April 2017 Economic Update – New Smyrna Beach

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT NEWSLETTER

April, 2017

CRA to discuss redevelopment strategies!

The Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) will meet on Tuesday, April 11 a 5 pm in the City Commission Chambers at City Hall to discuss redevelopment strategies for the US 1 and the Historic Westside area of the CRA. Those areas are the focus of CRA activities for the first ten years of the CRA as directed by the Volusia County Council.

The CRA Board will review the current conditions in these areas and discuss the vision for the future. There have been recent improvements in both areas, including the redevelopment of the former Daytona Beach Community College building and the construction of a new Dollar General Store (neither project received CRA funds); and the construction of six new affordable housing units on Railroad Ave in the Historic Westside by the New Smyrna Beach Housing Authority, and the construction of a new duplex by the Southeast Habitat for Humanity (both of those projects received funds from the previous CRA, which has now sunset and ceased operations).

CRA staff is recommending that a new façade program be established to encourage property owners to improve the exterior of existing buildings, and that a request be made to the Volusia County Council to allow funds contributed by the County to be used for façade grants. For further information contact Tony Otte at 566-3941 or email totte@cityofnsb.com.

City Commission to discuss application for FDOT Trolley service funding

There have been discussions regarding the establishment of a trolley service for many years – with the interest in a trolley declining when the probable costs of such a venture are estimated. More recent discussions have noted possible funding sources, including the possibility of Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) funding for a portion of the operation: FDOT recently announced the grant application period for the Service Delivery Grant Program.

The City Commission will discuss the possibility of applying for FDOT funds and the possible participation of funding partners at the April 11 City Commission meeting at City Hall. The City Commission meeting begins at 6:30 pm and the full agenda can be viewed on the City’s website, www.cityofnsb.com.

City Commission moves forward with TPO project application

At the March 28 meeting the City Commission directed that City staff submit the following projects in response to the Call for Projects from the River to Sea Transportation Planning Organization:

1. Multi-Use Trail along South Street (Turnbull Bay Road to US 1)
2. Sidewalk along Art Center Avenue (US 1 to Sundance Trail)
3. Multi-Use Trail along Turnbull Bay Road (Industrial Park Avenue to Turnbull Bay Road/Fairgreen Ave)
4. Multi-Use Trail along Sugar Mill Drive (NE corner of “Coastal Woods” commercial development to Gibraltar Boulevard)
5. Sidewalk along Ocean Ave (South Peninsula Avenue to South Atlantic Avenue)

Third Annual US 1 Scavenger Hunt: April 21-29

The US 1 cities in Volusia County are hosting the third annual scavenger hunt April 21-29. The purpose of the event is to have consumers “Rediscover US 1” as a business and shopping destination.

Scavenger hunt forms will be made available at city halls and chambers of commerce along US 1 the Monday prior to April 21, and scavenger hunt players must go into participating businesses in order to find the answers to the list of questions. Completed forms are submitted by the players to the city halls by 4 pm on May 2, and the correct forms are then put into a drawing for prizes from the participating businesses. There is no cost to play!

Southeast Volusia Marketing Initiative

The cities of New Smyrna Beach, Edgewater, and Oak Hill, and the Southeast Volusia Chamber of Commerce are working together to prepare a joint marketing plan for Southeast Volusia. The group held a meeting on March 15 that was attended by officials from Team Volusia, Volusia County and the County Economic Development Department, and the CEO Business Alliance. Speakers at the meeting from these groups, as well as land-use attorney Glenn Storch, praised the SEVMI effort. It was noted that the effort is in collaboration with the development of Team Volusia’s marketing plan, and both plans target aviation and aerospace companies for recruitment. The final product for the SEVMI is scheduled for completion later this year.

Save the Date!

In addition to the upcoming CRA meeting noted above, please check out these upcoming activities

• All job seekers are cordially invited to the Job Fair at the 10th St campus of Daytona State College on Tuesday, April 11, from 9 am – noon.
• City of New Smyrna Beach Economic Development Advisory Board: Next meeting is Wednesday, April 19, 6:00 pm, in the City Commission Chambers at City Hall. The agenda packet will be listed several days before the meeting on the www.cityofnsb.com website.
• Southeast Volusia has an active Entrepreneur Support Group! Please mark your calendar for our next meeting: Thursday, May 18, at 5:30 (location to be announced in this space next month). Our speaker will be Michael Zaharios, Program Director for the Florida Virtual Entrepreneur Center (check out their great website: www.flvec.com) and a recognized leader in start-up business development. Michael is one of the principals behind many of the county-wide entrepreneur support events including the “Elevate Daytona” series, Start-Up Weekend, and One Million Cups, the weekly entrepreneur support group that meets in Daytona. The City of New Smyrna Beach recently joined the Florida Entrepreneur Center network, as we are a perfect location for start-ups given the number of independent businesses in our area!
• VMA Annual Expo: September 13, noon, Embry Riddle Aeronautical University ICI Center. The Volusia Manufacturing Association will present their Annual Exposition of area manufacturers with a student Robotics Competition at 5 pm.

Many Prominent Projects Are Underway!

There continues to be progress for a number of prominent projects, including:

Private Property Projects

• Chrysler Jeep Dodge Dealership on SR 44 at Glencoe (NW corner) – construction now well underway with an anticipated October – November opening.
• Riverwalk Condos, NW area of North Causeway: construction continues on several buildings. The six story condo building with 36 units was recently featured in the Parade of Homes.

• Spring Hill Suites by Marriott hotel on the beach (near Breakers): Construction is well underway – 114 rooms. Anticipated completion: August, 2017.

• Tabby House: the first four houses in the 17 lot Tabby House development adjacent to City Hall are under construction.
• Half-Wall on SR 44: The former Pub 44 building now undergoing major renovations – anticipated opening is in June.

City/County/State Projects

• New Parking Lot N of City Hall: demolition of existing buildings is complete. The “weeping mortar building” will be scheduled for renovation with partial funding anticipated from County Echo funds. The renovated building will house the City Commission Chambers and the Planning, Engineering, and Building departments which will move into the renovated building from their current location at 2650 US 1. In addition, the History Museum will also have a display in the building.

• SR 44 Sewer line (assessment project): Construction has begun on a sewer line on the South side of SR 44, between Hidden Pines Blvd and Glencoe Road. This Utilities Commission assessment project is scheduled to be completed in October, with the line being placed in easements obtained by the City from 17 property owners who will be served by the new line.
• Paving of Railroad Ave: A contractor has been selected is expected to start work this month.
• Landscaping near I-95 at SR 44: The Florida Department of Transportation has programed funds to replace the landscaping that had to be removed at the SR 44 interchange during the widening of I-95. The landscape replacement work will be initiated when the widening work on I-95 is completed, which is scheduled for July, 2018.  
• Brannon Center: this “signature” New Smyrna Beach facility is now available for rent! For rental information call Heather Paternoster at 410-2885 or go to: http://www.cityofnsb.com/126/Rental-Facilities

Business Resources

• Business Planning Information available at no charge:

• • The “City Ready” service provides a meeting at no charge with City and Utilities Commission staff members to discuss how to maximize the use of a commercial building and/or property. Such meetings normally take less than 20 minutes and provide a wealth of useful information for business site planning. The meetings are scheduled on the first and third Wednesday morning of each month beginning at 8:30 am. Please call Tony Otte CRA/Economic Development Director, (386) 566-3941.

• • For information concerning commercial and industrial properties: demographic data identifying potential customers, traffic counts, and city-related questions, call Tony Otte at (386) 566-3941.

• Detailed commercial property information: this information is now available on the City website, cityofnsb.com.
• Assistance with hiring employees:  Career Source Flagler Volusia, 329 Bill France Blvd, Daytona Beach. (386) 323-7001

• Training offered at Daytona State College:

• DSC training website: www.daytonastate.edu/cbi/ or contact Joanne.Parker@Daytonastate.edu or (386) 506-4224 or

• Small Business Development Center website: www.sbdcdaytona.com or contact Tracy Martin at (386) 506-4723.

• Training offered by SCORE: Score offers many NO CHARGE business training classes on a variety of subjects. For more information go to www.Score87.org

• NO CHARGE Business Assistance – Expansion for Existing Business
  • Volusia County Department of Economic Development: (386) 248-8048 – services include exporting assistance; www.floridabusiness.org

• • Small Business Development Center at Daytona State College: (386) 506-4723 – services include preparation of business plans, assistance in seeking loans, business consulting; www.sbdcdaytona.com

• NO CHARGE Business Assistance – Entrepreneurs
  • SCORE: (386) 255-6889 – including preparation of business plans.
  • Florida Virtual Entrepreneur Center: www.flvec.com/Volusia; 386-310-8781.
  • SE Volusia Entrepreneur Networking Group: the first event on August 30 was a grand success! Next event: October 27!

• City Property Tax Exemption for expanding businesses: In November 2014 voters approved a Tax Exemption program that provides expanding businesses that meet program criteria with abatements of City property taxes. If your business is in the expansion mode please call Tony Otte at (386) 566-3941.

• For prominent Commercial/Industrial properties for sale or lease, please go to Volusiasites.com and click on New Smyrna Beach.

If you would like to receive this newsletter every month, contact:

Tony Otte: totte@cityofnsb.com; or call 386.566.3941(cell)