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Deal gets sweeter for optics company
By ROBERT FARLEY
© St. Petersburg Times, OLDSMAR -- In deciding where to relocate its headquarters, along with as many as 275 new high-paying jobs, Dunedin-based Ocean Optics appears to have narrowed its options to Oldsmar and El Dorado Hills, Ca. Last year, the city, county and state committed to a $900,000 tax refund package to persuade the fast-growing high tech company to choose Oldsmar. Now the state is prepared to sweeten the deal with nearly $2-million worth of road improvements to accommodate a move to the Tampa Bay Park of Commerce in Oldsmar. The money would be used to construct a half-mile, two-lane loop road intersecting with Forest Lakes Boulevard. It also would include a traffic signal at the intersection of Forest Lakes Boulevard, Brooker Creek Boulevard and the loop road. Finally, it would provide for an access road from the loop road to the business site. The project would be fully funded through the state's economic development transportation fund. In earlier correspondence, Ocean Optics' chief operating officer Scott Faris stated that without an access road the Oldsmar site was not viable for the company. But it is still unclear whether building the road would be enough to convince the company to choose Oldsmar. "It's an important piece of the puzzle, no doubt about it," Faris said Monday. "We are still looking at what all our options are. We have not made any commitments either way." The other site under consideration, El Dorado Hills, Ca., also is an attractive alternative, he said. The company now has fiber optic manufacturing operation there. "It (El Dorado Hills) is an attractive location as far as labor pool," Faris said. That's especially true now, he said, because the downturn in the technology economy means there are many qualified component assembly workers looking for work. Faris said the downturn in the economy also has delayed the company's planned expansion. Many of the company's customers are in the telecommunications industry, which has been suffering of late, he said. The company will soon be making decisions about the size, location and timetable for its proposed expansion, Faris said. The initial plan called for construction of a 125,000-square-foot electro-optical manufacturing and research facility, which would also double as the company's headquarters. The company also is considering possible future expansion of up to 350,000 square feet. The company presently employs 70 people in Pinellas County. If the company expands to Oldsmar, it would create as many as 275 new permanent full-time positions with salaries averaging $35,000, according to earlier expansion plans. In 1999, Ocean Optics built a temporary manufacturing facility in Largo, which employs about 20 people. Because Oldsmar is so close to the Largo facility, if the company moved to Oldsmar, it would not expect to lose any of its current employees. According to projections submitted to state officials in April, Ocean Optics executives expect to invest $42-million in its new facility, land and equipment. Nick Staszko, Oldsmar's community development director, said he is hopeful the road project will close the deal for Oldsmar. "It would be a nice deal for Oldsmar and Pinellas County and the company," Staszko said. "I think everyone wins." - Staff writer Robert Farley can be reached at (727) 445-4185.
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