Editor’s note: Contributing columnist, Steve Nicklas, expresses his views and insight on various topics in Marketplace.
People are flocking like Canadian geese to Florida, and so are businesses – especially of the high-tech variety.
In a recent move, trendy Ark Invest is closing its New York headquarters and is relocating to St. Petersburg. Run by Wall Street darling Cathie Wood, Ark’s innovative products are extremely popular with younger people.
The burgeoning firm will build the Ark Innovation Center on property donated by the City of St. Petersburg. The facility will serve as a talent incubator in partnership with the Tampa Bay Innovation Center. Wood, Ark’s CEO, was attracted to the Tampa Bay-St. Petersburg market because of its flourishing technology scene.
On the opposite coast, financial behemoth Citadel LLC is shopping around the Miami Beach area for office space. Citadel is one of the pre-eminent hedge funds, headquartered in Chicago. According to reports, Citadel is eying a new office park on Terminal Island for some of its operations.
Speaking of flocks of people resembling flocks of seagulls, 400 new households are moving into Nassau County each month, along with 700,000 others visiting here each year. Inevitably, some of these visitors will become residents, a proven equation.
In addition, we have one of the largest commercial/residential developments in the Southeast, compliments of Rayonier’s real estate endeavors. And Nassau County, Florida’s population rapidly approaches 100,000 residents.
We may be shrimpish during our annual festival(s), but Nassau County is no longer so. We are growing vigorously. Even with potential drawbacks like congestion and overcrowding, the demand continues to be as strong as Atlantic Ocean currents at high tide. While spraying us with prosperity.
Steve Nicklas
_____ Steve Nicklas is a financial adviser with a regional brokerage firm who lives and works on Amelia Island. He is also an award-winning columnist. His columns also regularly appear in weekly newspapers in North Florida, and on his website at www.SteveNicklasMarketplace.com. He has published a book, “All About Money,” of his favorite columns from the past 20 years. The book is available on Amazon. He can be reached at 904-753-0236 or at [email protected].
