USF Poly plans local ‘accelerator’ office

Monday, June 15, 2009

WINTER HAVEN| Downtown Winter Haven will be host to a key business “accelerator” for the planned Unviersity of South Florida Polytechnic campus between Auburndale and Lakeland.

The announcement was made Thursday in a memo distributed to the Winter Haven mayor and city commissioners by city Community Development Director David Dickey.

The memo also was posted on the Web site of the Greater Winter Haven Chamber of Commerce.

In the memo, Dickey noted that in April 2009, the Polk County Commission, in conjunction with the Central Florida Development Council, earmarked $1 million to help establish a high-tech business incubator to be located on the USF Polytechnic campus.

“The incubator concept has gained momentum so quickly that the decision was made to establish two locations prior to the completion of the polytechnic campus,” Dickey wrote. “An incubator will be established in Lakeland with a business accelerator to be located in downtown Winter Haven.”

According to Dickey, benefits to new companies will include “proximity to, and resources of, a national research university; access to operational infrastructure including office space, equipment and technology; faculty experts; technology consultants; and training programs.”

Dickey wrote that the decision to locate the business accelerator in downtown Winter Haven was result of a partnership between the city and the 6/10 Corporation.

Formed in 1985 and based in Witner Haven, the 6/10 Corporation is the owner, developer and manager of a diversified portfolio of Florida commercial properties. Properties include office, data center, industrial, retail and undeveloped land.

The 6/10 Corporation will provide rent-free space in teh Verizon buildinga t 199 Ave. B, N.W., in downtown Winter Haven.

“This building houses the Inland Fiber & Data Technology Park, which makes the acceleratoa  great fit,” Dickey wrote in his memo.

Subject to approval and funding availability, the Winter Haven Community Redevelopment Agency woudl provide $10,000 annually to help offset operating costs, according to the memo.

“It is anticipated that the facility will be operational by Sept. 1, 2009, and will initially house from five to 10 new companies,” Dickey wrote.

According to the memo, “the proposed accelerator can be distinguished from a business incubator in that it will target more mature start-ups that still require a degree of support. It is hoped that the companies will grow into adjacent office space and maintain a long-term downtown Winter Haven presence.”

Writing on the Greater Winter Haven Chamber of Commerce Web site, chamber Executive Director Bob Gernert Jr. congratulated the cities of Winter Havena nd Lakeland, saying the new USF Poly business accelerator in Winter Haven “will further advance the developing technology-based business core downtown.”

“The county/CFDC/USF/Lakeland/Winter Haven/Six-Ten partnership is a very positive step in economic recovery,” Gernert wrote. “The Polytechnic influence will grow the high-skill/high-wage sector critical to the area’s long-term future.”

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