Rapid expansion has come to Central Florida, and the City of Kissimmee welcomes the fresh pickings of a decade-long drive for economic diversification. Following consistent investment, Kissimmee, the beautiful county seat of Osceola County, is coming of age.
While Kissimmee remains an American tourist mecca, with Disney and Universal Studios on its doorstep, this community of 85,000 has also turned itself into a prime location for business and industry, and it is flourishing. But, although famous tourist destinations continue to provide ample job opportunities, the city’s leadership believes that its residents, especially the younger demographic, are ready for higher-paying jobs to allow them to live the best of lives in this vibrant place.
Upgrading job opportunities
Kissimmee’s efforts to attract a younger population have paid off. The city’s average age is 35—significantly lower than the statewide average, which falls in the mid-40s and above. This shift is the result of various city-led initiatives aimed at fostering opportunity and growth. Combined with the support of key local industries, these sustained efforts have steadily boosted residents’ earning potential in recent years.
NeoCity, a major development in the region, is a tech hub for microchips and semiconductors alongside optics, smart sensors, and photonics. With plans to become one of the area’s largest employers, the campus’s proximity to the city’s downtown provides ample economic opportunity for businesses there.
Kissimmee is also home to the third-largest healthcare corridors in Central Florida, boasting a two-square-mile medical district. This area is home to two major hospitals, Healthcare Corporation of America (HCA) Florida Osceola and AdventHealth Kissimmee, both of which are currently expanding.
In addition to other established medical facilities, Everest Rehabilitation Hospital, a new 40,000-square-foot rehab facility, is also under construction and will create around 120 new high-wage healthcare jobs.
Aviation taking off
The aviation industry is also a strong economic contributor, generating over a billion dollars for the economy. And, with 200 acres ready for development, the city sees the sky as the limit. Already, Kissimmee Gateway Airport is known to be one of the country’s preferred airports among private aviation-related businesses.
“General aviation is attractive to businesses because they don’t have to compete with the commercial airlines for space on the runway and space on the airfield,” says City Manager Mike Steigerwald, pointing out that local enterprises benefit tremendously from having such easy access to an airport of this kind.
For that reason, there are multiple flight schools at Kissimmee Gateway. Programs range from high-altitude flying and maneuvers in small jets to Aviator College’s Federal Aviation Administration-certified, two-year degree program to become licensed Airframe and Powerplant (A&P) Mechanics. Aerostar is internationally recognized for its advanced airline pilot training in full-size simulators for Boeing 737 and Airbus 320, and students travel from around the globe to attend its state-of-the-art facility in Kissimmee.
One of the most attractive aspects of the aviation training offered at Kissimmee Gateway Airport is the accessibility of some programs to individuals with no prior aviation experience. “Several introductory courses, including those in pilot training and aviation maintenance, prepare students for FAA certification and entry-level careers in the industry,” Steigerwald says, highlighting that these opportunities make it easier for people in hospitality or other, more Earth-bound jobs to pivot into new careers and far brighter futures reasonably quickly.
Beyond convenience and education, this airport has also given rise to related businesses serving the industry that benefit from more affordable rents as opposed to the inflated rates that the presence of a commercial airline would encourage. “We look at it very simply as a big business park with an airfield,” says Steigerwald.
Living and learning
With affordable taxes, many well-paying job opportunities, and an outstanding school district, this ideal location further seals the deal for families when they discover golden beaches just an hour away, a climate with endless sunshine, and some of the best entertainment in the world. Kissimmee is an indisputably great place for families to live, love, and learn.
Kissimmee’s college entry ratio ranks fourth in Florida, while its high school graduation rate is just short of 90 percent. It also ranks fourth out of 67 counties for the number of high school students opting to pursue tertiary education. And, with the city administration’s high-paying employment mission in full swing, these students typically have the option to stay in their hometown and be part of something bigger, helping to build the future.
For this reason, the city’s communications department is crucial in creating connections and building networks. “Our role is more critical than ever. We’re shaping the narrative of a city striving and open for business,” says Communications Director Alibeth Suarez, with regard to creating transparency and actively connecting individuals with all the opportunities here.
With a specialized up-skilling program underway, mature students can also benefit from assistance in making such career changes, attending accelerated programs offered by bodies such as Osceola Technical College and Valencia College, amongst others.
Florida Technical College also offers an accelerated nursing program. Career Source Central Florida is a crucial partner in this initiative, connecting prospective students with available resources. “Upskill Kissimmee will provide tuition assistance for individuals currently in low-wage jobs, like hospitality or retail, who want to pivot and get retrained, be certified maybe as a semiconductor manufacturing technician or medical assistant,” explains Economic Development Director David Rodriguez.
Housing matters
With more jobs and more staff comes the need for more housing, and here, once again, the city is proactive, offering a wide range of housing prices, sizes, and styles.
The city is also collaborating in a public-private partnership to establish a 100,000-square-foot medical tower adjacent to City Hall. Located in the downtown area, this facility will expand the availability of new Class-A medical office space, further supporting its thriving healthcare industry.
In addition, significant multi-family residential construction is underway. At present, 6,200 new units are at various stages of the development process. Of these, around 70 percent are multi-family homes and are being added to the nearly 900 units introduced in the downtown area last year. Another 600 units are currently under construction.
The rest of Kissimmee’s new construction includes single-family homes, senior living, and more. Subsidies and rental assistance are available to those in lower-paying jobs to help mitigate the increase in housing costs.
Speaking of assistance
Kissimmee also provides support for locals and newcomers seeking jobs. “If we’re doing the right thing here in providing job opportunities for people to be paid a living wage, the goal is that they won’t need to go into a different city,” Steigerwald says. This also means ensuring that people have access to a wide range of services.
Providing easy access to information, the city’s website offers a services page packed with helpful resources ranging from housing and development to events, public safety, and social services, plus quality of life programs and more. “Our website, kissimmee.gov, is a great starting point. You can even sign up for our updates and information related to newsletters to get involved in the community,” says Suarez.
Kissimmee’s entrepreneurial Latin American community has also inspired the city to provide comprehensive information, support, and financing to simplify and encourage the opening of businesses and grow its economy even further. More information on these efforts can be accessed at GrowKissimmee.com. Moreover, a University of Central Florida business incubator helps foreign businesses settle in the area through its Soft Landing Program. A local chapter of the Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) network and two chambers of commerce further encourage local businesses to thrive.
Looking its best
Of course, powerful growth demands infrastructure, and to this end, leadership has identified the importance of investing in quality, leading to capital investments of more than 150 million dollars over the past few years to make the city attractive to new businesses. Prospects looking to buy here are inevitably impressed and motivated by the constant activity keeping Kissimmee looking and functioning at its best.
Examples of this activity include the beautiful lakefront developments and the re-imagining and upgrading of downtown street networks. These are intended to shape a more active, leisurely, and outdoor lifestyle while creating a greater sense of community. Surplus traffic lanes will give way to wider sidewalks with cafés and space for more people to walk side-by-side. Street crossings and the slowing of traffic through the retail zone with smart streetscaping will also provide a more wholesome downtown experience.
These upgrades will extend to the rest of the city’s roads and transportation as well. To enable the smooth flow of people between retail and restaurant areas and their places of work, Freebee—like Uber but at no cost to users—runs on weekdays between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m. through the medical, downtown, and adjacent areas, keeping the downtown core vibrant and connected.
Kissimmee is also collaborating with developers in revitalizing under-performing properties, redeveloping and repurposing buildings that have fallen into disrepair and disuse over time. Now, private developers have engaged with the city to propose two new hotels in the downtown area. And with multiple proposals for further development of aviation infrastructure and other projects around the Kissimmee Gateway Airport, the momentum and excitement in Kissimmee is palpable.
After many years of enthusiastically welcoming companies looking to settle in a place where local government is progressive and supportive, setting the scene for vigorous growth in all sectors, including tourism, Kissimmee and its hardworking communities are reaping the benefits. “Our workforce is young, skilled, diverse, and ready to serve new businesses coming to town,” says Rodriguez. “The city of Kissimmee is open for business.”
