The Laker/Lutz News

Serving Lutz since 1964 and Pasco since 1981.
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Northpointe Village

Rasmussen College moving to vacant Target store

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Rasmussen College soon will bring higher education to a vacant Target Super Store — the shuttered anchor at Suncoast Crossing plaza, off State Road 54 in Odessa.

The college plans to relocate from its current 25,000-square-foot education center at State Road 54 and Sunlake Boulevard, in Land O’ Lakes.

Developers are proposing to repurpose the former Target store, which closed in 2016.

Rasmussen College will be moving down the road and will soon be making a transition to Rasmussen University. (B.C. Manion)

A conceptual plan filed with Pasco County shows Rasmussen occupying more than 44,000 square feet. One and possibly two other tenants would fill the remaining shell space, separated from Rasmussen by an enclosed courtyard.

The flexible plan allows about 100,000 square feet to 115,000 square feet for a single business, or a split design with two businesses at 60,000 square feet and 40,000 square feet, respectively.

“It’s great to see something is moving in there,” said Pasco County Commission Chairman Mike Moore. “We never want to see an empty building. It seems like Rasmussen is growing. We’re definitely happy they are here. It’s a good location for them.”

The approximately 173,000-square-foot Target property is owned by 24/7 DeBary LLC, which acquired the site from Target in July 2017.

A May 11 preapplication meeting is scheduled with Pasco County planners to consider the “Suncoast Crossing 1” redevelopment proposal, according to county records.

24/7 DeBary is an affiliate of MVP Holdings Inc., a Tampa-based owner of restaurants, including PDQ and Glory Days Grill. A company representative could not be reached for comment.

The Target store – in a mall with about 30 stores – opened in 2006, as growth along State Road 54 was taking off. The Great Recession that began two years later with the real estate and housing market collapse ushered in hard times for Pasco County’s economy.

But, the closure in January 2016 caught many by surprise just as a turnaround and renewed growth was taking hold.

Target officials closed 13 stores nationwide due to what they described as poor performance. The Suncoast Crossing store was among those singled out.

This Target Super Store, which has been vacant since 2016, is expected to become the new home to Rasmussen College. Besides changing its location, the college also is expected to become a university.

More than 140 employees lost jobs, though Target officials said employees would be offered transfers.

“I was very upset when Target closed,” said Pasco County Commissioner Kathryn Starkey. “I called corporate office to reconsider.”

After Target’s departure, she had hoped the site might attract new tenants that would create a retail and business complex similar to nearby Northpointe Village – at State Road 54 and Suncoast Parkway. The complex in recent years attracted new businesses along Northpointe Parkway, including Mettler Toledo, a global manufacturer of precision scales and services used in research, and the packaging and production of food and pharmaceuticals; and TRU Simulation + Training,  which provides flight-training solutions, technical support and customer service for commercial and military markets.

But, she said, “I think Rasmussen will do well at that location (Suncoast Crossing). I’m heartened they are a for-profit college, so they will stay on the tax rolls.”

Rasmussen plans to make an announcement on its relocation plans in the “near future.”

“Due to key regulatory steps that still need to take place, Rasmussen College cannot yet share information regarding plans to relocate to a new campus,” according to an email from Molly Andersen, spokeswoman for Rasmussen College.

The new site, with substantially expanded space, comes as Rasmussen College is preparing for a new direction in its education model. By October, the college is expected to become Rasmussen University.

“This transition is more than a name change,” said Rasmussen President Trenda Boyum-Breen in a video message. “This is our next step toward a vibrant future. We are student-centered in our approach and future facing in our impact.”

Andersen in her email said additional details on Rasmussen’s transition to a university would be available soon.

Minneapolis-based Rasmussen College traces its beginnings to 1900, as a business school. The private college is a regionally accredited institution with more than 20 campuses nationwide. Its focus is on workforce and career-oriented education programs and degrees across several fields, including nursing, health science and business.

Of six Florida campuses, two are in Pasco — in New Port Richey and the soon-to-be closed location in Land O’ Lakes.

It’s not clear what is next for the Land O’ Lakes site.

Bayshore Properties LCC, affiliated with BayCare Health System, purchased the property in January for about $6.5 million, according to county records.

Representatives for Bayshore declined to comment at this time.

By Kathy Steele

Published April 22, 2020

Lutz video game studio offers virtual concerts

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As coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) is keeping most stuck inside home, a Lutz-based video game studio is discovering novel ways to keep users together and entertained.

For years, Artix Entertainment has been creating free online fantasy-based video games filled with monsters, magic and storytelling.

Adam Bohn is the founder/CEO of Artix Entertainment, an independent video game studio in Lutz. (Courtesy of Adam Bohn)

Among the most popular iterations is the AdventureQuest3D series, which takes role-playing users into an expansive fantasy world where combat skills are tested in an environment filled with the undead, beasts, dragons, dungeons and all sorts of other challenges. The game is cross-platform, meaning it can be played through computer, tablet or smartphone.

More recently, AdventureQuest’s creators have added a new wrinkle: in-game, virtual battle concerts from various well-known bands like Alice in Chains, Breaking Benjamin, Korn and others.

And, ever since the outbreak of the coronavirus has canceled many activities and concerts, game makers vowed to keep the music going.

So, the company decided to again team up with Breaking Benjamin, a multi-platinum rock band with nine No. 1 hit songs, to re-release an “encore” virtual battle concert, with some newly added features and objectives.

Here’s how the battle concert works: After completing a short tutorial, an unlimited number of users enter the concert and are tasked with fighting off a host of giant monsters all while the band’s music plays in the background. Users also have the option of taking a virtual selfie and interacting with Breaking Benjamin animated characters.

The virtual concert loops nonstop, and is designed for players of all skill levels. Bands send pre-recorded songs and custom voiceovers to Artix for the virtual concerts.

“I think it’s the best thing we’ve ever created,” Artix CEO/founder Adam Bohn said of the virtual concert series. “We’re trying to provide the most fun we can and help people during their stays at home.”

Artix also is expanding the virtual battle concert series to include local bands, so long as their music is safe for radio play. Interested groups can email .

“We have the ability to do these performance with any band in our game,” Bohn said. “Right now, I’m sure there’s musicians, with all the concerts canceled, there has to be some other way we can help, so it’d be great if anybody wanted to contact us.”

Humble beginnings, to millions of users
Artix today has over 30 employees, headquartered out of the NorthPointe Village business plaza off State Road 54.

Yet, the company started with humble beginnings back in 2002.

“It started out at the kitchen table of my first home here in Lutz,” Bohn, 44, said. “Our offices have been very, very slowly, methodically just moving down (State Road) 54.”

A computer video game enthusiast growing up in Pennsylvania, Bohn’s “lifelong dream” was to someday create games of his own.

It first came from the encouragement of his father, who all but told a youthful Bohn that if others could build video games, then his son could, too.

The planted seed led Bohn on “this kind of obsessive mission” that included years of trial and error “and unbelievable persistence.”

Lutz-based Artix Entertainment has teamed up with rock band Breaking Benjamin to host virtual concerts inside the AdventureQuest online video game series.

In the almost 18 years since Bohn launched the first version of AdventureQuest — then in 2D form — over 200 million accounts have been created worldwide across Artix’s platform of more than a dozen games.

It’s more than Bohn could’ve ever anticipated two decades ago. “I put the game out there hoping we’d get 100 players,” said Bohn.

In addition to AdventureQuest, other Artix titles include DragonFable, MechQuest, and BioBeasts. While the games are all free to play, users have the option to purchase cosmetics to improve the likeness of their characters.

Bohn acknowledged he entered the video game industry at the right time — when internet technology began booming in the early 2000s. “We were very early, so we were a part of this great video game evolution that’s been happening,” he said.

Like other area businesses dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, Artix employees have begun working remotely from home, collaborating via Google Docs, Trello and a chat program called Discord.  “I think gamers maybe have an easier time with this (coronavirus) problem because we love staying at home,” Bohn quipped.

However, the work to fine-tune a host of online games is anything but easy.

Bohn explained gameplay updates and problem-solving requires long hours from his team of artists, programmers and developers, and database managers.

For him and his team, it’s “pretty much a 24/7 job.”

“Most of the team is quite a fan of coffee,” Bohn joked, adding video game creation is more difficult than some may think. “There is this belief that we have this magical “make game button” and we press it and then there’s more games…”

As if running an independent video game studio day and night wasn’t enough, Bohn has another side project — he’s building a new video game for the 1985 Nintendo.

Bohn said the game, coming in a physical Nintendo cart, should be finished in two months’ time. “The game’s really, really far along,” he said. “We’ve already kind of done all the fulfillments. I have the circuit boards, I have the shelves…”

To play AdventureQuest and other Artix Entertainment games, visit AQ3D.com and Artix.com.

Published April 08, 2020

The Edison Suncoast is going up in Pasco

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TPA Group, of Atlanta, has announced the details for The Edison Suncoast, a project under construction in the Northpointe Village development, off State Road 54, in Lutz.

The development consists of two three-story office buildings totaling 155,000 square feet.

Completion of the first 77,500-square-foot building is expected in the first quarter of 2020, and the schedule for the second building will be based on demand, said Barry Oaks, senior director for Cushman & Wakefield, the exclusive leasing agent for the project.

This computer-generated rendering offers a peek at what The Edison Suncoast will look like when it’s completed. Two loft-style buildings are being developed on a speculative basis. (Courtesy of Cushman & Wakefield)

The project is being built on a speculative basis, supported through a low-interest, partially forgivable loan from Pasco County, said Bill Cronin, president/CEO of Pasco Economic Development Council Inc.

The project is in response to an evolving market, Oaks added.

“Pasco County and surrounding areas have become more developed,” Oaks said. “We feel there’s an unmet need for office space.”

The project is situated on an 18.45-acre site at Suncoast Parkway and State Road 54, in Pasco County, about 30 miles northwest of Tampa’s urban core.

The submarket, known as the 54 Corridor, is considered the next residential growth pocket in the Tampa Bay area, according to material provided by Cushman & Wakefield.

Demographics show a 95.2 percent increase in population from 2000 to 2010, and the current population of 53,130 is projected to grow by 21 percent by 2022.

The location is central to an abundance of residential communities, high-quality retail and dining options, as well as two hotels. Its proximity to the Suncoast Parkway provides convenience to Tampa International Airport, as well as Tampa’s Westshore District and Downtown, according to Cushman & Wakefield.

The building design calls for large windows, to invite an abundance of natural light into the structure. There’s also an open design, allowing tenants a great degree of flexibility, Oaks said.

Amenities include a fitness trail, a third-floor open deck, and a permanent food truck driveway in the courtyard.

Oaks said leasing is just getting started, but noted there is considerable interest in the project and there are talks underway.

Being in the midst of substantial residential development is a plus, Oaks said, because “you’ve got rooftops — so you’ve got access to labor and you’re not having to sell a commute.”

Put another way, there’s “a healthy labor pool in your own backyard,” Oaks said.

The Pasco EDC’s Cronin said the county provided the loan because it wanted to activate the construction of speculative Class A office space.

The county has to turn down projects that are interested in coming here because it lacks sufficient Class A space, Cronin said.

“Class A, just by the nature of being Class A, is going to attract high-wage, high-impact jobs.

“Most of the office spaces we have here currently are kind of a high class B.

“Having a true Class A building is going to attract folks who have a little prestige with their name,” Cronin added, and those employers offer the kind of high-wage jobs the county wants to attract.

Published July 24, 2019

International business increasing in Pasco

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Pasco County has been making strides in the arena of international trade, and Pasco County Commissioner Kathryn Starkey provided a briefing on the topic at a recent North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce luncheon.

In introducing Starkey, Hope Allen, president/CEO of the North Tampa Chamber said: “Kathryn Starkey is a huge advocate of Pasco County.

This rendering shows the future campus for TouchPoint Medical Inc. (File)

“It’s wonderful that Pasco now has a seat at the table, now on the global level, and it’s because of her work and the work of Pasco Economic Development Council, making Pasco part of the conversation.

“She is involved in developing international trade, with a focus on Europe and South America,” Allen said.

Starkey has a pulse on what’s happening locally, and also nationally, on the international trade scene.

She is chair of the International Economic Development Task Force at the National Association of Counties (NACCO). She also was nominated by the White House and NACCO to serve on a committee that looks over trade agreements and makes recommendations. She is among four commissioners who represent the voice of local government, she said.

She’s still undergoing her FBI background check, so at this point, she can participate in calls, but can’t read the information.

Starkey said her introduction to manufacturing came in 2004, when she was on the Pasco County School Board and she made a visit to a training program offered in Okaloosa public schools.

“What they had done was they interviewed their business community, and then they figured out how to start programs in their school system that taught the high school kids how to enter into that workforce when they graduated,” she said.

Pasco County Commissioner Kathryn Starkey

Because of her interest, Starkey traveled to Germany five times — to see for herself and to show others how the Germans do their system of apprenticeship training.

“It was really important to go and see how the world’s premiere training program works.

“If you don’t see it, you can’t understand it. They have the gold standard in manufacturing,” she said.

“What we have done here in Pasco County, Hernando and Pinellas County, is that we’ve set up a training and manufacturing program based on the European model of apprenticeship training,” Starkey added, referring to a program called AmSkills.

“We take high school students and we take students who have graduated, and we take adults who need retraining, and we take them through the process here and we get them very knowledgeable about manufacturing, training and jobs, and then we help them get meaningful jobs here in the community,” she said.

Over time, Pasco County Schools also has established several career academies. It also opened Wendell Krinn Technical High School this year, on the former Ridgewood High campus.

Mettler Toledo opened its 270,000-square-foot manufacturing plant in Northpointe Village, off State Road 54.

In partnership with Marchman Technical College, Wendell Krinn provides students access to 14 different technical education programs, including auto collision/repair, biomedical sciences, commercial art, computer systems, cosmetology, culinary arts, cybersecurity, digital cinema, electricity, HVAC, marine service, robotics, and welding.

Pasco’s workforce development is helping to attract international companies, Starkey said.

She also has been involved with Pasco EDC in trade missions to help local companies find foreign markets, and has helped host events to teach local companies how to grow their business in other parts of the world.

Pasco’s outreach efforts, its workforce development and its willingness to offer incentives to attract companies offering high-wage jobs has resulted in international companies setting up shop in the county.

Some of those companies include:

  • TouchPoint Medical Inc., a global supplier of technology-based health care delivery systems, will bring 116 new high-paying jobs to Pasco County. Company officials plan to relocate their headquarters to prime vacant land in Land O’ Lakes. They will build an approximately 125,000-square-foot facility, including a parking lot, on the northwest corner of Suncoast Parkway and State Road 54. The site is part of the South Branch Ranch property. The facility is expected to open in late 2019.
  • Mettler Toledo: Mettler Toledo opened its 270,000-square-foot manufacturing plant in Northpointe Village in April. The Swiss-based company is a global supplier of precision scales and services used in research, and the packaging and production of food and pharmaceuticals.
  • TRU Simulation: TRU Simulation + Training celebrated the opening of a $30 million expansion of its Pilot Training Center in Lutz in February 2017. The facility opened in a 15,000-square-foot facility at 1827 Northpointe Parkway, off State Road 54 at Suncoast Parkway. TRU Simulation has contracts with companies such as King Air, Boeing and Cessna.

Starkey noted that it’s not enough to get international companies interested in Pasco, it’s also important to treat them well after they arrive, and to continue to form relationships.

Taking a page out of book she read about how the international community developed in North Carolina, Starkey makes it a point to take CEOs of international companies to visit assets around Tampa Bay.

It’s a great way for the CEOs to get to know each other and also for them to develop a deeper understanding of Tampa Bay’s strengths, Starkey said.

“I am trying to take really good care of your CEOs here, and they are spreading the word to their friends back overseas, or to their business friends, that Pasco County is a great place to do business,” Starkey said. “We want them to feel very welcome.”

Revised December 5, 2018

Mettler Toledo brings jobs to Pasco County

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Mettler Toledo celebrated the grand opening of its 270,000-square-foot manufacturing plant in Northpointe Village, with tours, refreshments and a ribbon cutting.

The Swiss-based company is a global supplier of precision scales and services used in research, and the packaging and production of food and pharmaceuticals.

Mettler Toledo executives and local dignitaries cut the ribbon the 270,000-square-foot manufacturing plant. (Kathy Steele)

Mettler Toledo announced plans in 2017 to relocate its Town ‘n Country facility, and also to close its plant in Ithaca, New York. About 600 employees now work at the new plant at the Northpointe shopping center, off State Road 54 at Suncoast Parkway.

Nearly 170 people were hired in the past year, with most coming from Pasco County.

“We have a global leader now located in our county,” said Pasco County Commissioner Kathryn Starkey. “It’s an amazing company. Opportunities like this one bring even more enthusiasm to our region.”

The facility will be home to four business units.

Currently onsite are Tampa-based Safeline Metal Detection and X-Ray Inspection, and Eagle Product Inspection.

During the summer, they will be joined by Mettler Toledo’s Hi-Speed Checkweighing, which currently is in Ithaca; and, Vision Inspection, currently in Aurora, Illinois.

Mettler Toledo opened its 270,000-square-foot manufacturing plant in Northpointe Village, off State Road 54. (Courtesy of Mettler Toledo)

The units offer a range of services, including the design and manufacture of systems that check for contaminants, provide quality control for products and packaging, and test for safety of foods and pharmaceuticals.

During tours of the plant, visitors walked through the sales and services departments, plant operations area, training room, and quality control area.

The campus also has an on-site fitness room, a recreation room with ping pong and foosball, a courtyard and the “Northpointe Café.”

In quality control, visitors got a demonstration of Mettler Toledo’s testing equipment.

The one on display is capable of checking 300 boxes of chocolates in 1 minute for contaminants, and missing pieces of candy.

In her remarks, Starkey singled out Mettler Toledo’s commitment to apprenticeship programs for manufacturing jobs. Because of its on-site cafes, the company also started a culinary program at its Switzerland headquarters that will be adopted in Pasco.

Visitors to Mettler Toledo are greeted in the lobby of the manufacturing plant, which produces equipment for the food and pharmaceutical industries. (Courtesy of Mettler Toledo)

Four students in Pasco’s AmSkills program — Melissa Fink, Alex Gerwe, Nikki Daniels and Josh Ortiz — attended the Mettler Toledo’s opening.

AmSkills is a Tampa Bay initiative that helps high school students, adults and veterans seeking manufacturing jobs. The program operates in Pasco, Pinellas and Hernando counties.

AmSkills instructor Dan Albright said he was able to place some of his students at Mettler Toledo.

Daniels, 36, was impressed with her tour. She is in the adult program at AmSkills.

“I’m very interested and excited that (Mettler Toledo) is close to this area,” she said. “It’s what we’re looking for.”

Ortiz, 19, also is in the adult program, which will last 17 weeks. “I want to be able to find a job,” he said. “Something I can go into, and be proud of and have a career.”

Published April 11, 2018

Developers get $6 million county loan to build offices

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A project to build two upscale, premier office buildings will get a $6 million loan from Pasco County.

The Pasco County Commission approved the loan agreement with Atlanta-based Land Investment Partners at its March 14 meeting in Dade City.

No tenants are pre-signed for the office space.

However, if certain performance goals in leasing the buildings are met, the entire loan could be forgiven. It is initially an interest-only loan, with a 10-year term.

Land Investment Partners plans to build two premier office buildings at Suncoast Parkway and State Road 54. Each of the three-story buildings will be 75,000 square feet. (Courtesy of Pasco County)

Each three-story building, described as Class A, will provide 75,000 square feet, for a total of 150,000 square feet of premium office space at the southeast corner of Suncoast Parkway and State Road 54.

The site is part of the Suncoast Crossings development property, and is north of Mettler Toledo.

The manufacturing company is building a 250,000-square-foot building in Northpointe Village.

Pasco County Commissioner Kathryn Starkey said she thinks that intersection offers an excellent example of development.

“I wish all the corners of all our interstates developed this way,” she said.

County officials estimate the project will produce 400 new jobs, and add about $43 million annually to the county’s gross product. Jobs from the project are expected to generate nearly $28 million in total salaries from direct and indirect employment.

“It’s nice and window-y and very pretty,” said Melanie Kendrick, the county’s program administrator for the Office of Economic Growth.

Under agreement terms, the county will wipe out $3 million of the loan if leases are obtained for 75 percent of the first building. The same terms, and elimination of the last $3 million, will apply to the second building.

Land Investment Partners will receive no reduction in principal if the goals aren’t met.

For the project to be profitable, developers estimated rents should be in the range of $32 a square foot to $33 a square foot. But, in the current market for that area, the rents realistically would only be $27 a square foot to $28 a square foot, according to attorney Clarke Hobby, who represents the investors.

“We’re bridging the gap to make it economically feasible,” Hobby said, of the loan.

Pasco’s Office of Economic Growth is pursuing a strategy of building a more diverse economic base that includes industrial and office projects that are more often seen in urbanized areas.

If this project is successful, Hobby said Pasco could “get more urbanized projects to come to Pasco.”

Published March 21, 2018

Apartments an option for Northpointe Village

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The Northpointe Village shopping center could get a 300-unit apartment complex, on a vacant parcel with rental appeal for employees of Mettler Toledo.

The Swiss-manufacturer broke ground in January on a 250,000-square-foot plant, within Northpointe. The plant is expected to bring about 500 jobs into Pasco County, with about 185 of them being new jobs for the company.

Northpointe Village is a walkable ‘main street’ village concept with offices and shops, off State Road 54 at Suncoast Parkway. Apartments would add a residential component to the development.
(Kathy Steele)

Members of the Pasco County Development Review Committee recommended approval of the apartments at their March 30 meeting in New Port Richey. The matter now goes to the Pasco County commissioners for a final vote.

Letters of support came from the board of directors of the North Pointe at Suncoast Crossings Owners Association, and Mettler Toledo.

Mettler’s General Manager Viggo Nielsen wrote that the apartments may provide “convenient on-site housing for employees and a good mixed-use development that we hope will thrive for many years.”

The rezoning requested by Land Investment Partners would only affect the eastern portion of a master plan for Suncoast Crossings. The development is divided into east and west sides, with separate owners of each side.

Northpointe is a mixed use office and retail complex at the southeast corner of State Road 54 and Suncoast Parkway. The complex is laid out as a walkable “main street” village with shops, offices and restaurants. Renaissance Inn and Hilton Garden Inn also are on-site, as well as TRU Simulation, a manufacturer of flight simulators and a pilot training center.

The Pasco Economic Development Council, which partners with the county on job creation, also has its offices in Northpointe.

The western side of Suncoast Crossings includes the Suncoast shopping center, offices and residential neighborhoods.

Despite efforts to market the Northpointe parcel for non-residential purposes, developers and investors showed no interest, said Clarke Hobby, a land use attorney representing Land Investment Partners.

They repeatedly said the location lacked direct access and visibility to State Road 54

Hobby said, “We think multifamily makes good sense, and it is consistent with market demand. What (Northpointe) doesn’t have and what the retail village has struggled with is multifamily or higher density to get it moving.”

Suncoast Parkway, at State Road 54, is attracting investment for several projects after languishing through the economic downturn.

The master-planned community of Bexley North is under construction on the north side of State Road 54, across from Northpointe. Also, on the north side of the state highway, two more residential and commercial developments are planned adjacent to Bexley and the Suncoast Trail.

If approved, the rezoning for Northpointe would add apartments as a use while retaining office, research and light industrial for another portion of the same site.

Hobby said the focus remains on attracting office and light industrial, and creating jobs. “We’re aggressively pursuing opportunities,” he said.

Future development could include about 225,000 square feet of Class A offices, as well as one or two hotels, he added.

Pasco County plans to build an extension of Northpointe Village Drive as part of an incentive package of about $7.6 million for Mettler Toledo.

Northpointe’s owners will contribute more than $250,000 to the project. That could be reduced by 15 percent if Pasco receives a state reimbursement of about $1.2 million for the estimated $3.2 million road project.

Published April 19, 2017

Truflight expansion will add 100 jobs

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TRU Simulation + Training makes flying as real as it gets for pilots getting a virtual experience of soaring into the skies.

The company manufactures flight simulators, and provides the commercial and military markets with pilot training. The subsidiary of Textron Inc., also provides FAA-certified Part 142 OEM-supported pilot training.

TRU Simulation + Training manufactures full flight simulators and provides pilot training on-site. The simulators weigh between 25,000 and 40,000 pounds.
(Courtesy of TRU Simulation + Training)

TRU Simulation + Training celebrated the opening of a $30 million expansion of its Pilot Training Center in Lutz on Feb. 8. The facility opened nearly two years ago in a 15,000-square- foot facility at 1827 Northpointe Parkway, off State Road 54 at Suncoast Parkway.

The expansion is expected to add 100 jobs.

“This more than doubles the capacity of this facility,” said David Smith, vice president of TRU training centers.

The newest flight simulator resembles a large white capsule perched atop black stilts. The simulators can weigh between 25,000 to 40,000 pounds each, and cost $6 million to $10 million to build.

Another three simulators can fit into the expanded space.

In addition, the facility added classrooms and flight training devices, as well as a fitness room and lounge area.

TRU Simulation has contracts with companies such as King Air, Boeing and Cessna.

When Textron builds an aircraft, the purchase price includes flight training. Simulators are custom-built to meet each client’s needs.

TRU Simulation recently delivered a Bell helicopter simulator to a training academy in Valencia, Spain.

“We also have people who just bought a plane and want to join us,” said Chad Martin, TRU training center manager.

Others are pilots who need to meet annual insurance requirements.

With about 400 clients who come to the training center annually, Smith said the local economy also gets a boost.

They stay in hotels, dine at restaurants and visit tourist attractions.

In the future, Smith hopes to see more development within the Northpointe Village shopping and office complex where TRU Simulation is located.

New restaurants are on the wish list, but Smith said, “We want anything that supports the feel of a small, walkable community that is self-contained.”

Published February 15, 2017

Mettler Toledo breaks ground for new plant

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Swiss manufacturer, Mettler Toledo, broke ground on a 250,000-square-foot manufacturing plant that will bring about 185 new jobs to Pasco County.

Pasco County Commissioner Kathryn Starkey was among dignitaries who attended the groundbreaking for Mettler Toledo’s 250,000-square-foot plant in North Pointe Village, off State Road 54 at Suncoast Parkway.
(Courtesy of Pasco Economic Development Council)

More than 300 people attended the ceremony on Jan. 14. Among those present were Viggo Nielsen, general manager of Mettler Toledo Safeline; Pasco County Commissioner Kathryn Starkey; Pasco County Planning and Development Administrator Richard Gehring; and, Bill Cronin, president of Pasco Economic Development Council.

Mettler Toledo is relocating its current facility from Town ‘N Country, in Hillsborough County, to Northpointe Village, off State Road 54 at the Suncoast Parkway.

The company is a global supplier of precision scales and services used in research, and the packaging and production of food and pharmaceuticals.

The new facility will be part of the product inspection division for Mettler Toledo Safeline.

Gehring said a substantial amount of work from Mettler Toledo and county staff members preceded the groundbreaking.

He updated the Pasco County Commission on the project at the commissioners’ Jan. 24 meeting in Dade City.

“It was a great performance to see the result and to see $25 million in (investment) is going into the ground,” he said.  “It’s a major, major, major effort. When you walk out there, and see smiling faces and kids of families who will work there, it’s a very positive reinforcement to that effort.”

In addition to the new jobs, the company anticipates about 320 current employees will transfer to the new site. Besides closing the Town ‘N Country location, Metter Toledo also will close a plant in Ithaca, New York.

Annual average salaries for all jobs created at Mettler Toledo are pegged at more than $51,000.

Dignitaries use golden shovels at the groundbreaking for Mettler Toledo’s new plant at North Pointe Village.

Gehring said Pasco officials rolled out a welcome mat recently for some of Mettler Toledo’s employees who plan to relocate.

Pasco EDC staff members organized guided tours, with introductions to community leaders at area chambers of commerce and the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office, as well as school district employees.

The county previously rolled out its own financial welcome mat to the company itself.

Pasco County commissioners approved a $7.6 million incentive package in September that includes a payout of about $1.9 million for creating nearly 500 jobs.

Mettler Toledo also will get a property tax break of about $1.7 million for 10 years, if 80 percent of its jobs are retained annually.

Pasco County will contribute about $3.5 million to build an extension of Northpointe Village Drive, through its Penny for Pasco program.

A reimbursement of about $1.2 million will be sought from state road funds. If that’s approved, the county’s incentive package then would be reduced to about $6.4 million.

Published February 1, 2017

Pasco Economic Development Council honors businesses

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The Pasco Economic Development Council honored eight businesses at its 30th annual Banquet and Industry of the Year Awards on Sept. 8.

More than 600 community and business leaders attended the event at the Saddlebrook Resort in Wesley Chapel.

Shauna McKinnon, center, of Bayfront Health Dade City, accepts a special recognition award during the 30th annual Banquet and Industry of the Year Awards presented by Pasco Economic Development Council. Bill Cronin is to her left and Barbara Wilhite is to her right. (Photos courtesy of Pasco Economic Development Council)
Shauna McKinnon, center, of Bayfront Health Dade City, accepts a special recognition award during the 30th annual Banquet and Industry of the Year Awards presented by Pasco Economic Development Council. Bill Cronin is to her left and Barbara Wilhite is to her right.
(Photos courtesy of Pasco Economic Development Council)

Courtney Robinson, 10News WTSP anchor, emceed the event.

The winners, according to information provided by Pasco EDC, were:

  • Ortho Technologies Inc. – New Business Award
  • Crestmark Pharmacy Services LLC – Manufacturing Industry of the Year (one to 25 employees)
  • Leggett & Platt Adjustable Bed Group – Manufacturing Industry of the Year (26 or more employees)
  • Optimum Plumbing LLC – Service/Distribution Industry of the Year (one to 25 employees)
  • Bayonet Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning – Service/Distribution of the Year Award (26 or more employees)
  • Global Electronics Testing Services LLC – Technology Award
  • Bayfront Health Dade City – Special Recognition Award
  • Marjorie’s Hope – Special Contribution Award

Companies were nominated in the spring and then interviewed by members of the Pasco EDC awards committee.

Vladimir Breton, of Optimum Plumbing, addresses the audience. His company won Service/Distribution Company of the Year.
Vladimir Breton, of Optimum Plumbing, addresses the audience. His company won Service/Distribution Company of the Year.

Winners are selected based on exemplary growth in job creation, capital investment, technology, innovation and community service.

Other finalists this year were:

Compark 75, Dixie Belle Paint Company, First National Bank of Pasco, Nicopure Labs LLC, Premier Community Healthcare Group, Rogers Tower P.A., Southeast Bottling & Beverage Co., Southeast Personnel Leasing Inc., Trxade Inc., and USA Underwriting Solutions of America.

In addition to the announcement of the awards, the banquet featured a keynote address by Attorney Barbara Wilhite, the Pasco EDC’s chairwoman.

Those pictured here represent the companies which won awards during the 30th annual Banquet and Industry of the Year Awards presented by the Pasco Economic Development Council.
Those pictured here represent the companies which won awards during the 30th annual Banquet and Industry of the Year Awards presented by the Pasco Economic Development Council.

It has been a year of transition for the council, including the hiring of Bill Cronin as the group’s president and chief operating officer, according to the Pasco EDC release.

Wilhite noted the approval by Pasco County commissioners of a cooperative agreement with the Pasco EDC to direct about $3.2 million from Penny for Pasco dollars toward job growth and economic development.

Wilhite also touched on the recent announcement that Mettler Toledo, a Swiss-based manufacturer, planned to relocate from Tampa to Pasco, and also build a new facility at Northpointe Village, near the Suncoast Parkway.

The Pasco EDC helped bring another 14 projects to fruition.

Wilhite said these efforts are expected to result in nearly 850 new jobs and more than $145 million in Pasco investment, according to the release.

Published September 14, 2016