New 'DEAL' Aims At Luring Businesses To Manatee, Sarasota

LAKEWOOD RANCH -- The State College of Florida and two partners are teaming up in an effort to build a "one-stop" center meant to lure new businesses to the area.

SCF, in collaboration with local developer Schroeder-Manatee Ranch Inc. and the Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice, unveiled plans Tuesday for a joint venture called the Design & Economic Acceleration Lab -- or DEAL -- to be built on about 360 acres in Lakewood Ranch, just off of University Parkway along the Manatee-Sarasota county line.

The goal of DEAL, organizers said, is to not only create and expand jobs in the two counties, but also train an educated workforce to fill those positions through the affiliation with SCF.

"It's about businesses and jobs, and bringing a higher degree of higher education to this region," said Ron Allen, chairman of the SCF board of trustees and owner of a Bradenton-based construction company.

The first phase of the project is a $14.2 million, 72,000-square-foot design laboratory, described as a "business design, planning and acceleration center." The building will include space for economic development offices from the two-county area, SCF administrative staff and representatives of CareerEdge and other private-public partnerships focused on small business and job creation.

Manatee County Administrator Ed Hunzeker said the county has no economic stake in the project, but that the Board of County Commissioners is interested in helping accelerate local job creation. Several commissioners, as well as representatives from both counties' economic development councils, attended Tuesday's news conference, held under a large tent at the end of University Parkway on a large tract of land designated for future DEAL expansion.

"It is a bold new step," said County Commissioner John Chappie. "It's a whole new way of looking at developing your economy and helping businesses develop in your region."

Florida Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll was on hand and lauded the use of private funding to help achieve Gov. Rick Scott's goal of creating new jobs in the state.

"This is a way for us to really think outside the Capitol, think outside the box, think outside our comfort zone," Carroll said.

The idea for the project sprung up only eight to 10 weeks ago, according to SCF President Lars Hafner, and was a reaction to seeing Hillsborough and Pinellas counties work effectively toward economic development.

Hafner said the funding will largely come from bonding money, as well as from other foundations, and the project is expected to be completed within 18 months.

Several elected officials -- among them State Sens. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton and Nancy Detert, R-Venice; and House Reps. Greg Steube, R-Bradenton and Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton -- offered kudos to DEAL's developers.

“This regional partnership makes good business sense to me, both as a businessman and as an elected official whose top priority is jobs and the economy,” said U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Sarasota, in a statement read by Hafner.

Bennett said as a Sarasota native now living in Manatee County, he was glad to see the two-county area working together.

"We do not need our economic development people competing against each other," Bennett said. "We need them competing with each other. And that's exactly what this is going to bring forward. We are joined at the hip. Let's make sure we are joined here in business."