Despite the troublesome climate, area expansions and relocations proved to be bright spots in 2009.

While 2009 definitely had its challenges in metro Orlando, there were several economic successes, topped, of course, by the much-publicized “medical city” becoming a reality right before our eyes. Yet, there were other successes, many without headlines, such as the continued announcements of companies expanding or relocating to the region.

Consider, for example, that the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission worked to deliver 3,031 new and retained jobs in the region, along with $124 million in capital investment. Among the highlights:

• Kaplan University, a leading provider of online higher education, opened a new online student support center in a two-story, 124,000-square-foot space that is expected to bring 750-plus jobs to Orange County.

• DataSite Orlando invested $26 million to renovate an existing 130,000-square-foot facility into a 21st-century data center that prioritizes energy efficiency, generating 39 new jobs.

• Channel Intelligence, a software company that provides e-commerce solutions to online retailers, expanded its headquarters operations, adding 420 new jobs and a capital investment of $33 million.

• Dream Balloon Productions, a digital media production studio devoted to producing high-quality family entertainment through the use of computer-generated animation, relocated its headquarters from New Jersey to Orlando. The company now occupies 10,500 square feet in the DrewTina Commerce Center in Orange County and expects to add up to 60 new employees over the next three years.

• Digimation, a provider of 3-D content and related services to the entertainment and defense industries, relocated its headquarters from Louisiana to metro Orlando. The company's headquarters location will result in 30 new jobs, generate $750,000 in capital investment and lease more than 4,000 square feet of space on International Parkway in Heathrow/Lake Mary.

• Seminole County–headquartered Nomad Aviation Inc., one of the world's best-known avionics specialists for commercial, military and civilian aircraft, announced a doubling of its workforce here, with 124 new positions to be added over the next two years.

• FedEx Ground opened a new 112,734-square-foot operations facility on Monroe Road in Sanford, creating 75 new jobs.

• Access MediQuip LLC, a $200 million healthcare firm based in Houston, provides medical implant outsourcing to support surgery centers. The company expanded into 13,000 square feet, bringing its 18 Central Florida employees under one roof. The company plans to grow into a 26,000-square-foot facility and add 145 new jobs within three years. That translates into more than $2.5 million in new capital investment.

• The Father's Table, a dessert manufacturer based in Sanford, expanded into an 118,000-square-foot facility near Orlando Sanford International Airport, creating 30 new full-time and 20 seasonal jobs. It is expected to generate more than $2.5 million in capital investment.

• Avocet and sister company Aircraft Parts Sales Inc. relocated their headquarters from Miami to OSIA. The company is building a 44,000-square-foot hanger, and anticipated capital investment is more than $5 million.

• Digital Risk LLC, a leading risk-mitigation solutions provider for the mortgage industry, increased its staff to 400 and announced it will expand further in Maitland, adding 240 new high-wage, knowledge-based jobs and generating $1.2 million in capital investment.

• Orlando-based Gen2Media Corp., a fully integrated digital media, technology and marketing company, expanded into nearly 6,000 square feet of office space near the intersection of Kirkman and Sand Lake roads in Orlando. The company’s capital investment is estimated at $150,000, and it plans to add 40 new jobs within the next 36 months.

• In Seminole County, Pinnacle AMS was approved to receive $52,324 in Quick Response Training funds. The company, which currently employs 160, will use the government grant dollars to train 50 new full-time employees over the next two years.

• Lake Mary–based Laser Photonics' expansion into 100,000 square feet coincided with 72 new jobs, bringing the company’s total employment to 102. Capital investment for new equipment and tenant improvements is estimated at $7 million.

• Darden Restaurants, a Fortune 500 company, celebrated the opening of its new 469,000-square-foot headquarters building in South Orange County.

• IDEAS opened its new headquarters in downtown Orlando. The creative production and digital media studio, one of Central Florida's largest, became a new "anchor tenant" of the Creative Village evolving in downtown Orlando.

• Full Sail University in Winter Park broke ground on its new Full Sail Studios Gateway project. The 32,000-square-foot, 2.2-acre project will be equipped with a live performance venue, a two-story complex for game production and recording studios, and an expansion of the on-campus professional film studio back lot. The Hollywood-style complex will complete the existing back lot and will offer 19 outdoor filming locations.

A new EDC program celebrates strides in building the region's life science industry.

More often than not, economy building takes a circuitous route rather than a direct path. Industry sectors build over time, and sometimes even unnoticed, until they begin to reach a measure of critical mass.

Indeed, it’s not often that communities begin to transform their economies with the speed and laser focus witnessed in metro Orlando’s emergence as a center for health services and life science research. Read more

The social media phenomenon has spread its way to economic development in a big (business) way.

Twitter. Facebook. YouTube. Flickr. You’ve heard the names. You might even have joined one or several of those social media networks. Yet, did you know that these tools are being used to promote Orlando worldwide as a business destination?

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Where to locate the Metro Orlando EDC in the wide world of social media:

Twitter — provides the latest news and updates

• @MetroOrlandoEDC
• @FilmOrlando
• @bioOrlando
• @OrlandoWorks

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Want an “edgy” region? The EDC has developed a new Web landing page designed to show the dynamic nature of the community through a robust downtown night life, a rich arts underground, off-the-beaten-path enclaves, year-round outdoor activities and diverse people.

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