this vision is about," he says. "We've had inquiries internationally. We'll also arrange for respite parents so that the house parents can regularly have some down time and recharge. We'll establish as traditional a neighborhood setting as we can." - Melissa Wells

Software for Medicare
Near the yacht basin, at BayView Tower board members gathered from across the nation for the July grand opening of the new 15,500-square-foot headquarters office of CareMedic Systems Inc. The 70-employee firm provides Medicare reimbursement software to hospitals, home health agencies and nursing facilities. "We were in a facility a third the size of this," says Tony Stefanis, the firm's president. "We needed a bigger location and wanted to stay in downtown St. Petersburg."

The company, founded in 1996, has created software that facilitates the processing of Medicare claims. "The system is installed in close to 300 locations, including Johns Hopkins, Stanford and Mayo Clinic," Stefanis says.

The company's expansion is also due to its newest product line, a software package for non-Medicare payers. "This includes companies like Blue Cross/Blue Shield and local insurance coverage," says Stefanis.

With the implementation of the new system, CareMedic has been adding staff. "We have 60 employees in St. Petersburg," Stefanis says. "We'll be close to 100 by the end of the year."

Similar increases have occurred at Ben Comp National Corporation, which recently occupied 19,000 square feet in BayView Tower. The company develops software for the insurance industry. "In the last couple years we've expanded into outsourcing facilities for insurance companies, doing back office operations for them," says Gary Simmons, the firm's president.

And the outsourcing business has led to significant growth of the firm's staff. "We have 120 employees and are adding staff continually," Simmons says. "We had 25 employees a year ago."

Along with a shuffle of smaller tenants in Class A office buildings downtown, Progress Energy Inc. has moved its executive offices from the 27-story Bank of America Tower into the Florida Power Corp. office next door. This opens 50,000 square feet of office space on the top floors of downtown's tallest building.

Raleigh, N.C.-based CP&L Energy bought Florida Progress last winter for $5.4 billion and renamed the company Progress Energy. Approximately 500 local employees lost their jobs at that time, canceling the need for part of the 11 floors the utility had occupied at the Bank of America Tower.

As Progress Energy executives adjust to their more colorful logo and new offices, another St. Petersburg company is planning a move from the south side of the city to a more central location.

Retooling retail
Florida Automotive Distributing Inc. has purchased the former Montgomery Ward building at 34th Street North and First Avenue North and is planning a $2-million renovation of the 180,000-square-foot former retail store.

The 170-employee company, established in St. Petersburg in 1949, in addition to providing automotive wholesale parts, owns 11 Super Parts and Gulf Coast Auto Air Services stores located along the West Coast of Florida from New Port Richey to Fort Myers.

Although moving from a 10,000-square-foot office into the huge retail box may sound like an extravagant move, the company is actually leasing 50,000 square feet of that space to GE Capital. "They have 300 people who have been working in a call center there," says John Cannon, vice president of Florida Automotive. "They'll stay on as a tenant in our building. We're consolidating a couple of our operations and are expanding our office to 20,000 square feet."

The firm, with annual sales of $26 million, will use the remainder of the space to warehouse the parts it distributes for ACDelco and other automotive parts manufacturers.

Finding larger quarters for the company was a challenge. "When we were looking to relocate, we tried the Dome District, but there were no possibilities," Cannon says. "When this opportunity came at Wards, we jumped on it with both feet and the city helped us pull it off and stay here. This keeps these jobs in that central core of St. Petersburg, and people will be impressed when they see how we transform that building."

Another transformation, this one with a price tag of $41 million, is about to begin at the corporate campus of Raymond James Financial Inc. in the city's Gateway area.

The financial services firm currently has three office towers totaling 610,000 square feet for its 2,500 employees. It is designing a fourth tower, a 300,000-square-foot building. "This is due to the natural growth of our company," says Elliott Stern, the firm's senior vice president. "We'll increase our staff over the next three years by 500 people."

Nature, then, has been good to Raymond James, which has averaged "20 percent a year since our founding in 1962," says Tom James, chairman and chief executive officer. "It has been very consistent. We're doing $1.7 billion in revenues." James cites several advantages to the firm's Gateway location. "The market place has a good employee base," he says, "and inexpensive housing and lower compensation levels than in major cities like New York, Chicago and San Francisco. We have a very good base to build upon here."

Another advantage Stern sees in the Gateway area is that "we're just 10 minutes from Tampa International Airport. In addition, the James family has strong roots in the city of St. Petersburg."

State-of-the-art chips
Michael Galinski, chief executive officer at America II Corporation, also has strong roots in the area. He started the company, which has annual sales of $300 million, 12 years ago in St. Petersburg. The firm, which has grown from a staff of five to 500, distributes computer chips and other electronic components. "We're the largest independent broadline distributor of components in the U.S.," Galinski says. "We specialize in hard-to-find and some obsolete products, but mostly it's state-of-the-art chips going into systems today."

In the past few years the company has opened operations in Guadalajara, Mexico; Stevenage, U.K.; and Yokohama, Japan. Its corporate headquarters in the Gateway area currently occupies 300,000 square feet. But it's time for another expansion locally.

"We're currently building an 80,000-square-foot facility for additional warehousing and operations," Galinski says. "While our location isn't critical - most of our work is done by phone and e-mail - St. Petersburg has become our home. We had an option to build this new facility here or in Phoenix. And there was a good debate on whether to put it in Phoenix. But I chose to keep everything here in St. Petersburg."

Growth is continuing in spite of the general downturn in the nation's economy and the uncertainty among technology firms. "There is no severe shortage of components now," Galinski says. "We're buying and gathering inventory for the next upturn. We're expecting a much stronger 2002."

Managers at Jabil Circuit Inc. (NYSE:JBL), a manufacturer of electronic circuit board assemblies in the Gateway area, are less certain about these prognostications. "We expect recovery some time in 2002," says Beth Walters, the firm's vice president of communications and investor relations. "But there are a wide variety of opinions. So we just make sure our business is in good shape to continue to perform in a less robust market."

The future of Jabil Circuit's headquarters is also the subject of much speculation. During the summer, a local newspaper said the company is planning to build a technology center at the Carillon office park that would create 1,150 jobs. Jabil currently employs anywhere from 2,000 to 3,000 people locally. "We're at the lower end since we've had reductions in our workforce over the past six months," Walters says. As to the speculation about the technology center, Walters says, "We currently have no plans for expansion, but things are always under consideration. We're very happy in this area."

Gateway draws Esävio
A corporate merger has led to a 54,000-square-foot network operating center in the Gateway area. Devon, Pa.-based EsŠvio Corporation earlier in the year opened a 54,000-square-foot facility. "We acquired Myriad here," says Joseph LaHurd, a company vice president. "We acquired their intellectual capital and created the network operating center from the roots Myriad had in the market place."

Esävio handles the outsourcing of "discrete information technology tasks," LaHurd says. "We can go into a company and take over management and monitoring of its IT business by managing an application, database, network, servers or firewalls. It's all done remotely.

"We opened the network operating center in January," says LaHurd. "All our remote management and monitoring is done here in St. Petersburg."

About 50 employees, all technically skilled, work at Esävio's Gateway center. "We have fantastic access to a talent pool and hope to be growing that soon," LaHurd says. "We're bringing on two Florida-based customers."

While Esävio works to tap its potential of new business in this area, the City of St. Petersburg is in the midst of deciding how best to maximize the potential of 122 undeveloped acres, commonly known as the sod farm, at Interstate 275 and Gandy Boulevard. It has received at least three proposals in response to its request for development. Grady Pridgen Inc. has submitted plans for a high-tech business park; Fred Thomas, founder of Pinch-A-Penny Inc. and former Clearwater city commissioner, would like to relocate the pool company's corporate headquarters to that site; and Pinellas County plans to extend its landfill at that site.

"This is the last great piece of industrial land in the Gateway area," says Grady Pridgen. "It has 50 acres net land with a huge lake that fronts on the Interstate. It would make a beautiful business park. I hope that St. Petersburg will not allow their last piece of business park space with Interstate frontage to be used for an ash dump."

The city is currently reviewing the proposals and has not yet selected a developer. "We want to see economic growth out of that parcel," says Ron Barton, the city's director of economic development.

If you build them ...
But Pridgen isn't waiting for a response from city officials to move forward with developing additional business park space. Earlier in the year he acquired Metropointe Office Park, which is adjacent to his previously developed Gateway Business Park. Combined, the two business parks have 1.5 million square feet of office space. Pridgen plans to add four buildings totaling 150,000 square feet to Metropointe park.

"We'll build them simultaneously," he says. "By the time we finish these buildings in the first quarter of next year, the economy will be recovering, and this space will hit the market just right. There's a lot of pent-up demand in the market place." Pridgen also plans to improve access to Metropointe. "We're building a new interchange at Gandy and 16th Street North," he says. "We'll realign the frontage road and build a new entrance."

While Pridgen is pursuing these objectives, Echelon Commercial LLC is fine tuning its plans for further development at Carillon. "The 700 Carillon building is proposed for the main entrance at Roosevelt Boulevard and 28th Street and is a 150,000-square-foot Class A office building," says Mark Stroud, the firm's vice president of real estate development. "We have one tenant signed and will break ground when we achieve 40-percent preleasing."

In addition, the developer is rethinking its plans for the Town Center project. That 18.8 acres at Carillon was originally planned as an entertainment and retail complex similar to downtown's BayWalk. The design also included 455,000 square feet of office space.

"It's a work in progress," says Julio Maggi, vice president of commercial development at Echelon. "We'll shuffle those uses, put more emphasis on office space. We still have hotel, apartments and retail planned, just a lower density on those uses." Meanwhile, in the downtown central business district, Stroud and Maggi say they are not overly concerned about the office space that Progress Energy is vacating in the Bank of America Tower.

"Progress has about 90,000 square feet in the tower," Stroud says. "They have released 50,000 square feet. It's top-quality Class A corporate headquarters space. It's not space that will be sitting around very long."

The other buildings Echelon owns are "100-percent leased or close to that," adds Stroud. "That's the good news."

Gulf Atlantic Office Properties likewise is enjoying good news in its first year of leasing the 184,000-square-foot BayView office tower. "We are 75 percent occupied," says Derrick Jordan, the firm's property manager. "We're talking with two companies that are each interested in taking 30,000 square feet or more. If one of those companies moves into our building, we'd be 100 percent occupied."

Downtown residential
Across the street to the west, Echelon Commercial developed a new parking garage at McNulty Station two years ago. That project originally included plans for future development of office space. "We're not looking at office space over the garage today," Stroud says. "We're investigating a possible residential use."

That interest in residential has been driven by the success of the Cloisters and Florencia luxury condominiums that were built along the city's waterfront in the past two years. The 21-story, $30-million Florencia tower has received several awards from the 2000 Suncoast Parade of Homes and Southeast Building Conference. But even more pleasing to developer JMC Communities: all 50 homes have sold. "We're thrilled by the response of the community," says Steve McAuliffe, the developer's vice president of sales and marketing. "This is a tribute to the dynamic growth of downtown St. Petersburg."

The 14-story, $17-million Cloisters has 32 units, which have also been selling well, and not far away, Vinoy Place, the most recent offering of luxury residential that sits next to the ritzy Vinoy Resort. The first two phases of construction included two 14-story condominium towers and 10 city homes, a total of 52 units. The developer, Southeast Companies, also plans a third phase of construction, consisting of two additional condominium towers.

Developer Ian Irwin, who has been involved with Vinoy Place, is separately planning yet another high-rise condominium along Beach Drive, this time in partnership with Dan Harvey of Harvey's 4th Street Grill.

Orlando-based ZOM Development is adding another component of residential in the downtown area with the Madison, its $35-million, 277-unit luxury apartment building. "The luxurious condo offerings have been very successful," says Greg West, the firm's vice president of development. "We think this project will fill a service niche in downtown St. Petersburg.

"What makes downtown St. Petersburg attractive is that it's truly a downtown environment with the full complement of real estate uses," says West. "That creates a 24-hour environment. It's a lifestyle amenity."

Commercial real estate developer Grady Pridgen sees these luxury apartments as a welcome addition to downtown. "This project is exciting," he says. "A lot of people think it won't be successful because of its high rents. I think they'll rent as fast as they can fill them. It provides proximity to two hospitals, the University of South Florida and all the businesses downtown. There are thousands of employees who would love to stay downtown, but there have been no opportunities. This will provide that opportunity."

Also looking to capitalize on the opportunity is Morris Development Group, a residential developing firm that recently relocated to St. Petersburg from Los Angeles. The company is currently scoping out locations downtown for a mixed-use high rise that could include 200 rental units. No definitive plans have been announced at this time.

Announcements have come, however, from ZOM Development and the Sembler Company, which earlier this year opened BayWalk. The two developers are uniting to redevelop the Dew Cadillac site south of Central Avenue. The $8.2-million retail component is designated University Village, which will include a 27,000-square-foot grocery store. "The grocery deal is on," says Craig Sher, Sembler's president.

"We're actively beginning the permitting process on that site. But it will take some time, because Dew Cadillac needs to move. It will be 12 to 18 months before we start construction." The speculation is that the grocery store will be a Publix, but Sher is not confirming it. "It will be a neighborhood shopping center with a grocery store and shops to serve the area," is all he'll say. "That attracts residents downtown." On that end, ZOM Development has submitted plans for 250 rental apartments at the site. "We're jointly submitting the site plan, but the ownership isn't mixed," says Sher.

While planning continues for University Village, Sembler is savoring the success of BayWalk, its 157,000-square-foot entertainment and retail complex. The Muvico theater, which features a children's playroom for parents who can't find a babysitter and on-line sale of movie tickets at its www.muvico.com Web site, has been well attended. "We knew there was a big hole in the market there," Sher says. "It consistently performs in the top one or two theaters in the Tampa Bay area. It's one of their best-performing theaters and they're pleased with it."

The developer is also pleased with the success of BayWalk's retail shops and restaurants. "They're doing better than we thought," says Sher. "It's a success story. These kinds of projects are new, and this is certainly new to us. This was a bit of an experiment and it's working out well. We take pride that it's in our home town and because of that we put special touches on it."

Starbucks and yogurt
The next series of special touches by the Sembler Company will take place at the mid-core garage. "Retail is going in the west side," Sher says. "Starbucks is opening. Atlanta Bread Company and TCBY are coming also. We'll have more service tenants to serve downtown. It's exciting what's going on downtown."

It's evidently prosperous, too. The Pier is reporting record sales for the first half of the year. With revenues at $6.5 million, the retail center, which has shops, restaurants and an aquarium and a presence in the area for 74 years, is more than likely to top last year's record sales of $12.4 million. "We're very excited about all that is happening at the Pier," says William Griffith, general manager. "We have a great mix of local tenants with special merchandise that makes the Pier a unique destination."

And yet more retail may be on the way. Miami developer Tibor "Ted" Hollo has purchased a block at First Street North and Central Avenue for $4 million and is working on a concept of retail, office, hotel and residential space. Hollo developed Omni International Mall in Miami. He and Tampa Bay area developer Joel Aviram have formed Tropicana Partners LLC to develop the St. Petersburg property. They are currently conducting a study to determine the best use of the site.

The city is following suit with its 160 acres along the waterfront at the south side of downtown. Current venues on this land include Florida Power Park (Al Lang Stadium), the Bayfront Center, Albert E. Whitted Airport and the Port of St. Petersburg. "We're looking at how to maximize use of the land," says Ron Barton, the city's director of economic development. "We'll determine if we should continue to use the airport as an airport, the port as a port or convert them to other possible land uses.

"The City Council and administration have to have a basis to make a decision," Barton says. "The implications are significant. If policy decisions lead to a change of use, the development options are tremendous. We could equal last decade's growth of the city just within the impacts of that area. It's very residentially oriented."

Airport issue
A community-wide debate about the viability of Albert E. Whitted Airport has spilled over into the media. "Whatever the city officials decide is best will have an impact for generations," says Don Shea, executive director of the St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership Inc. "Careful consideration ought to be given to this issue. A powerful bit of logic says it is best to maintain it as an airport as an important part of the economic scene downtown. But another, also powerful, says that we could have a new mixed-use neighborhood downtown. A number of developers have drawn conceptual plans over the years of how to use that 160 acres."

Shea cites advantages of the current use of the land as an airport. "Two hundred rich guys with their airplanes isn't the whole story," he says. "There are a number of businesses downtown that depend on the airport. It has a flying school that keeps 1,000 members licensed with the Federal Aviation Administration and airport-based companies and freight handling services. And what are the emerging needs of the University of South Florida St. Petersburg? This campus is becoming a world-renowned resource with its marine science department. There's a shortage of commercial pilots. It can do something with air as well."

No matter what use is determined for that land along the waterfront, officials at the University of Florida St. Petersburg, believe they're in a win/win situation. "We see the airport as a resource," says Bill Heller, the university's campus executive officer and vice president. "In 1993 we developed a proposal for airport and port management training programs. They haven't been approved yet but the idea hasn't left the scene. If those uses remain, we see them as a resource. If they cease to be, we'd see it as a resource for additional land for expansion. We have 46 little acres here. But they've been a good neighbor. No matter what happens we come out good."

"Natural growth" led Raymond James Financial Inc. to plan a new $41-million, 300,000-square-foot fourth tower to add to its campus at Carillon office park.

Perhaps it's even better than good at USF's St. Petersburg campus. Last September it received designation as a four-year institution and the state legislature has granted it a greater level of autonomy. "This gives us control of our budget, curriculum, faculty and student admissions," Heller says.

"We've added depth in all our programs and built a biology and chemistry lab this year," says Heller. "When we received the four-year designation last September, we brought in 100 freshmen. Now we have 300 to 350 students in freshman and sophomore studies. We've also extended our partnership with St. Petersburg College for another year."

That relationship may be in place, but St. Petersburg College is taking steps to find its own space for students in the downtown area. "We're trying to build classrooms apart from USF St. Petersburg," says Carl Kuttler, president at St. Petersburg College. "We have a grant to put some in the Florida International Museum." If St. Petersburg College sounds unfamiliar, it's because during the summer it received its designation as a four-year college and dropped the "Junior" out of its official name.

Marine science
And while the schools fine tune their relationship, USF St. Petersburg's marine science center is advancing its relationship with U.S. Geological Survey, which is currently planning a 50,000-square-foot expansion of its facility to accommodate increased activities.

And a private company in the marine science industry has recently moved into an office with proximity to the campus. The Woods Hole Group, based in East Falmouth, Mass., last year opened an office to provide marine environmental consulting services. "We've been doing work in Florida for 15 years and wanted to expand that work," says Adam Kornick, the firm's science and operations manager.

Kornick sees the St. Petersburg office as a natural choice for its third location. "St. Petersburg has a marine hub with USF, the U.S.G.S. and the Florida Marine Research Institute," he says. "They're all located close to each other." There is another discipline emerging from USF's College of Marine Science.

In late September the university's Center for Ocean Technology was due to host a business conference to educate companies along the Florida High Tech Corridor about MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) technology its laboratory is developing.

Commercialization of technology from USF's MEMS labs is already under way with the formation of Intelligent Micro Patterning LLC. Researcher David Friese and his partner Jay N. Sasserath are marketing a maskless photolithography process that uses advanced micro-optical techniques to project images onto electronic substrates without the use of photomasks.

"We're spreading the gospel on this new technology," says Sasserath, the firm's chief executive officer. "It's technology that works in a niche market."

Sasserath cites advantages to working with the university to commercialize the technology. "This is the first spinoff out of the marine science department, I believe," he says. "One of the pleasures in dealing with USF is we get to go full steam ahead."

This type of collaboration marks what Shea sees as a civic pride in the community. "The average St. Petersburg citizen has a sense of how important a healthy downtown is to the picture," he says. "Its civic pride is a real advantage for downtown St. Petersburg."