Wakulla County outlines plan to host two manufacturers at Opportunity Park, with grants and county-owned buildings under discussion

WAKULLA COUNTY, Fla. — Wakulla County economic development officials told county commissioners at a workshop that two manufacturing prospects — an expansion by a local elevator maker (Project Boomer) and a larger defense-/public-safety supplier (Project Safety) — are under active negotiation for sites at Opportunity Park and could bring combined jobs, payroll and tax revenue to the county.

The projects are at different stages: Project Boomer is described by county staff as a consolidation and expansion of a local residential-elevator manufacturer that the county expects would retain roughly 79 existing positions and add about 42 new jobs; Project Safety, a larger national firm in defense and law-enforcement supply chains, is presented as a potential direct employer of about 300 new workers. Those figures and other estimates were presented by Beth (EDC coordinator), Mark Cohenstein of Duke Energy Florida, and other presenters.

County and regional partners said multiple funding tools are being pursued. Triumph Gulf Coast has already pledged funding to Wakulla-area projects and staff reported combined Triumph awards for the two projects so far of about $15.6 million. Officials also cited roughly $4.5 million available via Florida Commerce programs and a pending Job Growth Grant Fund application for about $8 million; an additional award from the University of West Florida’s Industrial Resilience and Diversification Fund was also referenced.

Why it matters: presenters said a mix of grant awards, state economic-development incentives, local preparation of Opportunity Park and a county-owned-buildings strategy could make the county competitive for manufacturing site selection and create higher-than-average wages locally. Duke Energy’s site-readiness work and a multi-agency regional marketing effort were credited with moving the opportunities to the county’s doorstep.

Details of the county role and timeline County staff briefed commissioners that the intended approach would position the county as the grant applicant and initial landlord: the county would purchase land, procure construction of buildings to tenant specifications, then lease the buildings to the companies under performance milestones tied to grant agreements. Presenters said the county would seek grant reimbursements and expect firms to “buy out” the county-owned building after hitting agreed milestones, returning the county to a non-landlord position.

Beth told commissioners the two buildings discussed could total roughly $42 million in construction cost before grant reimbursements. She said Triumph Gulf Coast awards committed so far total about $15.6 million, while Florida Commerce programs and other sources have contributed or are being pursued to reduce the county’s financing gap.

Partners and outreach Duke Energy’s site-readiness and advancing-sites programs, Florida’s Great Northwest, Opportunity Florida, CareerSource Capital Region, and local EDC volunteers all described roles in marketing the site, providing technical site assessments and arranging workforce training. Jennifer Connelly of Florida’s Great Northwest said Project Safety selected Wakulla County as its top Florida site after touring multiple Northwest Florida locations; Mark Cohenstein of Duke Energy described Opportunity Park as producing no “red flags” in initial site evaluations and noted Duke’s national site pipeline work.

What officials asked the commission to consider Presenters asked the commission to authorize continued negotiations, include the two projects on the county’s short-term construction-borrowing list, and allow staff to proceed with grant applications and term-sheet negotiations. No formal commission vote or final contract award occurred at the workshop; staff indicated additional procurement steps, term-sheet work and grant approvals would be required before the county signed any land purchase or construction contract.

Next steps and caveats Speakers said timelines vary and that award amounts and final terms remain subject to grant-board approvals and typical site due diligence. Beth and other staff emphasized the projects remain conditional: “nothing is done until the tenants start anchoring their equipment,” a staff member said. Commissioners were also notified that, if both projects proceed as currently estimated, the county would likely need to use short-term construction borrowing and later convert some of that borrowing to long-term debt depending on final grant reimbursements.

Provenance Presentation and discussion of Project Boomer and Project Safety began in speakers' presentations about Opportunity Park and Duke Energy’s site-readiness (transcript excerpt: “we... have 2 opportunities that that that you have before you today... site readiness with Opportunity Park”) and concluded with the county finance briefing and Q&A where short-term borrowing and grant reimbursement mechanics were discussed (transcript excerpt: “combined, it's about $14,900,000 that we would be looking at to borrow if both projects came to fruition”).