Search
Close this search box.

Okaloosa EDC ‘actively recruiting’ businesses to expand or relocate to the area

One Okaloosa says they have 31 active inquiries from businesses that are looking to expand and considering investing in our local business community.
Nathan Sparks speaking at Okaloosa Board of County Commissioners meeting (SOURCE: Okaloosa Public Info Office)

The 2020 Census Data was released earlier this year and Okaloosa County is growing.

According to One Okaloosa EDC, Okaloosa county grew by about 17% over the past 10 years. If you put that in perspective, Florida as a whole grew by about 14%, so our county is outpacing the state average. 

And with that, One Okaloosa EDC is in full force with Economic Development promotional efforts.

“It’s good to have live events in-person again,” said One Okaloosa Director Nathan Sparks. “We’ve also been out on the prospecting trail, but the good news is that many of those events have come to us.”

  • The National Defense Industry Association’s Air Armaments Symposium was two weeks ago at the Destin-Fort Walton Beach Convention Center. 
  • They also hosted the Society of Industrial Real Estate Executives for their annual meeting last week.

Additionally, One Okaloosa has had ‘site consultants‘ from all over the country visiting the area. According to Sparks, the site consultants advise businesses on where to put new facilities.

“It was really interesting to hear their feedback on our area,” said Sparks. “With respect to what they saw as our strategic opportunities, and certainly our military talent resonated loudly.”

TeCMEN Industry Day (SOURCE: One Okaloosa)

Sparks said that One Okaloosa had the opportunity to really “hammer home” the value that Okaloosa County has through the military pipeline and all of the ‘transitioners‘ in our community. 

“They don’t hear that in many communities,” said Sparks. “They don’t have that pipeline available to them for their clients in many communities.”

  • Sparks also noted that Triumph Gulf Coast has the opportunity to be a game changer as businesses are considering where to invest. 

However, even though recruiting is going well, Sparks says that he continues to hear from local businesses that finding talent is a challenge. Many businesses are casting a wide net to recruit talent from other communities around the country.

To help with this issue, Sparks says One Okaloosa has created a ‘Relocation Portal’ on their website, which has information regarding local schools, quality of life, amenities and healthcare services within the county.

“All of those things that you would want to know about if you were looking to move to a new area will be there,” continued Sparks. 

TeCMEN Industry Day (SOURCE: One Okaloosa)

As for right now, One Okaloosa says they have 31 active inquiries from businesses that are looking to expand and considering investing in our local business community.

“Two of those projects are focused right in our own Fort Walton Beach Commerce and Technology Park,” said Sparks. “In fact, we’ll be submitting proposals here in the next 10 days for both of those.”

Sparks says that both of the prospects are paying at least 150% of the average wage in Okaloosa county. One of the companies is looking to expand while another is considering relocating from out west.

“We want that,” said Sparks. “We want them to do that right here in Okaloosa County and we want it to be an obvious decision for them.”

Join the conversation...

Continue reading 👇

Community Comments

“Lawless society,truly indicates the signs of our times...head on a swivel!”
Respond
“Although I never had the honor of knowing this young man, I see the beauty in his smile and his joy is evident. My heartfelt condolences to his family and...”
Respond
“Many will disagree but I think this is over reach by Eglin. I see the comments that if it is opened to the public it would get trashed; I agree....”
Respond
“I work from home as an influencer. I have a YouTube channel where I teach how to make balloon animals. If my internet doesn’t stay up I have to do...”
Respond
“I live on North Lloyd where they want to put the 94 unit complex. I understand that it's a great thing for a military housing. I want to know how...”
Respond
“I’m still experiencing intermittent outages, but the bright side is I’m not exceeding my data caps! #ThanksCoz”
Respond
“What will happen to the residents who presently live here? Is there a plan to rehome them while this is being built? Will they be grandfathered in once they are...”
Respond
“The original concept of the festival is lost. It was lost when it became charging admissions. I miss the original but not the new version. It is dead so let...”
Respond
“Going on 2 days without service, forcing me to take PTO. Making the switch to Live Oak Fiber next week”
Respond
“"Providing fingerprints on-sight," means fingerprints will be taken at the time of enrollment, or we bring a copy of our previously certified fingerprints? Thank you in advance for response.”
Respond