MC
Martin CountyEconomic Development · Florida
Delivered work
Martin County, Florida · Prepared by BusinessFlare®

Martin County — Recovery, Innovation Hub & Economic Toolkit

Three major, delivered economic-development work products that moved the County from pandemic recovery to a forward-looking innovation economy — a recovery action plan, an innovation-district plan, and a working incentives toolkit now in active use.

3major delivered engagements
$1,000,000max Opportunity Fund incentive
2023–2026toolkit contract, updated annually
Overview

From pandemic recovery to an innovation economy

Martin County (not a CRA) engaged BusinessFlare® across three delivered work products that advanced the County from pandemic recovery to a forward-looking innovation economy.

Starting with a 2021 COVID-19 Economic Recovery Action Plan, the work advanced into an Innovation Hub Recommendations Report for the FEC corridor south of Stuart, and then a multi-year Economic Development Toolkit of incentives now used to recruit and retain high-impact businesses.

Delivered & in use

These are adopted client deliverables, not advisory concepts. The Economic Toolkit — authored under a 2023–2026 contract and updated annually — now codifies the County's incentives; the Innovation Hub plan set the capital-project agenda; and the recovery plan seeded the strategy that connects them.

5Innovation Hub strategies
10-yrmax ad valorem exemption
$13.5MGolden Gate utility investment
6codified incentive tools
Visuals

The Innovation District

The Innovation District study area along the FEC railway between Stuart and Port Salerno, with corridor and mobility connections. BusinessFlare® Analytics.
The Innovation District study area along the FEC railway between Stuart and Port Salerno, with corridor and mobility connections. BusinessFlare® Analytics.
The engagements

Explore the three engagements

Each was a major, standalone work product. Open each to see its scope, contents, and outcomes.

BusinessFlare® produced the 2021 Martin County Economic Development Action Plan (COVID-19 Economic Recovery Strategies) alongside a Market Analysis and an Opportunities Report.

Built on market research, stakeholder interviews, and a reputational/brand assessment, it organized recovery around the County's 'natural places' brand and talent attraction — and seeded the anchor ideas that later became implementation programs.

Findings
  • Three linked documents: Action Plan, Market Analysis, and Opportunities Report.
  • Anchored to the County's 'natural places' brand and talent-attraction strategy.
  • Seeded the Innovation District, drone/UAV and electric-boat sectors, clean-water research, and an airport REACH training center.
  • Grounded in stakeholder interviews and a reputational/brand assessment.

A January 2023 Innovation Hub Recommendations Report for the study area between the City of Stuart and Port Salerno along the FEC railroad — produced with the City, two CRAs, the Economic Council, the BDB, and TCRPC, and carried to stakeholders at an April 2023 BDB Leaders Summit.

It delivered a project-by-project toolbox across five strategies, each with individually costed capital projects and forward-looking mobility planning.

Five strategies & costed projects
  • Five strategies: Infrastructure, Branding, Regulations, Aesthetics, and Opportunity Sites.
  • Commerce Ave Greenway ($1.5M, 2.2 mi); Federal Hwy multi-use path ($2.5M, 3.5 mi); Bike/Ped Loop ($3.5M, ~5 mi).
  • Pedestrian bridge ($1.5M, 165 ft) and EV charging ($360K).
  • Enabling utility work: $13.5M Golden Gate vacuum sewer/force-main and $10M Rocky Point sewer & water (1,131 parcels).
  • Future-mobility bets: UAV corridors, vertiports, and eVTOL, plus the airport REACH training center.

Under a 2023–2026 ED consulting contract (RFP 2023-3531, NTE $250,000), BusinessFlare® authored and has annually updated (2024, 2025) the Martin County Economic Toolkit — a codified incentive framework that replaced all prior programs.

It packages six incentive tools with point-scored eligibility, plus a training manual, targeting advanced manufacturing, additive/3D printing, and green industries.

The incentive tools
  • Opportunity Fund — min. $10M capital investment; grant up to 10%, capped at $1,000,000.
  • Local Closing Fund — min. $5M; capped at $500,000.
  • Ad Valorem Tax Exemption — up to a 10-year exemption; min. 10 new FTE jobs.
  • Point system scores job creation, average wage (up to 200%+ of county avg), and capital investment (up to $25M+).
  • Plus expedited permitting, training/workforce grants, and IDA bonds — with a training manual.
By the numbers

Key points