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Council finalizes SRI International deal

$30-million in incentives will help build a new marine research facility.

By AARON SHAROCKMAN AND KRIS HUNDLEY
Published December 15, 2006

ST. PETERSBURG - The city finalized $30-million in incentives on Thursday to lure researcher SRI International to St. Petersburg starting next month.

Meeting for the first time since the deal was announced, City Council members formally accepted $10-million in government grants to construct a new marine research facility at the Port of St. Petersburg. They then agreed to lease the new 30,000-square-foot building to SRI for $1 a year for 10 years.

The deal is sweet for the city, because it has little to lose. It is only contributing the land near the port - currently the site of a warehouse leased to the Coast Guard - as part of the agreement. Pinellas County is paying $5-million toward the construction of the facility, as is the Florida Department of Transportation. The state is providing an additional $20-million in operating costs.

The city will construct the new facility in consultation with SRI, but it will retain ownership.

"It's a great deal," said council member Earnest Williams.

A California not-for-profit, SRI specializes in taking ideas and turning them into marketable products. It has created the computer mouse and high-definition television, among its innovations.

In St. Petersburg, the research firm plans to partner with the University of South Florida's College of Marine Science to develop underwater imaging technology.

The company initially plans to hire about 40 college employees as part of its new branch, SRI-St. Petersburg.

As city officials signed off on their part of the deal Thursday, the state simultaneously released details of its $20-million, five-year contract with SRI signed Nov. 22.

As part of that agreement, SRI received $6.6-million Nov. 30. Annual state allotments will shrink after that. By the final year of the contract, when the company receives $1.3-million, SRI-St. Petersburg is expected to be supported by outside research grants.

In return for the state money, SRI has agreed to have 50 employees by the end of 2007, with 10 to 15 new positions added annually through year five, when the workforce will total 100. According to the contract, SRI's average salary must be at least 130 percent of the state's average wage, or $55,000 in the first year increasing to $63,000 by the end of the payout period.

Though not bound by contract, SRI has committed to having 200 employees at its St. Petersburg operations within 10 years and spending $2-million on research equipment.

SRI also has agreed to direct 20 percent of royalties from patents developed at its Florida operations to a marine research fund, which is to be created by the Legislature. It has agreed to reinvest $12.8-million in royalties in the fund.

As part of its deal with the state, SRI will not open another marine science center elsewhere in the nation and will actively help Florida recruit others in the industry to the area.

[Last modified December 15, 2006, 05:37:53]