Back in January, Pinellas County issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) calling for architectural service proposals to design the Tampa Bay Innovation Center scheduled to be built at the southwest corner of Fourth Street and 11th Avenue South in St. Petersburg’s Innovation District. The deadline to submit proposals was February 4th.

The new two-story 45,000 square foot state-of-the-art business incubator will house 30,000 square feet of client space, coworking space as well as conference/community rooms and offices. 113 parking spaces will be situated under a portion of the building and also at the rear of the property.

Four groups threw their hat in the ring – Gensler, The Beck Group, Harvard Jolly Architecture, and Wannemacher Jensen Architects. On October 6th, The Board of County Commissioners awarded the project to The Beck Group.

“The folks at Beck are off and running with the facility design, talking with stakeholders about the programs anticipated at the center and directing the design work accordingly,” says Mike Meidel, Directory of Pinellas County Economic Development.

The Beck Group was founded in 1912 and has worked in 42 states and nearly a dozen countries. The firm has 8 office locations in the United States, including one in Tampa. They offer a wide range of services including architecture, construction, real estate development, and sustainable design and consulting, as well as finance and technology services.

Some of Beck’s Tampa Bay projects include Ulele, a restaurant on Tampa’s Riverwalk, and the recently completed USF St. Pete Residence Hall and Dining Facility. 

The design of the Innovation Center should be ready for bid proposals by the end of March. Once the county evaluates the construction bids, a prime contractor will be selected.

According to the proposed schedule, construction will commence on the building no later than July 2021 and a ribbon-cutting will occur no later than July 2023.

This development has been a long time coming for the Tampa Bay Innovation Center, which is a business incubator, accelerator and coworking entrepreneurial center that has been operating in Pinellas County for the past 16 years.

The organization offers programs that are tailored to the innovator/entrepreneur and address business intelligence, planning and business formation, strategy execution and technology transition. Their offices are currently located at 501 1st Avenue North inside a county-owned judicial building. 

Earlier this week, the Tampa Bay Innovation Center opened applications to its accelerator program for its third cohort. The program is seeking all types of high impact tech startups from all over the country. Accelerator participants will engage in a rigorous program that includes coaching, education, connections and expertise from industry professionals. Additional information and application are available at the innovation center’s website.

“We are so excited for the future of the Tampa Bay Innovation Center in Pinellas County,” says Pinellas County Commissioner Janet C. Long. “Rebounding from COVID-19 will require innovation. We plan to be a leader in that area and this investment in the St. Pete Innovation District will serve as a new economic engine for Pinellas County's economy."

The Tampa Bay Innovation Center’s new facility will be located in St. Pete’s Innovation District, which is already home to world-class institutions specializing in marine and life sciences, business incubation, communications, economic development, and higher education. The innovation center will join other trailblazing organizations and research centers in the neighborhood such as Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), USF St. Petersburg, and the Poynter Institute of Media Studies.

The business incubator will support targeted industry clusters of research, innovation and entrepreneurial activity in the technology, life sciences, marine sciences, and/or advanced manufacturing sectors.

Programs and services offered at the new facility will include business mentoring/coaching, education, idea validation, strategy development, marketing assistance, network opportunities, workforce development, assistance with access to capital, access to business schools and interns, and standard office resources.

“We are pleased to see this project moving forward.  The new Innovation Center will have a significant impact on our community and economy as we move into the ‘next normal,’” says Tonya Elmore, president & CEO of the Tampa Bay Innovation Center. “We will be well positioned to work with entrepreneurs developing the latest technologies that will help create jobs and attract talent to Pinellas County.”

In July, the federal government awarded Pinellas County a U.S. Economic Development Administration grant of $7.5 million to help build the innovation center. The remaining $4.5 million will be provided by a mix of County funds and private sector funding. The City of St. Petersburg is donating the 2.5-acre site for this project.

The number of jobs to be created and retained will be approximately 1,265 jobs, which will generate $127 million in revenue annually by its fourth year. Local officials have projected those jobs will pay average salaries of about $54,000 a year.