St. Lucie County Incentives:

Job Growth Investment Grant
The St. Lucie County Board of County Commissioners offers this grant to assist companies for job creation, capital investing, and wages that are new or expanding. The Board may issue grants ranging from $1,500 to $3,000 per job for companies locating or expanding in the county. A minimum of 10 new jobs must be created. A salary requirement of 107 percent of the County’s current hourly wage must also be met. Board of County Commissioners approval is required on this incentive.

Ad Valorem Tax Abatement
St. Lucie County offers an Ad Valorem Tax Abatement (approx. 7-8 mils) to a new or expanding business. The exemption is applied to improvements a business makes to its property, such as a new building or new equipment purchased in connection with relocating or expanding. The exemption can be granted for up to ten years; the number of jobs created, wage rate, and capital investment determine the length of the exemption. A new business is defined as one that creates at least 10 manufacturing jobs, 25 (non-manufacturing) jobs or a business that has more than 50% of its sales outside the State of Florida. The category also covers a new Florida corporation with 50 or more full-time employees or any business located in an economically depressed area (Enterprise Zone). Board of County Commissioners approval is required on this incentive.

Industrial Development Revenue Bonds (IDRBs)
Industrial Development Revenue Bonds are securities issued by St. Lucie County for the purpose of financing capital facilities for use by private business and industry. IDRBs are considered a special obligation of a local government, and providing the industrial development meets all qualifying conditions. The interest on the bonds is not subject to federal income tax. IDRB financing is often comparable to ordinary note and mortgage financing in that a private lender (the bond purchaser) agrees to lend funds to a private company by buying the bonds. The capital projects that the lender’s funds are used to finance are mortgaged to secure repayment of the loan.

Workforce Assistance:

Indian River State College (IRSC)
On-Site Customized Training – IRSC works one on one with businesses to develop, implement and customize on-site training programs tailored to fit the specific needs of businesses and their employees; including screening/pre-training; literacy in the workplace; technical training specialists; computer training specialties and manufacturing technologies training.

Workforce Solutions of the Treasure Coast
Workforce Solutions is a private, non-profit, Florida corporation with a Board of Directors consisting of private business, economic development and education representatives, community and state agencies, and elected officials. Members of the Board represent the diversity of businesses, organizations and trades that operate in the Treasure Coast Region, including St. Lucie County. Workforce Solutions is chartered by the State of Florida to create and manage a workforce development service delivery system responsive to the needs of businesses and jobseekers. They have a staff comprised of certified workforce professionals and offer award-winning programs and partnerships recognized locally, statewide and nationally.

Special Opportunity Incentives:

Enterprise Zone Incentives
Florida offers an assortment of tax incentives to businesses that choose to create employment within an enterprise zone, which is a specific geographic area targeted for economic revitalization. These include a sales and use tax credit, tax refund for business machinery and equipment used in an enterprise zone, sales tax refund for building materials used in an Enterprise Zone, and a sales tax exemption for electrical energy used in an enterprise zone. In the northern section of St. Lucie County, the City of Ft. Pierce has established an Enterprise Zone. See Map A to view the Enterprise Zone location within Ft. Pierce.

Brownfield Incentives
Florida offers incentives to businesses that locate in Brownfield sites, which are underutilized industrial or commercial sites due to actual or perceived environmental contamination. The Brownfield Redevelopment Bonus Refund is available to encourage Brownfield redevelopment and job creation. Approved applicants receive additional tax refunds of up to $2,500 for each job created as well as additional incentive opportunities.

Currently, there are 2 Brownfield sites located in the northern section of St. Lucie County. The Brownfield site situated within unincorporated St. Lucie County consists of 56 acres and the site within the City of Ft. Pierce makes up a total of 15.3 acres. See Map A to view the location of both Brownfield sites.

Foreign Trade Zone #218 – Central Florida Foreign Trade Zone
Foreign Trade Zones are industrial parks or specialized warehouses that are secure. These zones are considered to be outside of U.S. Customs Territory and offer unique savings opportunities to businesses. A few of the savings include: duty exemption on re-exports, duty elimination on scrap/waste, duty deferral, and relief from inverted tariffs.

St. Lucie County’s Foreign Trade Zone is located in 4 areas (listed below) of the county consisting of a total of 1,588 acres (see Map B).

• St. Lucie County International Airport: 1,063 Acres
• Crossroads Park of Commerce: 15 Acres
• Kings Highway Industrial Park: 102 Acres
• St. Lucie West Commerce Park: 408 Acres

Map A – St. Lucie County Brownfield Sites & Enterprise Zone
Map B – St. Lucie County Foreign Trade Zone Sites