March 16, 2011 On Tuesday, March 15th, the Ocala City Council unanimously voted to move forward with the due diligence portion of the American Fresh Farms, LLC project. AFF will capitalize on Florida’s exceptional climate, transportation system, and infrastructure by introducing cutting-edge Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) technology to the state. The company plans to produce premium greenhouse vegetables for regional distribution and sees the potential of creating a new horticultural industry in Ocala/Marion County.
The EDC and City of Ocala staff members have been working diligently with AFF to learn more about the economic benefits this will bring to our community. Aside from job creation, capital investment, and the initial construction impact, this project holds a great deal of potential for local packaging, plastics and trucking companies. With a capital investment of $28 million, AFF will construct a 1.65 million square-foot Dutch-style glass house and create 90 high wage jobs. Congressman Cliff Stearns, Governor Rick Scott, Representative Dennis Baxley and Senator Evelyn Lynn are helping us with federal and state grants and incentive programs. We are also working very closely with the Marion County Commission as well. We applaud City staff members for the hard work they have invested to date. These types of projects are not considered quickly or without a great deal of research on the front end. There is still much work to be done, but the possibilities are exciting.
This month we participated in the Grand Opening Ceremonies for Signature Brands, LLC and Rasmussen College. We are encouraged by the progress we are making towards improving our economy and look forward to helping new and expanding businesses create jobs in our community. If there is any way we may assist you with your expansion plans, please do not hesitate to call!
Best Regards, 
Pete Tesch
President/CEO
 |  | With a 4-0 vote, Ocala City Council members instructed City staff to proceed with the next steps for American Fresh Farms, LLC to locate four hydroponic glass greenhouses to introduce the emerging technology of Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) to the southeast. The Ocala Business Park at Ocala International Airport (OBP) is being considered as the location for this exciting venture.
The vote by Council enables the City staff and EDC to take the project through the Financial Review Committee process to conduct further due diligence on the project, and Marc Mondell, Executive Director of Municipal Development, will also meet with FAA officials this week to learn more about land purchase/lease options. The AFF presentation delivered to City Council is available for you to view.
Phase one project highlights:- 90 permanent jobs with average annual salary of $31,630.00
- Approximately 500 construction jobs
- 1,635,500 square-foot building
- Projected $28 million capital investment
- Projected taxes and utility revenues of $449,593.10
- Collaborative project with the University of Florida
|  |  | | Signature Brands, LLC hosted a grand opening ceremony at its new 207,000 square-foot popcorn production and distribution facility on March 2nd. The new facility, as a whole, represents a $15 million investment and 91 new jobs for our community. Signature Brands received economic incentive funds to assist with the project from the State of Florida, Marion County and the City of Ocala with the assistance of the EDC. |  | The Hero Group out of Lenzburg, Switzerland, purchased Signature Brands in 1987. Dr. Arend Oetker, owner of Hero, and Stefan Heidenreich, CEO of The Hero Group, along with Jim Schneider, President/CEO of Hero North America and Signature Brands, LLC, attended the grand-opening celebration and the EDC Quarterly Luncheon in the afternoon. As guest speaker, Dr. Oetker shared his appreciation of this community with the EDC investors. Pointing to the EDC’s banner with the motto Great for Business...Great for Life, he said, “That is what is important. When you create wealth with your business, you improve your community...With the spirit of giving back, you will earn more.” | | Learn more about the Signature Brands, LLC expansion through the company's media release. |  | The EDC was pleased to assist Rasmussen College with a project to expand its local footprint to their SW College Road campus located near West Marion Community Hospital. “This public/private partnership was slated to create 20 jobs at an average wage of around $36,000 a year,” said EDC President/CEO Pete Tesch. “According to Rasmussen officials, they have exceeded both job and salary numbers by significant margins. This is a win-win investment for our community and the college, but more importantly for the students who will benefit most from a great education.” |  | “We are very excited to unveil our new facility to the community,” said Rasmussen College Ocala Campus Director Pete Beasley. “I want to thank the Ocala City Council, Marion County Commission and the EDC staff who worked with us to make this possible.” The new Ocala campus computer lab features Alienware high- performance custom gaming PCs, as well as a complete Windows server room setup for students interested in IT networking careers. Also, numerous Mac computers afford digital design students the industry-standard tools they need to explore the high-end design and art/creative side of the IT spectrum. |
 | The College of Central Florida, CF Institute, Workforce Connection and the EDC invite you to attend an informational session to learn how to apply for and obtain Quick Training Response, Incumbent Worker, and Worker Training Grants. The session is FREE and open to for-profit companies in Citrus, Levy and Marion Counties. We urge you to take advantage of this session. There are State and local training dollars available for your company right now.
Thursday, April 7, 2011, 8-11 a.m., Ewers Century Center, Room 107
CF Ocala Campus, 3001 SW College Road.
Register now at 352-873-5804 or Trebilcock@cf.edu. |
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