Downtown Winter Haven sparkles with new pavers, lighting and landscaping, a beautiful new library , a variety of great restaurants and a growing number of special shops. But quiet and little-noticed is an emerging technology sector anchored by a unique fiber optic crossroads and the USF Polytechnic technology accelerator.
The primary driver of this tech hub is two large telecommunications buildings formerly owned by Verizon/GTE and now owned and being developed by the Six Ten Corporation. The two buildings are hardened and carrier grade and have become the anchors for what is now known as the Inland Fiber and Data Park — a four-block area offering safe data storage and emergency back up facilities to both government and corporate clients from throughout Florida and both national and international interests.
There is currently 300,000 square feet of space serving 26 companies with approximately 230 employees. Six Ten is proposing to add another 50,000 square feet of new space by 2012 effectively doubling the number of companies to 50 and employment to 500. These high technology jobs are projected to average wages of $43,000 – $69,000.
Currently there are eight fiber optic providers located downtown. They include: Level 3, Verizon, Nuvox, Time Warner Telecom, FPL Fibernet, BrightHouse and Sprint. That number is expected to grow to twelve by 2012.
Tenants include medical, business service and support, software developers, data centers anddisaster recovery, technology, educational institutions and State and Federal Government. Another key partner in the development of this technology park is Elephant Outlook Information Services providing secure email management and compliance.
Key to this emerging sector is the synergy derived from public/private partnerships. Six Ten Corporation and Elephant Outlook are partnering with the resources of the City of Winter Haven, Central Florida Development Council, East Polk Committee of 100 and USF Polytechnic to maximize the position of Polk County and Winter Haven in this highly desirable area of economic development.
High wage and high potential in the heart of downtown. The future looks bright.
Awesome post. Thanks for all the great info, Bob.
This is exciting information. Our downtown is emerging as not only an attractive destination for dining, shopping and special events but as a key technology/business hub. Hats off to all the individuals, businesses and other entities (including the City) that have worked so well together to make this happen. Keep it up!
This could only be described as the greatest news I’ve been waiting to hear for years. As a technology professional, I could only hope that my areas of expertise could be of value to one of these emerging technology firms. Commuting to Tampa or Orlando for higher paying positions has become tiresome, to say the least.