Apalachicola
The Triumph Gulf Coast Board met in Apalachicola today and approved three grant agreements, including the largest in Triumph’s history, in the amount of $98,453,615, awarded to The Florida State University to establish the Institute for Strategic Partnerships, Innovation, Research & Education (InSPIRE) in Panama City. The total amount of Triumph funds awarded since 2018 is more than $567 million.
Triumph voted to move $30 million dollars in new projects to term sheet negotiations for Pensacola State College’s A&P training program, a new logistics distribution park in Santa Rosa, and expansion of a Visit Florida regional tourism marketing effort furthering its mission of transforming Northwest Florida.
Bay County
The Triumph Gulf Coast Board voted to approve a grant of up to $98,453,615 for The Florida State University (FSU) to establish the Institute for Strategic Partnerships, Innovation, Research & Education (InSPIRE) in Panama City, which will serve as FSU’s applied research and workforce development arm in Northwest Florida. InSPIRE’s mission is to accelerate technology innovation, cultivate corporate investment, nurture the growth of new industries, and foster high-skill, high- wage employment opportunities establishing the region as the nation’s foremost hub for aerospace and advanced manufacturing, pioneering in demonstration, testing, evaluation, and research and technology development. Triumph funds will be used for manufacturing and lab equipment – including a high-performance wind tunnel, supplies, personnel and contracted services.
Through strategic alliances with industry and the federal government, InSPIRE aims to anchor novel Research & Development (R&D) projects in the region, with a key emphasis aerospace technology and advanced manufacturing. InSPIRE programs will lead a comprehensive effort across the region to work with educators, employers, and community support resources to extend outreach to create and coordinate a network of K-12 teachers who have been trained to deliver programming with support through content, materials, and regional aspirational connections for student engagement. The network will provide relevant experiences for career paths, relatable mentorship for guidance to support success, and assistance in transitioning across education experiences and completions across the continuum resulting in career placements.
Additionally, the Triumph Board voted to advance to final grant award negotiations with Gulf Coast State College (GCSC) for a $24,302,669 Triumph grant for the expansion of nursing and healthcare programs at the Panama City campus to meet the growing need for skilled nurses and healthcare providers in the region. The funds will be used for construction, personnel, equipment, virtual reality and electronic resources, and professional development in the establishment of an
Inter-Professional Education Simulation Training Center (SIM Center). The project will result in at least 4,312 net new credentials including certifications and licensures.
The SIM Center will enable increased enrollment for the associate degree RN, RN-BSN, Respiratory Care, and EMT/Paramedic programs. These degree fields have current job placement rates ranging from 97%-100% and all have a predicted increase in job growth rate over the next decade. Students completing degree programs and passing licensures/certification exams will earn a higher per capita income than the local areas served by GCSC. These salaries are expected to be $20,000 to $30,000 higher than current per capita incomes.
Escambia County
The Triumph Gulf Coast Board voted to approve the Pensacola-Escambia Promotion and Development Commission (PEDC) for up to $6,000,000 to be used in the construction of a 40,0000 square-foot advanced manufacturing research facility to be used by LIFT Technologies, Inc. (LIFT), a public-private-partnership between the U.S. Department of Defense, industry, and academia. The facility, to be constructed by Space Florida on the Pensacola State College campus, will house a new Manufacturing Center of Excellence.
Employing at least 36 people at an average wage of $113,000, LIFT will leverage at least $32 million in new DOD and Federal funding to target research and development priorities accelerating the region’s advanced manufacturing capabilities. The Pensacola facility will provide a range of services including advanced manufacturing R&D and foundational manufacturing training programs.
Additionally, the Triumph Board approved moving forward with term sheet negotiations with Pensacola State College for an up to $12,372,935 grant to implement a new Aviation & Powerplant (A&P) training program. Some of the Triumph funds would be used toward the construction of a 25,000 square-foot training facility to be located on the southwest side of the Pensacola International Airport on land owned by the City of Pensacola. While the new facility is being built, training will take place in one of ST Aerospace’s hangars at the airport.
The project will guarantee completion of 420 airframe and powerplant (A&P) certified individuals over a 12-year period. It is expected these newly credentialed individuals will help meet the labor force needs being created by companies such as ST, Leonardo, and Premier Aviation Quebec, Inc., which have all committed to commence and expand operations throughout the Triumph region. All of these companies will lease space in publicly owned facilities enabled by Triumph grant funds.
Okaloosa County
The Triumph Gulf Coast Board voted to approve the Okaloosa County District School’s request for up to $7,850,000 grant to establish the new Okaloosa Technical College North (OTC North) campus in a building adjacent to the Bob Sykes Airport, three miles northeast of Crestview resulting in at least 2,904 in demand high wage industry certifications.
OTC North will offer programs in Advanced Manufacturing and Production, Welding, Electronic Systems, Automotive Service, Plumbing, and Applied Cybersecurity. Triumph grant funds will be used to purchase and renovate the building, hands-on labs, supplies, materials, equipment, curriculum, and certification fees for up to seven years. Dual enrollment for college credit and collaboration with business and industry will help grow a skilled and job-ready workforce.
Santa Rosa County
The Triumph Board vote to begin term sheet negotiations with the Santa Rosa County Board of County Commissioners for a grant of up to $7,191,000 for a new industrial site that will house a distribution and logistics center along Interstate 10 at Exit 26 in Bagdad. The proposed Triumph award will fund acquisition of a 45-acre site, along with needed sewer extension, wetlands mitigation/protection and other improvements necessary to allow construction of a 380,000 square-foot distribution center.
For this project, the Santa Rosa BOCC will guarantee 175 jobs paying at least 115 percent of the current prevailing Santa Rosa wage. Land acquisition and improvements, including completion of the building, are expected to be completed by 2027.
Across the Triumph Region
The Triumph Board voted to move to term sheet negotiations with Visit Florida for an up to $10.5 million marketing grant. The grant will enable Visit Florida, in partnership with the Northwest Florida Tourism Council (NWFL), to expand the region’s “Adventure within Reach” promotional effort for the eight counties within the Triumph region: Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton, Bay, Gulf, Franklin, and Wakulla.
The Northwest Florida (NWFL) “Adventure within Reach” promotional effort intends to diversify and enhance the region’s tourism by spreading the benefits of tourism to areas not typically realizing those benefits by promoting visitation outside of the peak summer season and extending seasonal employment into additional months or year-round employment. It will also add resilience to the region’s tourism industry by facilitating the diversification of regional tourism product offerings beyond the beach. The project has the support of all eight county tourism boards and the boards of county commissioners.
The Triumph Gulf Coast Board of Directors is appointed by the Governor, Attorney General, Chief Financial Officer, and presiding officers of the Legislature. The appointees to the Triumph Board are David Bear (Chair), Bryan Corr, Sr., Reynolds Henderson (Treasurer), David Humphreys, Collier Merrill, Jay Trumbull, Sr. (Vice Chair), and Leslie Weiss. All meetings of the Board are public.