The Tampa Bay real estate market has been surviving the effects of the country’s economic difficulties with continued expansion activities in the business and education sectors.
The Tampa Bay metro area, comprised of eight counties along Florida’s west coast with more than four million residents, is the 19th largest in the country. Its major city, Tampa, is home to the Port of Tampa, the largest deepwater port in the country, and the top-rated Tampa International Airport and the Union Station rail network.
Here are some of the business activities creating positive ripples in the Tampa Bay real estate sector:
Tampa Electric Offers Solar Panel Rebates
Customers of Tampa Electric Co. (TECO) can apply for rebates on new solar systems they have installed in their homes. There are two rebate types: rebates of up to $1,000 for homeowners who have installed new solar water heaters, and rebates of up to $20,000 for customers who have installed solar systems.
Rebates for approved homeowners will be paid in 2012. Customers can visit tampaelectric.com/solarrebates for details.
Tampa International Airport Launches New European Route
TIA CEO Joe Lopano got high scores for his accomplishments for the airport during his first nine months as CEO. Under his leadership, TIA created an incentive program for airlines that launch new routes to the West Coast and to other countries. In May this year, Edelweiss Air launched twice-a-week flights to Zurich, Switzerland, the first new European destination from TIA in 15 years.
KPMG Cites Tampa as Least Expensive Large City for Doing Business
KPMG announced that Tampa is the least-expensive large city for business among 22 of the country’s cities with more than two million residents, based on its study of 26 significant business costs including labor costs, office and industrial leasing costs and sales tax costs.
Tampa posted a cost index of 96, which means that business costs in Tampa is four percent below the national cost baseline of 100. Tampa beat out other lower-cost cities like Atlanta, Miami and Baltimore. Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco are the most expensive large cities to do business because of their high labor, sales tax and industrial leasing costs.
University of South Florida (USF) Polytechnic Launches Futuristic Campus Design
World-renowned Spanish-born architect Santiago Calatrava, chosen from a short list of 24 architects, has created an exciting video of his vision for the massive USF Polytechnic complex on the south side of Interstate 4. The campus will be nearly two football fields in length, with a soaring atrium that glows at night, a sundial that opens and closes its wings as the sun moves through the sky, and a structure that moves its wings like a dove.
Read about other businesses energizing the Tampa Bay real estate market.
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