Innovation Zone

    SPOTLIGHT

    Ave Maria, a Barron Collier master-planned community in eastern Collier County, was first conceptualized in the mid-2000s. Almost two decades later, more than 4,600 of its 11,000 homes are now completed. The community adds as many as 500 units a year alongside commercial businesses and amenities, all based around Ave Maria University and the town’s landmark church.

    In 2015, the community created its Innovation District — a 200-acre county zone designed to promote development and diversify the local economy. The district is already home to a manufacturing facility for medical device company Arthrex. It’s now welcoming a new addition: a manufacturing facility for Dialum, a Chilean glass company.

    The business will offer up to 100 jobs within its 90,000-sq.-ft. facility, which should be up and running in about a year. Tax revenue from the Innovation District goes back to the community and toward further growth of the zone.

    “Here’s a clean industry,” says Nick Casalanguida, Barron Collier’s senior vice president of development, noting the manufacturing company’s sustainable manufacturing practices and water and energy usage. “We’re excited to get them on board and for them to take advantage of the Innovation Zone.”

    HOUSING

    • Blue Skies Communities has opened its $27-million Swan Landing property in Lakeland, offering 88 apartments and amenities for families making 30% to 80% less than the area’s median income. The developer also opened its nearby $23-million Swan Lake Village property, which sports 84 units for residents making 40% to 60% of the area’s median income. Forty-two of the units are reserved for people with disabilities. Mize and Sefair Development have received county approval for Mia Bella Palmetto, a planned community of 30 single-family homes built as rentals on a 10-acre plot in Palmetto. The project is expected to be completed in the latter half of 2025.

    TRANSPORTATION

    • After a recent land swap, Pinellas County officials are expected to break ground on a public transportation center in downtown Clearwater by fall 2025. The $45-million transit hub will include bus bays, bicycle and scooter storage, ridesharing connections, electric vehicle charging stations and solar panels. It’s expected to be completed in 2026. Allegiant Air has launched a twice-a-week nonstop flight from St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport to Bismarck, N.D.

    NONPROFITS

    • The Guadalupe Center Resource Hub, a storage and distribution center for families in need in Immokalee, has opened. It houses donations like books and school supplies, hygiene products, non-perishable food, furniture and clothing. The 3,200-sq.-ft. warehouse was purchased by the nonprofit Guadalupe Center with a $300,000 grant from the Collier Community Foundation.

    HEALTH CARE

    • A 20,000-sq.-ft. AdventHealth ER has opened in Winter Haven. The $37-million facility houses 24 exam rooms, including a resuscitation room and a bariatric room, along with two triage rooms. The ER marks the first phase of development on the 42-acre site, which includes space for a full-service hospital and medical office building.

    RESTAURANTS

    • Vicky Bakery, a Miami-based Cuban pastry shop, has opened its first location in Southwest Florida in Collier County’s Ave Maria community. The family-owned business already has more than 25 locations throughout the state.
    • Ten Rooms has opened in Ybor City’s historic El Centro Español de Tampa. The establishment is described as a multifunctional space featuring a fine dining restaurant, a cocktail bar, a cafe and a retail shop.

    EDUCATION

    • AdventHealth University is now leasing a 15,000-sq.-ft. spot in Tampa’s Hidden River Corporate Park to expand its nursing classes. At full capacity, it will enroll 137 students working on associate of science in nursing degrees. Classes are expected to begin by January.

    INSURANCE

    • The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation has issued Tampa-based Heritage Insurance — one of the state’s largest homeowners insurance companies — a $1 million fine after Hurricane Ian struck Southwest Florida in 2022. According to regulators, the company was slow to respond to claims, slow to pay claims, used improperly licensed adjusters and kept poor records following the Category 4 storm. Heritage Insurance has agreed to pay the fine.

    NATURAL RESOURCES

    • The city of Sarasota has begun the second phase of bolstering its canopy coverage along Ringling Boulevard using data from a tree survey. The initiative is made possible with $55,000 of funding from a U.S. Department of Agriculture urban forestry grant. Upon completion, the project will increase the boulevard’s canopy coverage from 12% to 24% over 10 years. Sarasota will receive $250,000 in federal funding to develop a community wildfire protection plan and remove overgrown vegetation. The city is one of 158 in the country that were granted funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Community Wildfire Defense Grant program to reduce wildfire risks.