Beyond our beaches, Northwest Florida offers businesses competitive, bottom-line advantages in workforce training, upgraded infrastructure and access to a host of defense assets. And the Triumph Gulf Coast Fund – the only incentive program of its kind.
As a result of a settlement from the 2010 BP/Deepwater Horizon oil spill, $1.5 billion has been directed to eight coastal counties in Northwest Florida to aid in economic diversification.
Download our Triumph Gulf Coast Fact Sheet
Economic Development Grant Funds
$1.5 Billion
Annually through 2033
$80 Million
In just two years, Triumph has deployed more than $250 million to more than 40 projects ranging from an aircraft maintenance campus, an international port terminal and the expansion of welding, aviation mechanics and CDL training programs.
The funds are designed to be used to grow the economy and support business in three areas:
Infrastructure
Supports infrastructure needs such a buildings, roadways, rail spurs, utilities and more.
Workforce Training
Develops industry-driven workforce training programs
Tax Abatement
Provides the equivalent of up to 100% abatement of
property taxes, including school taxes, for up to 10 years
In 2010, the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill took place 45 miles south of the Louisiana coast causing both environmental and economic hardships in five Gulf Coast states. As a result of the settlement with BP, the Florida Legislature created the “Gulf Coast Economic Corridor Act” to provide a long-term and dedicated source of funding for economic recovery from the oil spill.
The act created Triumph Gulf Coast, Inc., a non-profit corporation, as a mechanism to disburse the economic recovery funds to the eight disproportionately affected counties of Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton, Bay, Gulf, Franklin and Wakulla. As a result, the Triumph Gulf Coast Fund was created.
Today, the fund is guided by a seven-member board of private sector business leaders appointed by state leadership. The board is a-political and operates at the speed of business.
A priority in the creation of Triumph was to offer unique flexibilities to both the communities and the companies. By doing so, the program, and now with it – local communities – focus on transformational projects rather than transactional projects.
“The Northwest Florida region is open to new business. It is conducive and offers a large aviation labor shed. The region has been with us from the very beginning - since 2014 when the concept of this project first started, and they continue to help us today. As a private entity we have invested heavily in this project, but the Triumph grant made a huge difference in our ability to develop such an expansive aerospace campus.”
— William Hafner, Chief Integration Officer of Project Titan, ST Engineering
$66 million: City of Pensacola Airport Expansion — 775,000 square foot commercial MRO campus including 3 new hangars and training center to support ST Engineering’s expansion.
$20 million: Panama City Industrial Complex — Infrastructure improvements including dredging, bulkhead installation, launchways, equipment, warehouse to support Eastern Shipbuilding and its US Coast Guard Cutter contract.
$1.5 million: Okaloosa County — Shoal River Ranch Giga Industrial Site water and sewer improvements offering more than 2,000 shovel-ready acres.
$5 million: Region-wide Rural Workforce Training — Unmanned Pilot Training resulting in more than 1,000 certifications over five years.
Florida’s Great Northwest is here to provide you the practical, on-the-ground resources and support you need for your business location/expansion project. From incentives to site selection to workforce development, we’ve got the expertise and connections to help your business be even more competitive with a Northwest Florida location.
