About E. Polk County
Economic development projects continue as evidenced by the following growth and expansion updates. The East Polk Committee of 100 (EPC100) plays an important role in association with other economic development organizations addressing problems and opportunities to assist growing and developing businesses.
The Florida Youth Soccer Association (FYSA) announced that the FYSA will move its headquarters to Polk County. FYSA's headquarters will be located in Auburndale at the soon-to-be-built Lake Myrtle Soccer Complex. With the move, FYSA will relocate their corporate office and hold more than 20 events that will generate more than $35 million in economic benefits in the area every year.
Hanson Pipe and Precast of Green Cove Springs, FL broke ground on a 90-acre site in northeast Winter Haven. they will be locating one of the largest automated concrete products manufacturing plants in the U.S. on their Winter Haven site. The site is located on Highway 544/Lucerne Park Road. The company will create 50 high-wage jobs with a capital investment of $45 million.
CSX Integrated Logistics Center will be located in south Winter Haven using approximately 1250 acres of the 1700 acres of the city waste treatment property. Once the project is finalized, it will result in a local economic impact of $112 million just during the construction phase. A notable point about the Winter Haven center is the amount of land available that will allow the ILC hub to control buffering for office, commercial and warehousing that would follow. It will create 2,000 on-site high-wage jobs, and 6,500 more jobs will follow indirectly. CSX also plans to move their operation center form Orlando to the new Winter Haven site.
Winter Haven Hospital Bostick Heat Center celebrated one year of operation. The heart center has preformed 2430 procedures in a eleven-month period. Some procedures are more than 60 percent ahead of projections.
Silco Plastics located on Highway 630 in west Fort Meade is constructing a 40,000-square-feet manufacturing facility on a 50-acre site that will employ approximately 20 people.
Harley Davidson had their ground breaking for their 28,000 square feet distribution center with a test track in the Long Leaf Industry park in Lake Wales. They will employ approximately 30 people and have a capital investment of $3 million.
University of South Florida Lakeland new campus will be located off I-4 and the Polk County Parkway in Auburndale. The university plans to have technology-related programs such as an academic medical center, along with information technology, business, education and agricultural technology programs. Training in technologies related to these primary industries will provide graduate with the skills to enter high technology and high-paying jobs. this focus will also attract employers to our community to take advantage of the highly skilled workforce the university will produce. The campus is scheduled to open in 2009.
