The minds behind Osceola County tech district NeoCity weren't psychic.
Instead, the decision to make semiconductor research and manufacturing a key part of NeoCity was informed by the trends of the time, Osceola County Manager Don Fisher told Orlando Inno.
When Osceola County officials in 2014 launched efforts to turn 483 acres of mostly vacant land into a thriving mixed-use development called NeoCity, semiconductor manufacturing was increasingly leaving the U.S.
The 109,000-square-foot Center for Neovation semiconductor lab is one of the few structures that's actually been built at the site, but it's increasingly drawing attention and money to NeoCity amid a nationwide microchip shortage. These funds may aid the county in bringing high-tech employers to NeoCity.
Building a home
The dollars on the table for NeoCity include up to $100 million a team of applicants led by Osceola County could win from the federal government.
The county's bid is one of 60 nationwide finalists in contention for $1 billion that will be awarded by the U.S. Department of Commerce as part of the Build Back Better Regional Challenge. If secured, those dollars would be used to build roads at NeoCity, invest in new tools at the Center for Neovation and train more workers for the semiconductor industry.
This is part of Osceola County's strategy to bring companies and new jobs to NeoCity. Instead of paying a high-tech company to move to the county, the county's plan has been to build up the infrastructure necessary to attract businesses. In other words, the county is creating a "home" for companies, instead of asking them to move their homes, Fisher said.
Meanwhile, Fisher said he is optimistic about the county's chances to win money from the Build Back Better Regional Challenge. That's because their application is the only one in the nation solely focused on semiconductors. The challenge will award 20 to 30 groups with $25 million-$100 million each to implement their proposals.
Of course, federal funds aren't all that's flowing to NeoCity. The county on Jan. 6 landed $6 million from the state's Florida Job Growth Grant Fund to help pay for infrastructure connecting NeoCity with the county’s workforce.
Support from the state is especially critical, as the original business model for Bridg, the nonprofit that exclusively operated the Center for Neovation until 2021, counted on state funding that never came to fruition.
The semiconductor work ongoing at NeoCity clearly played a factor in this recent award, as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called the money an investment to "bring microchip and semiconductor manufacturing back to our state at a time when the supply chains are more fragile than ever."
These dollars are key for the county's mission to attract tech firms to NeoCity and create thousands of high-wage jobs in a county historically dominated by tourism work. Plus, success in the Department of Commerce's challenge may lead to more funding opportunities in the near future, Fisher added. "The way these federal grants work is, if you get one, it opens the door up to more."
That may be especially true as the semiconductor shortage is expected to linger this year. A December report by global consulting and finance giant Deloitte predicts the shortage will improve compared to 2021, but it will extend through the entire year. "While the shortage will endure through 2022, it will be less severe than in fall 2020 or most of 2021."
Other NeoCity news
Meanwhile, Osceola County and other partners have taken steps in the past year to ramp up development activity and tech operations at NeoCity.
DSUS LLC — a Duluth, Georgia-based firm related to South Korean semiconductor firm DS Semicon Co. Ltd. — plans to spend $1.2 billion to transform the mostly vacant land into what the county describes as a “testbed” community, with smart technology present throughout homes, hotel rooms, offices and more that would rise on the site. Under the terms of a signed conveyance agreement, DSUS would develop more than 1,000 homes, 550,000 square feet of retail, a 478,000-square-foot office tower, a 106,000-square-foot convention center and more at the site.
The county in January 2021 signed a lease agreement with Bloomington, Minnesota-based SkyWater Technology Foundry Inc., enabling the semiconductor manufacturer to take over the Center for Neovation and create up to 220 jobs.
The county in December also approved up to $15 million in research funding for nanoelectronics firm Imec USA, which operates in NeoCity.
Sign up here for The Beat, Orlando Inno’s free newsletter. And be sure to follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.
