Revving economic engine

Embry-Riddle Research Park making local impact 3 years after launch

DAYTONA BEACH — When Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University opened the first building at its research park here 3½ years ago, it was hailed as the start of a “global engineering powerhouse.”

And one capable of eventually creating thousands of high-paying jobs.

A new economic impact study finds the research park well on its way towards fulfilling that promise.

“Embry-Riddle’s Research Park is a significant generator of economic activity in Florida, creating over (direct and in-direct) 500 jobs, most of which are high-wage,” according to the report by Washington Economics Group.

The park has also boosted the local economy by more than $90 million, according to the report.

"It has done quite well. Actually, I think that’s an understatement, to be quite honest with you, because it filled up (with tenants) right away,” said Dr. Barry Butler, the university’s president.

The $21 million, 50,000-square-foot John Mica Engineering & Aerospace Innovation Complex became the park’s first completed building when it opened in April 2017.

Since then, the park has added two more. The $10 million 14,000-square-foot Wind Tunnel opened in June 2018. It was followed in October by the opening of the $5 million Eagle Flight Research Center.

The latter is a 14,500-square-foot research hangar that connects to one of the taxiways for Daytona Beach International Airport.

MORE: Sky's no limit for aerospace industry in Volusia County

The research park today is home to more than a dozen startup companies. They range from businesses involved in developing aerial drone technology and autonomous vehicles to a company working on developing a hybrid power source for flying cars.

“Right now at the MicaPlex, we’re producing individual implants that are shipped to Latin America, Europe and the Middle East,” Mauricio Toro, the CEO of Techfit Digital Surgery.

Techfit specializes in “solutions for bone reconstruction.“ It relocated to the MicaPlex last year from Colombia where the company was founded.

“We evaluated (sites in) Texas, California and Massachusetts,” Toro said. “We found that Central Florida was an up-and-coming innovation hub. Embry-Riddle is a leading university in terms of engineering talent so we decided this was a strategic location.”

Planning is now underway for a fourth building at the research park. The proposed Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership would add at least 65,000 feet of additional business incubator space.

If all goes well, the Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership could break ground within the next 18 to 24 months, said Rodney Cruise, the university’s senior vice president for administration and planning. The building would be along Clyde Morris, just south of the Wind Tunnel.

“We’re still in the planning stages for that building, but seeing the results of the economic impact study has given us a business case for moving forward with the next step of the research park,” said Cruise.

And that’s just for starters.

Embry-Riddle Research Park has the potential to grow to 700,000 square feet of space. The university has assembled 90 acres of land for the park on both sides of Clyde Morris Boulevard. The park is located south of the university’s Daytona Beach campus, on the east side of the airport.

Butler and Cruise declined to speculate how long it could take for the research park to become fully built-out. But both said they firmly believe it will happen.

“We are the north point of the Space Triangle,” said Cruise, referring to the area that includes Brevard County and the Orlando area.

Several commercial rocket companies including SpaceX and Blue Origin in recent years have opened facilities in Brevard, either at or near Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

Volusia County as Brevard’s immediate neighbor to the north is well-positioned to cater to the growing private space flight industry, according to a Florida Department of Economic Opportunity-commissioned study. The Bryce report identified supply-chain companies as the most likely candidates to move to the county.

One of the chief reasons is the presence of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

“It is not if Brevard County fills up, it’s when,” said Cruise. “The critical role that Volusia County can play in the supply chain for the commercial space industry is huge.”

The research park stands ready to help the county fulfill that potential.

Efforts to create the park began well over a decade ago. The university bought the first plot of land for the park in 2005

“Years ago, I started discussions with the board about the idea of having a research park here,” recalled Mori Hosseini, the university’s longtime board chairman.

The owner of ICI Homes is an Embry-Riddle alumnus who has been on the university’s board of trustees since 1999.

Hosseini said he began pushing for a research park at Embry-Riddle after seeing “how many great faculty want to work with universities with great research arms.”

Transforming the university from primarily a teaching institution into a global leader for aviation/aerospace innovation is also a way to create better, high-paying jobs, Hosseini and other Embry-Riddle officials point out.

Many of those jobs could be filled by the thousands of graduates Embry-Riddle produces each year.

The MicaPlex has also produced a number of “graduates” as well: startups that have outgrown the incubator and have moved to larger facilities elsewhere.

The list includes Censys Technologies, Sensatek Propulsion Technology, and GRD Biomechanics.

“Censys just received a $2 million seed round (funding from investors),” said Cruise. He added that the startup graduated from the MicaPlex in just seven months.

What makes that company’s success story especially sweet is the fact that, “Trevor Parrot, the CEO of Censys, is an (Embry-Riddle) alum,” said Cruise.

That’s exactly the kind of outcome Embry-Riddle officials had in mind when they designed the research park. It was a process that took years of careful planning and fundraising.

The park today offers facilities used by the university’s faculty and students as well as the startup companies. The idea is to create opportunities for academic research to lead to real-world commercial applications.

The startups are also encouraged to provide internships for Embry-Riddle students.

Adding to the research park’s formula for success are the satellite offices at the MicaPlex for local “residential partners” including James Moore CPAs & Consultants and Vann Data, a Daytona Beach IT services company.

“They provide eight hours a month of pro bono work,” Cruise said. “It’s all part of our mission to provide an ecosystem of support for our tenants.”

The research park has received financial assistance from the State of Florida as well as several “Nexus Partners.” The latter includes Boeing, Daytona International Speedway and Duva Enterprises.

“The Daytona Regional Chamber of Commerce, CEO Business Alliance and Team Volusia have also stepped up to the plate,” by helping to recruit tenants, Cruise said.

Kent Sharples, president of the CEO Business Alliance, said the group of local business leaders sees the research park as a key to achieving their goal of attracting employers that can elevate the local economy.

“Embry-Riddle’s research park puts us in play at a national level for competing to attract companies, particularly with aerospace companies,” he said.

“The MicaPlex is the best-run incubator I’ve ever seen,” Sharples said. “The difference is that they screen the tenants they allow in. And once they are successful, they don’t allow them to stay forever. That's how they can make room for more startups.”

Team Volusia Economic Development Corp. is a public/private partnership group also involved in recruiting companies to the county. Its members include the county and its cities as well as area businesses, colleges and universities and other institutions.

“The Embry-Riddle Research Park has made a huge difference in our business recruiting efforts. It’s been a huge draw,” said Team Volusia CEO Keith Norden.

Team Volusia has played a part in recruiting several international companies to the MicaPlex. They include Ireland-based Arralis Technologies, Printech Circuit Laboratories from the United Kingdom, and light sport plane maker SeaMax from Brazil.

“People are drawn to the MicaPlex,” Norden said. “It’s been a great asset for the county to have.”

Hosseini said it has been gratifying to see the progress the research park has made.

“The research park is already making a difference and will continue to have a positive impact on our community,” Hosseini said. “If you look at what Embry-Riddle was 10 years ago compared to today, the difference is night and day. And the best is yet to come.”