By Ken Jackson
Staff Writer

Brian O’Connor calls much of what he does “economic gardening.” If that’s the case, the city of St. Cloud hopes he is a great cultivator.

O’Connor, the city’s new Economic Development and Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) Coordinator, reported for duty within the last week and is already laying out the groundwork for plans to promote the professional standard of living and economic health of St. Cloud.

The City Council created the full-time municipal position to help prospective businesses move into the city, while working to improve the local business climate to make that move easier and financially worthwhile. O’Connor will report to Growth Management Services Administrator Dennis Ragsdale.

“The staff here is very professional and first class, and the right leadership is in place. The city is laying down a good plan that will drive development,” O’Connor said.

The native Clevelander (who loves his Browns and Indians) will lean on 18 years of experience working in local government in places like Cleveland Heights, Ohio, Jackson, Mich. and Vero Beach.

He said St. Cloud provides a unique and fertile area to develop and grow.

“At first blush I see opportunities to grow, such as partnering with Medical City in Lake Nona,” O’Connor said, also noting the city’s relationship with the University of Central Florida and its Business Incubator in St. Cloud.

He said he hopes to implement aggressive internal strategies to remove any roadblocks businesses might find in relocating to the city and make the process as seamless as possible.

“It’s nice to recruit business, but my hope is to grow the infrastructure that makes that possible,” he said.

He also has plans for the 13st Street corridor — the city’s CRA district — that entail tying together retail and commercial space with medium-density land usage.

“The ideal is to create some sort of ‘place within a place’ through a better mix of businesses,” he said.

His ideas for the downtown corridor include addressing vacant space and obsolescence in the area by seeking to attract businesses like themed restaurants, and attracting them with a possible microloan program to help get them off the ground.

He will have the ear of the business community, as part of his job description is to liaison between the city and its Chamber of Commerce and St. Cloud Main Street.

O’Connor also will be attending meetings and working with the region’s newly-developed cooperative economic development group, the Greater Osceola Partnership for Economic Prosperity (GOPEP).

“You can’t have local success without regional success, and vice versa,” he said. “The fact Osceola County and its cities are on the same page is a strong positive. I applaud them for agreeing to work in a collaborative manner.”