Enterprise Florida – Regional Site Readiness Program

The State of Florida, through Enterprise Florida and partner Duke Energy, led a regional Strategic Sites Inventory (SSI) program to identify and qualify development-ready sites and position those sites for further investment throughout the northern panhandle of Florida. The goal of the program was to develop a robust inventory of available sites and prioritize further site investment to aid in attracting new corporate investment for economic development driver projects throughout the region.

CSRS was a subconsultant to the prime consultant and led the site planning and development analysis aspects of the project.  Our team was responsible for performing engineering due diligence, creating a conceptual site plan, and developing a conceptual development proforma for each finalist site. Our work helped the local economic development organizations (EDO’s) and local municipal authorities better understand the underlying strengths and weaknesses of each site, and the level of investment required to mitigate site weaknesses. Using our data and analysis, the local EDO’s and municipalities were able to further budget and prioritize public investment to improve the competitive position of the sites. In addition to guiding public investment, we packaged our data and analysis into high-quality graphic presentations intended for easy consumption by prospective companies considering the site for new investment. The site package organized and presented key site data in an easy-to-read and understand graphical format which facilitates quick review and decision making by prospective companies.

The CSRS team was comprised of four internal personnel primarily performing engineering site due diligence, site land use conceptual planning studies, and conceptual site development proformas in support of the overall project objectives.

Project Challenges and Solutions

Prioritizing infrastructure investment on sites having the best opportunity to drive growth is a daunting challenge. Tax dollars are limited and must be spent on projects that provide a return on investment and can catalyze growth in a community. Positioning sites and planning infrastructure investment requires unique experience and understanding of economic development, site development, public infrastructure planning and finance. With our diverse services spanning public and private markets, our experience uniquely qualifies us to find, plan, and prepare the best sites a community has to offer.