It’s Always Sunny in Florida

More than 500 CEOs ranked Florida as the perfect climate to set up shop and grow…

For the fourth year in a row, Florida has held its ground as the second best state in the nation to do business—that’s according to Chief Executive magazine in their 11th annual survey of Best & Worst States for Business. And the reasons businesses find to locate and grow in the Sunshine State are many.

The state’s pro-business climate offers several economic advantages, including a low-tax environment with limited corporate taxes and zero personal income tax; smooth regulatory processes, providing quicker, less costly permitting; and a quality workforce of 9.5 million strong. The state’s agile infrastructure system provides miles of rail and highway, 15 seaports, and 19 airports to aid in domestic and international trade. And when it comes to attracting and retaining employees, bonuses like weather and lifestyle don’t hurt either.

At GAI, we’re making great strides in the Sunshine State. We’ve doubled our staff resources in the last three years, thanks in part to Florida’s healthy transportation budget: for the 2015-2016 season, the state allocated an impressive $9.3 billion to the Florida Department of Transportation.

At GAI, we’re making great strides in the Sunshine State. We’ve doubled our staff resources in the last three years, thanks in part to Florida’s healthy transportation budget: for the 2015-2016 season, the state allocated an impressive $9.3 billion to the Florida Department of Transportation. Due to the great opportunities in infrastructure, we’ve increased our highway department and construction engineering inspection staff in our Jacksonville and Orlando offices, recently opened up a Juno Beach location, and will soon be expanding our resources into Tampa and Miami.

We are seeing a huge uptick in major projects, such as the I-95 Widening and I-4/US 92 Systems Interchange Reconstruction in Volusia County, I-4 Beyond the Ultimate in Orange County, I-295 Express Lanes in Jacksonville, and the Florida Turnpike Widening from Atlantic Avenue to Boynton Beach Boulevard in Palm Beach County. Other Florida projects making an impact include the Horizons West Campus Master Plan and the Emergency Department and Patient Tower Expansion, both completed for our longtime, valued client Orlando Health, as well the City of Clermont’s Downtown Master Plan and Lake County’s design and development of South Lake Regional Park.

We’ve been in Florida for 33 years and we’re looking forward to playing an even bigger role in the state in the future. With all this momentum and growth, maybe next year the Sunshine State just might overtake the Longhorn State as the #1 state to do business…

Guest blogger Greg Nettuno, PE is a Senior Vice President and GAI’s Infrastructure Business Unit Director. Greg can be reached at 904.363.1110.

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