Economic Development

[I am Reality]

5 hours ago, jgardnerucf said:

Oh, thank heaven he's back! 

Don't call it a comeback.

[orlandouprise]

I for one, appreciate I am Reality's insight and views. It can't all be rainbows and marshmellows. Change is usually spurred on from hearing opposing views as well...

[aent]

4 hours ago, orlandouprise said:

I for one, appreciate I am Reality's insight and views. It can't all be rainbows and marshmellows. Change is usually spurred on from hearing opposing views as well...

I agree, as long as I don't feel its to the point of trolling (which for a little while it felt like it), but I feel his initial arrival really did bring up and create some good discussion on some important issues. Our country has been very divided lately, with people simply ridiculing the other sides beliefs and claiming that an opinion that doesn't match their own is simply not valid (and I personally believe the last election was a direct result of one side doing that after feeling too empowered), I hope on this planet (the urban one) we can avoid such BS and welcome all diverse views, whether political, economic, aesthetics, or otherwise.

[I am Reality]

Orlando did well in Business Insider's rankings of best economies for the largest 40 U.S MSAs.

We came in #11.

http://www.businessinsider.com/us-economy-by-metro-area-ranked-san-francisco-seattle-austin-2018-4?utm_source=hearst&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=allverticals#12-sacramento-roseville-arden-arcade-ca-29

[I am Reality]

Interesting article about software company Red Hat already outgrowing its downtown Raleigh HQ.

More than 2k people work in the building, after the company relocated from a suburban campus only 5 yrs ago.

https://www.newsobserver.com/news/business/article214225089.html

[I am Reality]

Politics aside, why didn't Orlando bid on the 2020 Republican National Convention? 

It was awarded to Charlotte today, but no city other than Vegas even tried.

Orlando would have made a lot of sense.  It will surely be an important swing region.  It also has plenty of hotel rooms.  I've been in cities holding cities political conventions before.  The energy is crazy.  It's also a big economic shot in the arm.  

Should have tried. 

Edited July 20, 2018 by I am Reality

[jgardnerucf]

I4 won't be done yet.

[I am Reality]

Orlando-based Leap with Alice is planning an ICO in October.  The company specializes in AR for educators.  The platform will be built on the Ethereum Blockchain and the cryptocurrency will be publicly traded.  The company has partnered with UCF.

https://leapwithalice.io/

Leap with Alice will be the first local ICO that I have heard of.  I could be wrong.  I have previously discussed the satellite office for Robinhood (one of the largest exchanges) in Lake Mary.

[I am Reality]

Today's Orlando Weekly:

47% of FL households can't meet their basic needs 

https://m.orlandoweekly.com/Blogs/archives/2018/07/20/while-florida-has-1-trillion-gdp-nearly-half-of-residents-cant-afford-basic-needs

[I am Reality]

College Consensus rated Rollins as Florida's best university/college.  The study is based upon published reports and student reviews found online.  

https://www.collegeconsensus.com/rankings/best-colleges-fl/

[jrs2]

4 hours ago, I am Reality said:

College Consensus rated Rollins as Florida's best university/college.  The study is based upon published reports and student reviews found online.  

https://www.collegeconsensus.com/rankings/best-colleges-fl/

It goes without saying that UF is the best college in the State, by far, and one of this country's best.  Not gonna give it's resume, but it's hospital alone is larger than Rollins' entire campus.  Go Gators.

Flagler College is gorgeous, btw.

[I am Reality]

"In other words, Orlando is built on the backs of the working poor, and  right now they can't afford to live here".

As I have said many times, its a systemic problem that has profound consequences to our local economy.

https://m.orlandoweekly.com/Blogs/archives/2018/08/03/youre-paying-too-much-for-rent-in-orlando

 

[jrs2]

On ‎8‎/‎3‎/‎2018 at 7:48 PM, I am Reality said:

"In other words, Orlando is built on the backs of the working poor, and  right now they can't afford to live here".

As I have said many times, its a systemic problem that has profound consequences to our local economy.

https://m.orlandoweekly.com/Blogs/archives/2018/08/03/youre-paying-too-much-for-rent-in-orlando

 

No...you have been preaching this point...and you are right...it is irritating that this city is full of low wage jobs yet the rents are rising through the roof.  Whether it was the building boom housing price inflation or rental rate inflation, there is an inflation in the cost of living.  Something is going to have to give at some point.

[I am Reality]

On the rent/home price issue, I think we are still seeing the effects of the recession here locally.

A lot of housing/apartment projects were cancelled in the 2-3 years after the recession.

I completely understand why that happened and can't fault the developers.  But the lack of new housing was not sustainable, especially for an area with a lot of growth.

Now prices are going through the roof.  Orlando leads with nation in rent increases. 

Intersstingly, Orlando is catagorized as a "megacity" in this below CBS News article.  Las Vegas is a "large city" and Tampa is a "mid-sized city."  I know it's just semantics, but interesting nonetheless.  

The cities hit hardest by the recession are the cities leading in rent increases. 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/u-s-urban-rents-hit-all-time-high-at-average-1405-report/

 

 

[spenser1058]

From YouTube

This is definitely a problem that affects just about all of the growing areas in the country (not so much the Rust Belt.) It gets back to the even bigger issue of inequality in the nation.

I was glad that Buddy addressed some of the local approaches to the problem in the State of the City address. 

But, rest assured, this is much bigger than a local issue.

 

 

 

 

 

[I am Reality]

Interesting article re: apartment construction to follow up the discussion yesterday.

Why are developers not building more units?

As the article says, the apartment occupancy rates are high.  The demand is clearly there.  Rents prices continue to rapidly increase (leading the nation).

What is the problem?  Any thoughts?  I can honestly think of no explanation.

https://m.orlandoweekly.com/Blogs/archives/2018/08/09/orlando-will-likely-have-50-percent-less-new-apartments-by-the-end-of-2018-which-is-really-bad

[I am Reality]

Interesting article re: lack of housing starts since the recession. 

Housing starts in Orlando have been down almost 3X since the recession (when compared to the period of time between 1985 and 2000). 

This is the reason there is so little housing inventory and why prices are increasing so  much.

The market is ripe for a deep-pocketed developer to come in and go crazy with some high-density housing projects.

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/more-than-six-million-homes-missing-from-us-housing-market-300696445.html

[I am Reality]

Orlando is the No. 1 Best City to Retire, according to the new Wallethub survey:

No. 1

Newark can suck it.

https://wallethub.com/edu/best-places-to-retire/6165/

Edited August 15, 2018 by I am Reality

[Dale]

One less thing to whine about ...

http://spacecoastdaily.com/2018/08/orlando-continues-to-lead-florida-in-job-growth-for-40-consecutive-months/

[I am Reality]

1 hour ago, Dale said:

One less thing to whine about ...

http://spacecoastdaily.com/2018/08/orlando-continues-to-lead-florida-in-job-growth-for-40-consecutive-months/

I don't recall anyone on here whining about local job growth.  Orlando has strong job growth.  That cannot be disputed.

I have rather talked about growth of quality jobs.  The article cited proves absolutely nothing about the growth of high-wage jobs.

The article gives a completely made-up statistic for the number of "high wage STEM" jobs.  The statistics referenced in the article never mention anything about STEM jobs.  The state literally has no catagory for STEM jobs (or high-wage STEM jobs).  STEM jobs rather fall into any number of categories and they cannot be isolated.  

The closest catagory to a STEM catagory would be "information", which shows no job growth whatsoever. 

The "professional and business services" catagory includes anything from attorneys to insurance salespeople to entry-level bank tellers to brand-new business owners.  The catagory is not shorthand for high-wage jobs (although some in the catagory are obviously high-wage).

My comments are based on a cursory review of the statistics referenced in the article (linked below).  If I overlooked the STEM catagory, please post.  

http://lmsresources.labormarketinfo.com/library/releases/arearelease_region12.pdf

[AmIReal]

3 hours ago, I am Reality said:

I don't recall anyone on here whining about local job growth.  Orlando has strong job growth.  That cannot be disputed.

I have rather talked about growth of quality jobs.  The article cited proves absolutely nothing about the growth of high-wage jobs.

The article gives a completely made-up statistic for the number of "high wage STEM" jobs.  The statistics referenced in the article never mention anything about STEM jobs.  The state literally has no catagory for STEM jobs (or high-wage STEM jobs).  STEM jobs rather fall into any number of categories and they cannot be isolated.  

The closest catagory to a STEM catagory would be "information", which shows no job growth whatsoever. 

The "professional and business services" catagory includes anything from attorneys to insurance salespeople to entry-level bank tellers to brand-new business owners.  The catagory is not shorthand for high-wage jobs (although some in the catagory are obviously high-wage).

My comments are based on a cursory review of the statistics referenced in the article (linked below).  If I overlooked the STEM catagory, please post.  

http://lmsresources.labormarketinfo.com/library/releases/arearelease_region12.pdf

It is a terribly inarticulate press release that is intended to obfuscate true numbers. It moves from the concept of monthly unemployment rate, to jobs created over an 8 year span, to annual growth in a particular employment sector, to job "openings" (WTF) in an undefined time period. Its a garbage release with some good news at the front and a lot of indecipherable rambling on the back.

You can find the numbers they allude to here- http://www.floridajobs.org/labor-market-information/labor-market-information-press-releases/monthly-press-releases

Look in the nonag.xlxs. You're correct there is not a specific STEM number, but there is a "Professional, Scientific and Technical" label and an "Information" label. I'll save you time. Their numbers don't add up nor do they make any sense.

It doesn't change the bottom line of Orlando leading the state in overall  job growth (which is generally a good thing) and, although I have not looked at the last quarter of BLS numbers, we had previously been leading the state in the individual jobs that make up the STEM segment.

[I am Reality]

53 Orlando-area companies made the Inc. Magazine 5000 (fastest growing companies in the U.S.) this year.

The numbers have been remarkably consistent through the years (except last year).

Years past:

2017:  67 companies 

2016:  56 companies 

2015:  50 companies 

2014:  51 companies 

Edited August 21, 2018 by I am Reality

[AmIReal]

A look at the local tech/ med/ entrepreneur scene. 

https://www.orlandomedicalnews.com/peek-into-orlandos-healthcare-startup-scene-cms-2234

 

[dcluley98]

Harris Corp, based out of Melbourne/Palm Bay is in talks to merge with L3 communications. Harris is a fortune 500 company, ranked at #407, L3 was #276.  This would put the new company in the top 10 Aerospace/Defense companies. Combined revenue would put them in the 160-170 range, but the L3 headquarters are in New York, and it is the larger of the mergees.   No details out on the merger, as it is still in advanced negotiations and not finalized. They are saying it is a "merger of equals", but I suspect it will be run out of NYC over Melbourne. 

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-10-13/harris-corp-l3-technologies-are-close-to-merger-deal-wsj-says?srnd=premium

 

[spenser1058]

That would definitely be a tough one to lose. Not as bad as Publix being sold to Kroger and moving to Ohio but we need to hang on to every Fortune 500 in the region we can. I still mourn losing Hughes Supply to Atlanta.