TOURISM AND AVIATION/ AEROSPACE REMAIN STALWART INDUSTRIES in Florida’s east central region. In 2014, Orlando hosted 62 million visitors, the first U.S. city to surpass the 60 million mark in a single year, while high-tech companies big and small tapped into the infrastructure and talent birthed by NASA along Florida’s “spacecoast” to grow their presence or put down new roots. Fueling additional economic success across the region are manufacturing, logistics and business services, along with 17 institutions of higher education, including the nation’s second largest, University of Central Florida, where researchers have set a school record for funded research — $145.6 million in FY 2014.

In 2014, Port Canaveral — North America’s second busiest cruise port — welcomed 3.9 million multiday passengers, handled cargo totaling 3.4 million tons and added a bulk conveyor system capable of offloading 2,000 tons per hour. The SunRail commuter train, which celebrated its first anniversary in May 2015, is enjoying better-than-expected ridership between Orange and Volusia counties and expects to begin construction on a 17.2-mile extension into Osceola County later this year. Meanwhile, Orlando International Airport continues its largest-ever expansion, providing improved links to ground transportation, including All Aboard Florida’s Orlando-to-Miami train slated to begin operation in 2017.

WHO LIVES HERE

Young and old
Almost two-thirds of Orlando’s population is under age 44 and nearly one-third has earned a college degree. Conversely, 52% of residents in Sumter County are age 65 and older, where many reside at The Villages, one of America’s largest retirement communities and, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, the nation’s fastest growing metro area in 2013-14.

Diverse
African-Americans find greater-than-average opportunity in Orlando, according to Forbes magazine, which ranked the city 7th on its list of U.S. metropolitan areas where blacks fare the best economically. And among U.S. cities with populations exceeding 200,000, Orlando ranked 9th for number of women in the workforce, according to personal finance website Nerdwallet. Also strong in this region: Latin influences, especially in Osceola County, where Hispanics make up 49% of the total population.

Tech-ready
Brevard County, ground zero for Florida’s aerospace industry, boasts 48 engineers per 1,000 workers — more than any of the 25 most populated metro areas in the U.S. — and attracts 13 patents for every 10,000 workers. Across the region, five high schools earned gold medals in U.S. News & World Report’s “2015 Best High Schools,” and, with 66 U.S. utility patents granted in 2014, University of Central Florida ranked 12th among U.S. public universities and 30th worldwide.

ECONOMIC LIFE

Aviation/Aerospace/Defense

• Continuing to grow its footprint in Brevard County, Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer will construct the new Embraer Aero Seating Technologies manufacturing facility in Titusville; 150 new jobs are anticipated.
• French aeronautics supplier Vision Systems celebrated the grand opening of its new manufacturing facility in Melbourne in 2014; 40 new jobs were created.
• The Federal Aviation Administration has selected Melbourne-based Harris Corporation to design and implement a system that will disseminate real-time, comprehensive weather pictures to aviators across the National Airspace System in an effort to reduce weather-related flight delays and cancellations.
• Orlando-based Engineering & Computer Simulations has won a $29-million contract to provide education and training for U.S. Air Force healthcare providers and patients on the medical modeling and simulation products it has provided to the military for more than a decade.
• In its largest military order to date, Port Orange-based Raydon Corporation has landed a nearly $100-million contract to produce virtual-reality training simulators for the Army National Guard.

Tourism

• With 19.3 million visitors in 2014, Disney’s Magic Kingdom in Orlando again remained the most visited theme park in the world, followed closely by its sister parks Epcot, Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. In 7th place worldwide, Universal Studios Orlando, which debuted the Harry Potter-themed “Diagon Alley” to record crowds in 2014, once again posted the biggest year-over-year attendance increase — a whopping 17%.

Coming in 2016:

• At Walt Disney World: A ride based on the movie “Frozen” at Epcot and the nighttime show “Rivers of Light” at Animal Kingdom.
• At Universal’s Islands of Adventure: “Skull Island: Reign of Kong,” providing an up-close-and-personal encounter with the iconic ape.
• At SeaWorld: A 200-foot roller coaster that will be the tallest in Orlando (at least until the 570-foot Skyfall vertical coaster opens on International Drive in 2017).
• Elsewhere, the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame will move to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex and add a new 3-D interactive exhibit “Heroes and Legends,” focusing on Mercury and Apollo astronaut heroes. And at Daytona International Speedway, the $400-million “Daytona Rising” redevelopment project, promising 101,000 wider, more comforable seats, twice as many restrooms and triple the concession stands, remains on schedule for a July 2016 completion.

Business/Financial Services

• Viewpost, a financial services firm specializing in cloud-based electronic invoicing and payments, will expand its presence in Maitland, creating 262 new programming and software development jobs over three years.
• Virginia-based professional services and technology firm NeoSystems Corporation has opened its first-ever Managed Accounting Services and IT Operations Center in Orlando, bringing 37 new jobs.
• Space Coast Credit Union is expanding its Melbourne-based headquarters to better serve its customers in 14 counties. Founded as Patrick Air Force Base Credit Union in 1951, the firm is today Florida’s third largest credit union.

Manufacturing

• VOXX International will expand its automotive components production facility with a new manufacturing center and corporate headquarters in Orlando; 134 new jobs are anticipated.
• Dixon Ticonderoga Company, manufacturer of the writing instruments and art supplies used by more than 50 million students nationwide, will expand its company headquarters in Lake Mary, adding 20 new jobs over three years.
• Hernon Manufacturing, maker of adhesive sealants and dispensing equipment, is expanding its current site in Sanford by 27,000 square feet and adding 20 new jobs.
• Nautique Boats in Orlando plans to expand its central Florida facility and add 200 new jobs. Nautique was named Florida’s “2014 Manufacturer of the Year” by the Manufacturers Association of Florida.
• Luxury yacht builder Merritt Island Boat Works will increase the size of its manufacturing facility in Brevard County and create 380 jobs.
• Construction is under way in Osceola County on the 100,000-sq.-ft. Florida Advanced Manufacturing Research Center, a joint venture of the University of Central Florida, The Corridor (formerly Florida High Tech Corridor Council), Orlando Economic Development Commission and Osceola County. Slated for completion in 2016, the center will house R&D facilities for the highly advanced sensors used in next-generation computers, appliances, smartphones and communication devices.

Technology

• The German software firm ITyX Solutions, a leader in developing artificial intelligence email and text recognition software, will establish its first U.S. office in downtown Orlando, creating 15 jobs.
• Advanced IT Concepts will expand its corporate headquarters in Winter Springs and bring 50 new jobs to Seminole County.
• The Spanish agricultural technology firm Agromillora Group has opened a laboratory in Sumter County to produce rootstocks that are tolerant to citrus greening, a conditon currently affecting Florida’s citrus production.
• Website and mobile app software developer Solodev plans to expand its Orlando-based headquarters and add 25 jobs.

Life Sciences/Healthcare

• At Lake Nona Medical City, construction is nearly complete on the Guide Well Innovation Center, a 92,000-sq.-ft. biotech incubator for emerging life sciences and technology companies to be jointly managed by University of Central Florida and University of Florida. Scheduled opening: late 2015.
• The Orlando VA Medical Center — the first new VA hospital built in the U.S. in 20 years — celebrated its grand opening at Lake Nona in May 2015. The 134-bed inpatient hospital features an advanced diagnostic center and a 60-bed rehabilitation/recovery center for homeless veterans.
• Altamonte Springs-based BookThatDoc.com will expand to downtown Orlando and add 43 jobs over three years. The free service helps patients find medical providers, book appointments and access health information online.

QUALITY OF LIFE

I-Drive revived
International Drive, the busy thoroughfare that parallels I-4 between Disney World and Universal Studios with SeaWorld in between, is sporting a new look. Taking the place of chain motels and T-shirt shops are new attractions like Madame Tussauds celebrity wax museum, Sea Life aquarium and the Orlando Eye, which at 400-feet tall offers an unobstructed view of nearby theme parks, the Orlando skyline and, if the day is clear, Cape Canaveral 55 miles away. And newly opened a few blocks away at the Florida Mall is “Crayola Experience,” where the “Colossal Caddy” of thousands of crayons and 25 hands-on activities beckon adults and kids alike to color outside the lines.

Fun in the sun
Florida’s “spacecoast” boasts 72 miles of Atlantic coastline and includes one of America’s most famous beaches, Daytona, with its giant Ferris wheel, boardwalk and pier. Find your own patch of sand beside the ocean or venture inland to enjoy kayaking in the Indian River Lagoon, biking/hiking along the 52-mile East Central Regional Rail Trail in Volusia County and bird watching at Turkey Creek Sanctuary.

NOTABLE ADDITIONS/EXPANSIONS

Regional headquarters/manufacturing
Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Americas, a merger between Hitachi and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, is anticipating 100 new jobs with the consolidation of its North American headquarters in Lake Mary. Previously, Mitsubishi was spread across two sites: an Orlando Service Center for the manufacture and repair of electrical turbines and a headquarters facility in Lake Mary. The merger will bring 1,000-plus employees together under one roof.

Logistics/distribution
The trendy California-based grocer Trader Joe’s is building a 630,000-sq.-ft. regional distribution center near the intersection of I-4 and I-95 just west of Daytona Beach. Slated to open in late 2015, the facility will serve Trader Joe’s stores throughout the South; 450 jobs are anticipated.

Sports training
The United States Tennis Association (USTA), the national governing body for the sport of tennis in the U.S., has begun construction of its USTA National Campus at Lake Nona in Orlando. The $60-million facility will house USTA’s Community Tennis and Player Development divisions, more than 100 courts for tournaments and training at all levels and a tennis center for hosting collegiate events, and will serve as home for the University of Central Florida’s men’s and women’s varsity tennis teams. Anticipated completion: late 2016.

NOTABLE EMPLOYERS

Aviation/Aerospace/Defense

• The Boeing Company | Orlando and Titusville
• Harris Corporation | Melbourne
• Lockheed Martin Corporation | Orlando and Cape Canaveral
• Northrop Grumman Corporation | Orlando and Melbourne
• Raytheon Company | Orlando and Melbourne
• Rockwell Collins | Melbourne
• Siemens Energy | Orlando

Tourism/Hospitality

• American Automobile Association | Heathrow
• Darden Restaurants | Orlando
• Rosen Hotels & Resorts | Orlando
• SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment | Orlando
• Universal Orlando Resort | Orlando
• Walt Disney World Resort | Lake Buena Vista
• Wyndham Vacation Ownership | Orlando

Healthcare

• Adventist Health System/Florida Hospital | Orlando
• Orlando Health | Orlando