Sumter County Economic Development

Sumter County Economic Development is proud to be one of the sponsors of the 2nd Annual Workforce Summit on Thursday, October 24th, at First Baptist Church of Wildwood! Join us at 402 Oxford St, Wildwood, FL, to strengthen and elevate your workforce. Learn about valuable resources to help you recruit, train, upskill, and retain your team. Employers will have the opportunity to connect with local representatives in education, workforce, and business. Don’t miss this chance to grow your business by empowering your workforce! #WorkforceDevelopment #SumterCountyFL #EconomicDevelopment #Leadership #BusinessGrowth #WorkforceSummit

Public Workshop Announcement: Sumter County Land Development Code Update Earlier this year, Inspire Placemaking Collective, Inc. was tasked with updating Sumter County's Land Development Code. After gathering valuable input from stakeholders, we're excited to share the first draft of the updated code with the community! Date: Wednesday, August 28 Time: 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM Workshop Location: Wildwood Community Center, 6500 Powell Rd., Wildwood, FL 34785 Join us for a public workshop to review the draft and share your thoughts. We’d love to see you there! Please help us spread the word by inviting others who might be interested. Please visit the project website to learn more about the project: https://lnkd.in/ePKNTsmj

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Charter Communications hosts Back-to-School Broadband Town Hall

The Florida Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at the University of Central Florida (UCF) offers no-cost, one-on-one professional business consulting, value-added training, and business information resources for interested clients. Sumter County Economic Development is proud to support the Sumter County SBDC office. In this episode of Around Sumter with the Chairman, we feature the SBDC office located in Sumter County. Jaime Mead, SBDC Area Manager, explains the confidential and customized consulting services they provide in areas such as business planning, financial analysis, sales/marketing, and many others. In addition, they conduct training seminars and workshops covering the basics of starting a business, marketing, financing, legal issues, and writing a business plan. The SBDC in Sumter County is located in Suite 141 of The Villages Sumter County Service Center at 7375 Powell Road, Wildwood, FL 34785. You can also contact her for more information about the services offered by calling 352-689-4698 or visit https://lnkd.in/eJWm99ag. https://lnkd.in/emPY9cZt

U.S. Census names Wildwood-The Villages, FL as the fastest growing metro area for the working age population (15-64) by percent change 19.1% https://lnkd.in/gUSz-hD5

Pike 75 Logistics Center, a strategic transportation regional distribution center totaling over 245± acres, is located in Sumter County at the apex of Central Florida’s transportation hub. It is located on State Road 44, near the Florida’s Turnpike/Interstate 75 intersection and US Highway 301. Orlando, Tampa, and Gainesville are all within approximately 60 minutes of the property. https://lnkd.in/eUHfVJQE

In the latest edition of Around Sumter with the Chairman, Sumter County Chairman Craig Estep talks with Ricardo Reyes, executive vice president of global manufacturing, quality, research and development for Heartland Food Products Group, regarding why they chose Sumter County for their beautiful farm. Sumter County proved to be a great location for the Splenda Stevia Farm and shows the County to be an excellent place for any manufacturing, distribution or agricultural business. This location is the first-ever fully integrated U.S.-based Stevia Farm, and we are pleased that Sumter County was their top choice. Not only is the Stevia Farm used to grow their product, but there are farm animals, birdhouses, and other environmentally friendly additions to make the Stevia Farm special. https://lnkd.in/eR2BYQKi

Sumter County Commissioners and local businesses joined together on Wednesday, June 5, for the official ribbon cutting of Industrial Park Drive. A partnership with the Florida Department of Commerce and Governor Ron DeSantis’ $6 million Florida Job Growth Grant enabled the work on Industrial Park Drive, which cost $6,950,000. The project expanded a 1.5-mile stretch of Industrial Park Drive from North U.S. 301 to CR 514 as the road was widened from the existing two-lane paved asphalt road to a four-lane paved asphalt road. The widening is instrumental to the economic vitality and increased traffic flow serving the Governor Rick Scott Industrial Park, the future Monarch Ranch Industrial property and connectivity with the Representative Marlene O’Toole Industrial Park. The Board of County Commissioners awarded the Industrial Park Drive project to C.W. Roberts Construction Inc. on June 5, 2023. Construction, including work within the CSX right-of-way, concluded on April 23, 2024. Project improvements include adding a raised median, adding turn lanes, adding two additional travel lanes, installing stormwater pipes and structures, creating a drainage retention pond, installing signs and pavement markings, milling and resurfacing, installing curbs and gutters, and conducting earthwork. The project also consisted of work within CSX’s right-of-way and to open a new railroad crossing along with the demolition of the old crossing. The U.S. 301 improvements include a new southbound right-turn lane and a northbound center left-turn lane. Representatives from RoMac, DZ Corp., The Villages Daily Sun, PJ Sola LLC, Kimley-Horn along with Coleman City Council member Jim Sears, State Rep. John Temple, Sumter County Commissioners Craig Estep, Andrew Bilardello, Oren Miller and Congressman Daniel Webster’s office also attended the ribbon cutting event.

A disaster of any size could have an impact on your business. Taking the steps to build a business disaster continuity plan and encourage your employees to create a family emergency plan can reduce the impact on your business. It is important to consider how a disaster could affect your employees, customers and workplace. How would you manage your business if access to the workplace is limited by roads closures, streets are impassable, or communication is limited? Learn more here https://lnkd.in/gYrfh8i