The Place to Be
by Bob Andelmanr

EVERY YEAR, ANOTHER WAVE OF COMPANIES SEES THE light and relocates to Hillsborough County. Literally. Many find themselves in Tampa on business or family matters and can’t help but notice the sun shines longer here than it does back home. The sun rises earlier, sets later and beckons them to stick around and enjoy life while they can. This year, that natural entreaty successfully beckoned San Francisco-based Liquidmetal, Stamford, CT-based Gearbulk, and Bethesda, MD-based Pierce, Hamilton & Stern.

All listened as their inner clocks sent a simple message: Life’s too short.

HALLS OF JUSTICE Jan Majewski (right), will head the new Stetson Law Center campus in Tampa; Darby Dickerson is interim dean of Stetson University College of Law.

“A couple of years ago,” says Stephen Sobota, CEO of Pierce, Hamilton & Stern, “we hired an executive who lived in Tampa. We moved him to Bethesda, where our office had been for 20 years. Even so, he continued espousing the benefits of Tampa, the lower cost of labor, of rents, and of living in general. And we had another sales exec that lived there for 15 years. He confirmed that, as did a consultant we knew who had an office in Virginia and opened a big office in Tampa.

“Based on all that, and a commitment we originally made to the executive that we would open an office in Tampa, we moved our timeframe up. We were full in Bethesda and said, ‘Why are we paying this outrageous amount of money only to be moving?’”

Pierce, Hamilton & Stern maintains a large presence in Maryland, but Tampa will eventually be its main office. It already has more space here than there. Sobota says his collection agency will create 150 new jobs in Tampa in the coming years. “The plan is to hire a better employee here for less money,” Sobota says. “Our Tampa exec complained in Maryland that he was paying a third more for a lower quality employee. It also didn’t hurt that I always wanted to live in a nicer climate. I love it here. No traffic, the weather is great. Sunny every day. The restaurants are great. Ybor City is really cool. Everything is so convenient… The rent we’re paying here is half what we were paying in Bethesda. And we have a good deal in Bethesda.”

SOON TO JOIN THESE new corporations in Tampa is a law school. Not to imply that Tampa was lawless before, but the impending arrival of a Stetson University School of Law campus should go a long way toward ensuring order for several years to come.

The law school, based across the bay in Gulfport (near St. Petersburg), recognized the demand for expanding legal education opportunities in Tampa. The new 73,500-square-foot Stetson Law Center under construction downtown at 1700 N. Tampa Street will house classrooms, a state-of-the-art courtroom and a full law library. It will also be home to the Florida Second District Court of Appeal.

“Tampa is the larger of the two legal markets in the bay area,” says Stetson’s Interim Dean Darby Dickerson. “We already had ties in that area, but this building gives us the opportunity to strengthen them.”

MONTU MADNESS The inverted rollercoaster at Busch Gardens in Tampa delights thrill seekers.

Coming to Tampa extends the Stetson brand name in ways that its existing campus never could, thanks to the presence of the Second District Court. “It certainly complemented what we wanted, which was more than a law school,” Dickerson says.

Adding to the legal heft already underway at the site is the recent acquisition of an adjacent parcel of land by the Hillsborough County Bar Association for a new, expanded office building.

Stetson saw the need for part-time legal education in this part of Florida, Dickerson says. “(Prospective students) in Tampa had no opportunity to attend law school full time. We thought this type of offering would fit with our mission.”

The Stetson Law Center will be completed in December, at which time the court will move in. The first classes will start in January 2004.

Gearing Up for Tampa
The U.S. office of Esher, England-based Gearbulk (www.gearbulk.com) relocated to Tampa for simple geographic reasons: living in Tampa puts it closer to its customers.

“We do business in the South Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico,” says Chris Sheils, general manager of Gearbulk’s U.S. office. “We’re a shipping company that trades worldwide. With operations from Port Arthur, Texas, to Wilmington, Delaware, one could say we always should have been here.” Gearbulk operates the world’s largest fleet of open hatch gantry craned vessels, specifically designed and equipped to transport unitized cargoes such as forest products and nonferrous metals.

The greatest concentration of Gearbulk’s customers is in South Florida. “It’s easier for us to get to the ports from Tampa – and we can do it more frequently,” Sheils says. “It also offers more and better access to the majority of our customers. We’re going to see them more, and be one-on-one more, than we’ve been able in the past.”

In addition to its Port of Tampa operations, Gearbulk also operates a 100,000-square-foot shed at nearby Port Manatee with another 140,000-square-foot shed coming online there by year’s end.

“We looked at Georgia, Texas and Florida,” Sheils says. “Florida is a better spot for us. It’s a little more central to the East Coast or Gulf of Mexico vs. Savannah or Brunswick, GA. And there is a very good airport here.”

Gearbulk consisted of 10 people in Stamford. Of those 10, six made the move to Tampa. The company has hired four people from the local market with intentions of hiring a few more.

“The Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce has been very supportive,” Sheils says. “I’ve found them to be refreshingly supportive. Everyone has been professional.”

Wall Street South?
One thing that has changed for Tampa is the cities against which it competes. Ten years ago, it was Tampa against St. Petersburg or Orlando. Today, it’s Tampa taking on Charlotte, Atlanta and Dallas – and winning.

“We’re also competing on a global basis today,” says Robin Ronne, senior vice president of economic development for the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce Committee of 100.“You have to be a world-class community to compete for world-class economic development projects. That fuels the initiatives we undertake. Business functions that were down here in the past may have included regional or statewide banking. Now JPMorgan Chase electronically clears $2 trillion a year not out of New York City, but out of Tampa, FL. For us to provide the telecommunications infrastructure here for those business units to succeed is testament – Tampa is Wall Street South.”

Some may think ‘Wall Street South’ is far-fetched, but not Enterprise Florida. The state’s economic development organization has tapped Irv Cohen, president of JPMorgan Chase Treasury and Security Services in Tampa, to chair what is called the Florida Financial Services Cluster Initiative, a new public- and private-sector effort to grow the state’s financial services industry. Part of that initiative is to develop the ‘Wall Street South’ brand not only for Tampa but also for the state.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, this sector employs more than 300,000 Floridians at an average annual wage of nearly $46,000. Many of those firms are located in Hillsborough, including Citigroup, MetLife, Capital One, Bank of America, USAA and JPMorgan Chase.

“In order for Florida’s financial services industry to enjoy continued growth,” Cohen says, “we must work together to ensure that our state’s workforce, infrastructure and business climate remain competitive.”

Gene Marshall is a senior vice president and Tampa retail center manager for JPMorgan Chase, which has not one but two expanding campuses in Hillsborough. The Westshore campus for Chase Financial Services houses retail operations for the firm’s credit card, auto finance and retirement investment center. JPMorgan Chase’s Treasury and Security Services is on the east side of the county in the Highland Oaks corporate park.

“The global cash management division at Highland Oaks deals with about 90 percent of the Fortune 1000 companies around the world,” Marshall says. “We do electronic funds on behalf of those companies and provide them with cash management products as well. It is a best-in-class facility for those services.”

JPMORGAN CHASE moved that operation – and its jobs – from Manhattan to Hillsborough County in 2001.

“The reason, quite frankly,” Marshall says, “is that the retail side has been in Tampa since the mid-1980s. Through various moves, we built it to 3,400 jobs. We have had an excellent experience here both from real estate and a lower cost accommodation. And with tech the way it is, there was no reason we had to be in New York.

“Second, we found excellent employees, a great workforce. The area provides a number of amenities for our staff. The airport is one of the best in the country, five minutes from the retail center. It continues to be one of the premier locations for JPMorgan Chase. When we found out Chase wanted to move more stuff out of New York, I didn’t think it was a big stretch to say, ‘I think we can do this here, too.’”

Between the two campuses, JPMorgan Chase now has 5,500 employees in Hillsborough. Many of those workers were nurtured locally through educational partnerships with USF, University of Tampa and Hillsborough Community College. The schools train future employees to the company’s needs and the company, in turn, provides internships. It also has an on-campus training program with the University of Tampa.

Marshall says that with so many financial powerhouses setting up house in Tampa it makes it easier to attract out-of-town talent. “People often move around once they’re here,” he says. “When they see the diversity of jobs in one place, they’re attracted to this area.”

Compensation is also higher for jobs at JPMorgan Chase than the comparable average in Tampa. “When you add benefits– and we may have the best package in town – we have no problem attracting the workforce.”

There’s no reason to think Tampa has seen its last JPMorgan Chase relocation, either. “It is likely that more stuff will move out of New York,” Marshall says. “And with the experience we’ve had in Tampa, I would say yes, it is likely. We’ve done really well.”

Ronne – who has been on the job for 13 years – says his focus has always been on developing long-term relationships. He works with prospective client companies on the front end to bring in an entry-level division. He continues the relationship to make sure they’re successful.

“Then we work with their corporate headquarters to look for other opportunities to bring in other business opportunities,” Ronne says. “If you look at Hillsborough County’s corporate campuses, we direct our clients into those areas that have vested entitlement rights so they can expand when they want. We don’t have a lot of dollars to spend on marketing. So we work with our existing client base. If they expand, that’s the best testament we can have.”

Other recent relocation, expansion and new construction news includes:

• Horizon Bay Management LLC, which owns and operates 4,000 units of senior housing in Florida, moved its corporate headquarters from Chicago to Tampa. A dozen senior executives relocated and two dozen more employees were hired locally.

• Lear Corporation announced the addition of 137 new jobs in its automotive component manufacturing.

• Computer Associates moved its national center for IT tech support, creating 386 new jobs.

• Citigroup expanded its customer service for credit cards division, which will eventually hire 500 to 700 new employees.

• Coca-Cola Enterprises, the bottling and distribution arm for the soft drink company, opened a third business services operation in the county, its 410-job North American Customer Development Center. Last year, its Accounting Shared Services division relocated here and brought with it 700 jobs. CCE also has a bottling operation in Tampa.

• Liquidmetal Technologies – a high-tech firm that handles research, development and commercialization of amorphous metals – relocated its corporate headquarters from San Francisco to Tampa, bringing with it 110 jobs.

• The $100-million Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino is on schedule to open next spring. It is expected to eventually add 2,500 new jobs.

• H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute at the University of South Florida (USF) is near completion of a $186- million expansion.

• Tampa General Hospital is planning a $103-million expansion, including a new emergency center.

• St. Joseph’s Women’s Hospital is building a $7-million office tower.

• Clear Channel Entertainment will build and operate a 20,000-seat amphitheater on the 319-acre Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa.

• The downtown intersection of Interstates 275 and 4 is undergoing a four-year, $80-mil-lion upgrade that will add lanes and simplify movement.

From 1991 to 2001, the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce Committee of 100 produced one-third of Hillsborough’s net new jobs. Total capital investments from Committee of 100 projects from just 1997 to 2001 are estimated at $1.9 billion.

“The ongoing maturity and upward mobility of Hillsborough County is focused on the incredible assets we have in place – the airport, the ports, the corporate parks, the infrastructure – and maximizing those assets,” Ronne says. “It’s no longer just about growth for growth’s sake but quality growth. If you go back in time, the quality issue was talked about but not focused on. As we continue to mature, we realize we don’t have to be everything to everybody. We can afford to focus.”

The telecommunications infrastructure put in place by GTE (now Verizon) in the 1970s and ’80s is the difference between the community being in the 20th century and the 21st century, says Bruce Register, corporate business development manager of the Economic Development Department for Hillsborough County. “IT’S STATE-OF-THE-ART and coveted,” Register says. “We probably have the strongest telecom infrastructure in the state. And companies have found out we have that good infrastructure.”

Ronne says that the political and corporate leadership in Tampa and Hillsborough also deserves credit for its foresight in laying the groundwork for the successful community that exists today.

“There was a grasp by the leadership that took us where we are today,” Ronne says. “Look around and you’ll see the quality of our development, and the quality of life we enjoy. It’s no wonder people are willing to relocate their businesses and expand to this marketplace.”

By Air …
Louis Miller may not have the cushiest job in Hillsborough County, but the world’s travelers think he comes to work in one of the cushiest places around.

For the third year in a row, a J.D. Power customer satisfaction survey ranked Tampa International Airport as the No. 1 airport in the United States. Condé Nast Traveler magazine readers concurred, naming TIA No. 1 in the U.S. and No. 3 in the world.

As executive director of the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority, Miller gets the message.

“It pays to service your customer,” he says. “We’re honored that customers would rate us so high. I think people really appreciate what we offer. I talk to civic groups and they recognize what a valuable asset they have here.”

Not that Miller will allow the airport to sit back and let dust accumulate on its laurels. Airside “E” opened last October; a contractor was recently selected to build a replacement for Airside “C.” When the $130-million facility opens in May 2005, it will be TIA’s largest airside with 16 gates.

Another huge project in the offing, to the tune of $120 million, is a new outbound baggage system. It will take passenger bags from ticket counter or curbside, all the way to their departing airside facility. On their way out to the airside, bags will go through TIA’s 24 new explosive detection devices.

By Sea …
George Williamson has been on the job as port director at the Port of Tampa for less than five years. But in that time it has become a place his predecessors would hardly recognize. For example, isn’t that John Travolta’s new movie, The Punisher, filming pyrotechnic explosions outside Williamson’s window? “They’re at Terminal 6,” Williamson says. “It’s been fun to watch.”

A number of exciting projects have taken shape on his watch, some industrial, some international, some commercial, some consumer-oriented.

“And all for the good,” Williamson says. “A number have to do with development and diversification, our two buzz words. Look at Channelside and the five restaurant deals we did there. The condo deal we’re about to do (now completed). The whole area has changed. It’s not where it needs to be yet, but it’s a long way from where it was five years ago.”

Diversification has been the order of the day for the last 1,500 or so days at the Port of Tampa. For years and years its primary business has been phosphate and fertilizer. And those two products still account for nearly 90 percent of all business.

“Clearly,” Williamson says, “we want to diversify our base. That’s why we’re looking toward Mexico. They’re our No. 1 trading partner, fluctuating with China.”

One step toward expanding the port’s container business, for example, was its recent announcement that Seattle-based Stevedoring Service of America (SSA), the largest container handler in the U.S., would begin operations into Tampa.

“Right now, our container business is peanuts,” Williamson says. “We do 6,000 to 7,000 a year. But our market survey shows that we can do between 250,000 and 400,000 containers annually. We never invested in it before. It parallels our experience with cruise ships.”

A new web of roads built for handling truck traffic in and out of the port is expected to push business here into a new dimension. And funding has finally materialized to build a connector road between Interstate 4 and the Lee Roy Selmon Expressway. It will get trucks into and out of the port more quickly.

Speaking of traffic, the increase in cruise ships to the port is forcing it to advance a new dredging project for the waterways.

“This is the busiest waterway in Florida,” Williamson says. “We’re working with the federal government to get another passing lane cut. We hope to get it accomplished by the end of the decade. And that’s lightning speed for dredging.”

Not surprisingly, port income has increased from $19 million annually to $30 million under Williamson. But he says that every spare penny has been poured into security since 9/11. “We’ll ultimately spend $26 million to $28 million on hard security costs,” says Williamson.

One of the most eagerly anticipated development projects at the rapidly changing Port of Tampa is a 290,000-square-foot wharf and rail-served distribution center in Port Ybor. Expected to break ground in September, it represents the first phase in a mixed-use project planned for a total of approximately 600,000 square feet.

“It’s a unique intermodal play that we’re doing in partnership with the Port of Tampa,” says Bob Abberger, managing director of Florida development services for Trammell Crow. “We believe the port is in a great place of demand for next year.”