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Headlines, Success Stories & Multimedia
Review the latest news, articles, events and multimedia about Pinellas County businesses. Don’t forget to subscribe to receive news and updates in your inbox.
Industry News
Review the Latest News
about Business in Pinellas
University selects St. Petersburg for first physical location
Yarn meets java at St. Petersburg’s coziest new hangout
Saturday Shoppes Extends Support for Emerging Businesses Across West Florida with Help from Pinellas County Economic Development
Renee Edwards has grown Saturday Shoppes from serving an initial 63 vendors in 2021 to more than 4,000 today. The company has expanded from its initial location to include four additional Florida locations, and has boasted $2 million in earnings from 2021 to 2025.
Pinellas Manufacturing Summit Explores the Industry’s Future in County
More than 130 Pinellas County manufacturing leaders, innovators, and professionals came together to explore the future of the industry at the 4th Annual Pinellas Manufacturing Summit. Pinellas County Economic Development (PCED) actively helped organize, sponsor, and market the event, which was praised highly by attendees.
Success Stories
Pinellas County Economic Development Provides Crucial Services to New Business Village in North Greenwood
Pinellas County Economic Development is adding its small business assistance expertise to The Grove, a project designed to revitalize local business in the North Greenwood neighborhood of Clearwater, Florida. In total, The Grove is projected to provide employment to over 100 people, with an emphasis on youth and workforce development.
Saturday Shoppes Extends Support for Emerging Businesses Across West Florida with Help from Pinellas County Economic Development
Renee Edwards has grown Saturday Shoppes from serving an initial 63 vendors in 2021 to more than 4,000 today. The company has expanded from its initial location to include four additional Florida locations, and has boasted $2 million in earnings from 2021 to 2025.
Pinellas Manufacturing Summit Explores the Industry’s Future in County
More than 130 Pinellas County manufacturing leaders, innovators, and professionals came together to explore the future of the industry at the 4th Annual Pinellas Manufacturing Summit. Pinellas County Economic Development (PCED) actively helped organize, sponsor, and market the event, which was praised highly by attendees.
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Press Releases
Florida Seating Expands in Pinellas County, Florida
The Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners celebrated a ribbon cutting ceremony to mark Florida Seating’s expansion in Pinellas County. Florida Seating used Pinellas County’s Employment Sites Program (ESP) to help finance the expansion, which added more than 18,000 square feet of manufacturing space and ten new jobs to the company’s campus.
AGORA Edge Expands in St. Petersburg with Support from Employment Sites Program
On Tuesday, the Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners celebrated the ribbon-cutting for AGORA Edge’s new facility in St. Petersburg, Florida. Growing since 1985, AGORA Edge is a leader in soft goods design and manufacturing, employs over 350 workers, and counts several Fortune 500 companies among its clients. With rising demand, the company outgrew its existing space and used Pinellas County’s Employment Sites Program (ESP) to fund an expansion, adding nearly 48,000 square feet and 50 new jobs.
Pinellas County Economic Development Receives 2024 Excellence in Economic Development Gold Award and Best in Show Nomination from the International Economic Development Council
Pinellas County Economic Development (PCED) received a 2024 Excellence in Economic Development Gold Award from the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) and is a nominee for Best in Show. The award was bestowed specifically for the department’s work in the Real Estate Redevelopment & Reuse category for the Employment Sites Program (ESP).
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November 2025 Business News
The latest issue of our monthly newsletter is out now! Take a look inside to read about recent business success stories and upcoming opportunities for business growth.
October 2025 Business News
Celebrate Manufacturing Month with our October issue of Pinellas County Business News! Inside, you’ll find stories about Astaras Inc.’s new manufacturing facility and local small business The Story Garden, as well as information on the upcoming Pinellas Manufacturing Summit.
September 2025 Business News
Our monthly e-newsletter is back with a fresh issue for September. Inside, find a new feature story about local business and PCED client 5FOLD Engineering, as well as information and opportunities to support your Pinellas County business.
Multimedia
New Tungsten Heavy Alloys Manufacturing Facility Opens in Pinellas.
On August 6, 2025, Astaras Inc. celebrated the grand opening of its new business unit and manufacturing facility in Clearwater, Florida. The Pinellas County Economic Development department assisted the company with finding the site for this expansion, which will produce American-made, DFARS-compliant tungsten heavy alloys, creating job opportunities and strengthening the region’s role in the aerospace and defense sectors. The Pinellas County Commission proudly joined industry leaders and local officials in welcoming this significant investment in our community.
PCED Celebrates Florida Seating’s Expansion.
The Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners celebrated a ribbon-cutting ceremony on February 10, 2025, to mark Florida Seating’s expansion in Pinellas County. Florida Seating used Pinellas County’s Employment Sites Program (ESP) to help finance the expansion, which added more than 18,000 square feet of manufacturing space and ten new jobs to the company’s campus.
Pinellas County, the Ideal Business Climate.
Visitors and residents worldwide are drawn to the renowned white sand beaches of Pinellas County, but companies are attracted to Pinellas’ ideal business climate. With a skilled workforce, robust entrepreneurial ecosystem, well-developed infrastructure, and construction-ready sites, businesses can expect to begin growing immediately in Pinellas. Anchored by the urban markets of Clearwater and St. Petersburg, Pinellas has the third-largest manufacturing employment base in Florida. Fortune 500 companies like Jabil and Raymond James are headquartered here. Pinellas has diverse, yet symbiotic, industry clusters, including aviation/aerospace; defense/national security; medical technologies; business and financial services; and information technology. An extensive network of suppliers, service providers, and business associations support operations in these sectors. How can we help you grow? Contact us today at econdev@pinellas.gov.
ARK Innovation Center, now open!
On December 18, 2023, Pinellas County celebrated the completion of the ARK Innovation Center, a new 45,000-square-foot business incubator located at 1101 4th St S. in St. Petersburg. The new facility is owned by Pinellas County and operated by the Tampa Bay Innovation Center, a tech incubator and accelerator with a well-respected team of board members, advisors, and mentors and a track record of helping tech start-ups grow.
Celebrate ARK Innovation Center’s Construction Progress
Pinellas County celebrated a milestone on January 20, 2023: the structural completion of the new ARK Innovation Center in St. Petersburg. Project partners celebrated by leaving their “mark” on a piece of Pinellas County history by signing the steel beam that will be used in the interior structure of the new business incubator.
Pinellas County Celebrates Opening of Brooker Creek South Industrial Facility
The Pinellas County Commission celebrated on Tues., Sept. 6, the completion of Brooker Creek South, the first industrial manufacturing building supported in part by Pinellas County’s Employment Sites Program (ESP). The developer, Harrod Properties, Inc., constructed the facility at 500 Brooker Creek Blvd, in Oldsmar’s thriving industrial market. The ribbon cutting was attended by Pinellas County Economic Development, the City of Oldsmar, Harrod Properties, and the Upper Tampa Bay Regional Chamber of Commerce. The new tenants – Belac’s Chromalloy, Edmund Optics, and FDD, also joined in the celebration.
Pinellas County Celebrates SBDC Day
Learn how the SBDC at Pinellas County Economic Development has helped businesses start up, create jobs, build or expand a business plan, grow capital, and obtain government contracts in Pinellas County, Florida.
