Transforming Ideas Into Innovation in St. Petersburg, Florida – St Pete EDC
On January 1, 1914, pilot Tony Jannus took the first commercial air flight in the world. The 23-minute flight took place between St. Petersburg and Tampa, with Jannus in a two-seater plane carrying a former mayor of St. Petersburg who had won an auction for the privilege of being the first passenger.
The St. Petersburg Area Economic Development Corporation plays a major role in fostering opportunities for growth and success. The St. Pete EDC is a private-public partnership that helps innovative companies discover and explore the area for relocation or expansion. It assists in finding available office space, attracting talent, securing funding, navigating incentives, developing a workforce, discovering educational opportunities and working with local governments.
Spontivly is an analytics company that helps communities measure their growth, engagement and impact. It was started three years ago, and recently relocated to the St. Petersburg area from Canada.
Growing Greens in an Urban World
The St. Pete EDC helped Brick Street Farms, a sustainable farm in St. Petersburg, which started in 2016 with just a couple of shipping containers.
Brick Street Farms’ head of business development, Madeline McNaughton, said a big part of the farm’s success has been the support it receives from the St. Pete EDC, as well as city officials and the community.
Brick Street Farms uses hydroponic shipping containers to grow 66 acres worth of greens on 0.24 acres of land. It is located within urban St. Pete and does not use traditional mass transportation or distribution channels to deliver its product. It is also a pioneer in water reuse and generation by gathering rainwater, as well as the condensation generated by its equipment. These innovative practices enable Brick Street Farms to provide customers with fresh and fully nutritious greens.
McNaughton said the EDC has also helped connect Brick Street Farms’ innovation throughout the community and supported the idea of residents being able to buy and support local products.
“We’re proud to be part of the St. Pete community, and we’re excited for the future,” said McNaughton.
This post is excerpted from article by Celia Goodyear that originally appeared in Guide to Greater Tampa Bay.