By Fallan Patterson
Staff Writer

With construction moving full steam ahead, Osceola County community leaders and residents are anxious to see how major medical institutions going up now in southeast Orange County will impact the local unemployment rate, foreclosure situation and residential and commercial development.

Dubbed “medical city,” institutions already built at Lake Nona near the Orange/ Osceola County line include the University of Florida’s College of Medicine and Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences, the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute and the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center Orlando.

The Helen and David Bean Campus of the University of Florida’s College of Pharmacy, the Nemours Children’s Hospital and the Orlando Veterans Affairs Medical Center all are under construction and slated to open in 2012.

Joe Battle, associate director of the veterans medical center, said the $665.5 million project is expected to employ more than 1,000 construction workers a day in the next few months.

“In the current economic downturn, this presents opportunities for local construction workers to have meaningful jobs building the newest state-of-the-art medical center for our deserving Osceola County veterans,” he said.

According to Battle, the medical center has an estimated annual operating budget of $500 million to pay salaries, buy supplies and equipment and for contracting with various ancillary services in the community.

Additionally, the center is expected to employ more than 2,000 people, including hiring 1,000 local workers in various trades and occupations.

“We expect that many of our staff will (move to) Osceola County due to the favorable housing market, good schools and community spirit,” Battle said.

At an Oct. 8 St. Cloud Greater Osceola Chamber of Commerce breakfast where representatives from both Nemours and the veterans hospitals spoke about their projects, Battle said the veterans medical center will create 1,200 new jobs, from nurses to clerical and maintenance staff, which will be hired locally.

David Lane, president of the chamber, echoed Battle’s praise of the developing area and expects the high-paying jobs there will have a positive impact on Osceola County’s wage base.

“We see a significant impact on the almost 3,500 jobs (both new hospitals) will bring to the area,” he said. “Many of those folks who will relocate will find St. Cloud and positively impact the real estate market.”

Lane said he anticipates more job creation as the area around Lake Nona is built up to sustain the medical facilities there. He envisions restaurants, stores and business touting services such as medical facility cleaning, springing up and employing Osceola County residents.

“You’re going to have a lot of additional businesses grow up to support the area,” Lane said.

Mike Horner, president of the Kissimmee/Osceola County Chamber of Commerce, is enthusiastic about Lake Nona and the positive impact it could have on Osceola County.

“It’s a huge win for Osceola County,” he said. “When we look back 20 years from now, we’re going to be amazed at the impact, hopefully, in a positive way.”

Horner does harbor some concern about Osceola County’s place for medical city.

While Horner gives credit to Orange County leaders for wooing the companies into Lake Nona, he wants Osceola County to be competitive in attracting those companies’ employees to live in Osceola County and having residents trained in all areas, from custodial to specialist doctors.

“Osceola needs to capitalize on this engine of medical jobs,” Horner said. “We’ll only have ourselves to blame if we don’t.”

Horner said he wants the county to continue to invest in the local Valencia Community College campus and encourages residents looking for a new career to consider training at the college’s medical programs.

“We need to continue to build on Valencia to retrain those medical workers,” he said.

Horner also encourages residents to vote on the county’s tax exemption ordinance, which would offer incentives to targeted industries to lure them to Osceola County. He said county leaders should be looking for ways to adjust the impact fees, fire fees and tax structure that often keep businesses from setting up shop in the county.

“We need to be more attractive to businesses than our neighbors to the north,” he said.

Some business feelers have been put out by a few of the companies at Lake Nona.

According to Deborah Robison, director of communications for Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute at Lake Nona, the research company has teamed with the University of Central Florida to create “spin-out” companies and set up an incubator/wet lab in Osceola County.

“Wet laboratories are laboratories where chemicals or biological matter are tested and analyzed requiring water, direct ventilation and specialized piped utilities,” Robison said in an e-mail. “Spin-out companies will be formed as we begin to commercialize promising research or discoveries. We do not have any announcements at this time.”

Another part of the plan to attract companies to Osceola County includes the Northeast District Conceptual Master Plan, which would involve development of 17,150 acres west of the Econlockhatchee River Swamp owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints.

The Florida Department of Community Affairs recently found the plan out of compliance. The commission’s next step would be to appeal the state’s ruling. Commissioners will meet Monday to discuss their strategy for doing that.

“I think (the plan) is a step in the right direction,” Horner said. “At the end of the day, you’ve got to have the land.”