PEDC/Florida West outlines jobs strategy, targets aerospace, life sciences, maritime and cyber

Chris, a representative of the Pensacola‑Escambia Development Commission (PEDC) and Florida West economic development entities, told the Escambia County Board of County Commissioners at a Committee of the Whole session on Oct. 2 that the organizations have reorganized staff, refined a project pipeline and set short‑term targets to expand higher‑paying jobs in the county.

The presentation laid out four industry focus areas — aerospace, life sciences, maritime and cyber/artificial intelligence — and described near‑term actions such as completing design documents at the Tech Park, using Triumph Fund dollars for Central Commerce Park infrastructure, producing biddable plans for a roundabout at The Bluffs and moving a Midtown community asset project forward.

The briefing was framed as an update on mission, organization and measurable goals. "Our alliance exists to grow and diversify our economy of the county, of the city, and as well as the town of Century by fostering business retention and expansion first, then recruitment, and aligning those resources to create high paying jobs," Chris said. He described the organization as a mix of retention, recruitment and product development work: "We are typically a jack of all trades. We're sort of three feet deep and a mile wide," he said.

Key figures and pipeline

PEDC reported an Escambia County unemployment rate of 4.8 percent for August and said the civilian labor force number the agency watches is about 150,500. The organization described an active pipeline of 32 projects and said five announced projects in the past fiscal year generated about 280 jobs and roughly $88 million in private investment.

Since 2014, PEDC presented cumulative metrics showing 68 announced projects, nearly $1 billion in investment and nearly 9,000 jobs created, with more than $500 million in wages returned to the community. Chris summarized the agency's conservative return estimate: "For every dollar, the county gets back $4.44 since 2014 on an annualized basis."

Staffing and internal changes

PEDC said it has reorganized responsibilities to separate existing‑industry account management from business development. The presentation named Danita Andrews as focused on existing industry work and announced Ashley Saba as a new business development director. Chris said the reorganization is intended to increase capacity for both retention and recruitment work and improve monthly reporting on incoming projects.

Project details presented

- Tech Park: Geotechnical work is complete and the property appraisal priced roughly 9 acres at $6,100,000. PEDC plans to finalize building concepts and seek Architectural Review Committee (ARC) approval and to pursue a letter of intent (LOI) for a first building this year.

- Central Commerce Park: PEDC has awarded a master‑planning/design contract and intends to use Triumph Fund dollars to finance infrastructure plans so development imposes little or no cost on the county.

- The Bluffs: PEDC will proceed with biddable documents for a roundabout; a south extension is deferred pending funding.

- Midtown Industrial Park: PEDC described a plan to pair a community memorial asset with phased small‑flex and larger industrial sites; that project is conceptual and requires further shepherding.

Chris also noted projects that require high electrical capacity for AI/data work and said utility checks show available power for at least one such prospect.

Jobs, wages and targets

PEDC set a near‑term target to generate roughly 300 new jobs per year and a pipeline goal of 48 opportunities (about four qualified projects per month) to improve the conversion funnel. The agency said recently concluded projects averaged mean wages in the $50,000 to $60,000 range and that its objective is to match or exceed the county average wage.

Workforce and training alignment

Commissioners pressed PEDC on workforce alignment and training. Chris said PEDC will pursue a wage survey and work more closely with Pensacola State College (PSC), the University of West Florida (UWF), CareerSource Escarosa and local school programs to better map the labor pool and training needs. "The wage survey will ... help us identify the location of our labor pool," he said.

International recruitment and FTZ advantage

Chris described international recruitment activity, including a prospect called Project Bridal from the U.K. that could bring about 100 jobs. He cited the county's administration of a Foreign‑Trade Zone (FTZ) as a competitive advantage for firms that import parts and assemble products in the U.S.

Community and small business notes

PEDC said it has limited bandwidth for small‑business support outside of CoLab, which runs local incubation activity. Commissioners and staff discussed coordinating small‑business incubation, CRA efforts and co‑locating services in Brownsville. PEDC said it is exploring partnerships and a small incubator in Brownsville and that additional coordination with the CRA and local chambers is planned.

Next steps and deliverables

PEDC listed immediate deliverables: complete ARC approval for Tech Park concepts; obtain an LOI or other commitments for an initial Tech Park building; finalize biddable documents for the Central Commerce Park using Triumph funding; start roundabout construction documents for The Bluffs; and meet with every existing industry over the next year. The agency also plans to overhaul several websites, launch a podcast series and produce more frequent sales‑force style reporting.

Commissioners' responses

Commissioners praised the presentation and reiterated concerns about aligning training pipelines so local residents can fill announced jobs. Several commissioners suggested bringing CareerSource, the school district and college workforce leaders together with PEDC to coordinate training and placement.

Ending

The committee accepted the PEDC update as an informational briefing; no formal county action or vote was taken at the session. PEDC said it will return with additional updates and deliverables as projects progress.