Tampa Must Change Its 'Economic DNA,' Mayor Says

Although the city could be staring down a $40 million deficit this year, Mayor Bob Buckhorn said better days are ahead if leaders are committed to new thinking and rapid adjustments.

The secret, he said, will be changing Tampa’s "economic DNA."

“If we do the same thing we’ve been doing for the last 15 years, we’ll get the same results,” he said. “We’ve got to take advantage of the economic engines that could drive us to a new economy.”

Speaking at a New Tampa Rotary Club breakfast this morning, Buckhorn said the Bay Area is losing people to cities such as Raleigh, Austin and Charlotte. Gone are the days of “building subdivisions for people who didn’t exist.”

Buckhorn said cutting-edge endeavors at the Moffitt Cancer Center and the University of South Florida could create turning points. 

“Four-hundred million in research money flows through the University of South Florida,” he said. “The key is to find a way to move it from the Petri dishes and laboratories out to the marketplace.”

Buckhorn said in Silicon Valley’s heyday, 60 percent of the area’s gross domestic product was directly tied to Stanford University. Research being done at the educational facility at the time, he said, flowed into the commercial sector, creating jobs and companies and bringing investment from around the world.

“That’s exactly what can be done here,” Buckhorn said. 

The politico, who has been in office for nine months, pointed to USF’s medical training center being constructed downtown, The Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation. The 90,000-square-foot facility is expected to bring not only medical jobs but 30,000 hotel room stays annually as medical technicians from around the globe come here to train on CAMLS’ simulation and robotics.

Buckhorn hopes, too, the Israeli company manufacturing the state-of-the-art equipment for USF might be convinced to transfer jobs to Tampa.

“Those are the types of clusters we need to look at to create a new economy,” Buckhorn said. “My kids aren’t coming home to a call center job; neither are yours.”

Tampa has a chance to lure business and investment, too, during the Republican National Convention in August, Buckhorn said. While there are significant security challenges to address, the city should receive a huge economic jolt from all of the planned visitors.

Buckhorn said 15,000 journalists alone will come to Tampa for the event.  

“I don’t look at it as a political event, I look at this as an economic development opportunity," he said. "We’re going to tell Tampa’s story: Why it’s a great place to live, invest, move your company, grow your company, to buy real estate, to relocate.”

Buckhorn said Tampa can’t cut or trim its way out of its current economic situation. It’s going to require thinking outside of the box, he said, and new attitudes. He said the city already has started streamlining its difficult permitting process to create a more inviting climate for business folk.

Buckhorn said permits are currently seeing an uptick.

“I truly think there is light at the end of this (economic) tunnel,” he said.