Life Science Companies Show Interest in Miami-Dade During Worldwide Medical Tradeshow

Life Science Companies Show Interest in Miami-Dade During Worldwide Medical Tradeshow

Official opening of the Florida Pavilion by Michael Keller, U.S. Consul General in Dusseldorf, Bill Johnson, Florida Secretary of Commerce and Alan Becker, vice chair of Enterprise Florida.

More than 50 life science companies showed an interest in potentially setting up operations in Miami-Dade County during MEDICA, the world’s largest medical show held every year in Düsseldorf. Many of these companies are interested in using Miami as the platform to reach the U.S. and the Latin American market. Miami-Dade County has a strong and growing life science sector with more than 1,100 companies employing over 11,600 people. Recent additions to the sector were Matachana USA and Bird Biotech America, two Spanish companies that opened offices in Miami-Dade County.

The Beacon Council’s Jaap Donath, Ph. D., Senior Vice President, Research & Strategic Planning participated in the tradeshow to help attract Life Sciences companies to our community. Life Science companies from throughout the world participate. More than 130,000 people from over 120 countries visited the show’s 4,952 exhibitors from around 70 countries.

Florida had the largest pavilion of all U.S. states with 26 companies at Medica participating in the tradeshow. Bill Johnson, Florida Secretary of Commerce and President of Enterprise Florida, officially opened the Florida Pavilion. Also participating in the ribbon cutting was Alan Becker, Vice Chair of Enterprise Florida, former Beacon Council Chairman, and founder of Becker & Poliakoff, a major Florida law firm, and Michael Keller, U.S. Consul General in Düsseldorf.

Construction Industry Workshop Offers Free Training, Mentorship and Networking to Under-Represented Groups

About 15 small business reps participated in the Access to Capital Workshop presented by Suffolk Construction and The Beacon Council. Suffolk Construction launched the program to help partner with local subcontractors owned by women, minorities, veterans and other under-represented groups in the construction industry. The program, called the Trades Partnership Series, offers free training, mentorship and networking to companies selected to participate.

The free workshop was offered to companies certified as one of the following: Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE); Minority Business Enterprise (MBE); Women Owned Business Enterprise (WBE); Small Business Enterprise (SBE); Veterans Owned Small Business (VOSB); and/or Service Disabled Veterans Owned Small Business (SDVOSB). “Our common goal is to inform and empower our local trade partners, and this series undoubtedly supported this mission,” said Suffolk Construction’s Director of Diversity Brian McPherson.

The Beacon Council Chair-elect Jaret Davis, Co-Managing Shareholder, Greenberg Traurig, moderated the panel. Speakers included Adrian Romero, VP / Small Business Banker, Bank of America, Lanie Wasserman, SVP/Senior Lender, Greater Miami Business Opportunity Fund Cornell Crews, Fund Development Officer, Partners for Self Employment Inc., Althea Harris, Assistant District Director, Small Business Administration (SBA), Warren Alter, President, Alter Surety Group.

Miami is Top Thanksgiving Destination

If it seemed more crowded than usual in town during the Thanksgiving holiday, there’s a reason. On Nov. 20, flight patterns showed more people were planning on traveling to Miami than any other U.S. city for the holiday.

Read the New York Times article.

Miami-Dade Transit Pilots Free Bus Route during Art Basel

Miami-Dade Transit will be piloting a bus route that provides direct service between cities during Art Basel. The pilot route will provide complimentary express service between the Design District, Wynwood, Midtown and Miami Beach from Tuesday, Dec. 1 through Sunday, Dec. 6, from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., approximately every 20 minutes. They will also be extending Metrorail and MetroMover service by one hour. Service hours will be from 5 a.m. to 1 a.m. from Dec. 1 through Dec. 6. The goal of these efforts is to alleviate traffic congestion during one of the busiest weeks in Miami-Dade County and to provide Art Basel goers a convenient way to commute.

Read more.

Calling for Transportation Ideas

The Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) is seeking creative ideas for transportation planning studies that will provide effective solutions to alleviate traffic congestion in the areas of highways, transit, freight, air, sea, non-motorized, and safety. Ideas selected will be recommended for adoption by the MPO Governing Board, and then included in the Unified Planning Work Program. Forward your idea(s) via mail, email, or fax by January 29, 2016 to:

Miami-Dade MPO
Attn: Elizabeth Rockwell
Stephen P. Clark Center
111 NW 1 Street, Suite 920
Miami, FL 33128
erockwell@miamidadempo.org
(305) 375-4950 fax

GIS Website Features Available Properties

The Beacon Council and Miami-Dade County website www.miamidadesites.com features available vacant industrial and commercial properties. It is based on user-defined criteria for Miami-Dade County utilizing geographically based demographic and business information.
It also enables commercial real estate brokers to register and highlight available parcels. Listings are provided at no cost and reach a targeted audience including Site Selectors/Consultants, Real Estate Developers, and businesses pursuing new opportunities in Miami-Dade County. Listings are featured regularly in this newsletter. For more information, contact Jennifer R. Hernandez, Director of Economic Development at The Beacon Council.

Featured listing of the week:

Datran Center

• Address: 9100-9130 S Dadeland Blvd
• City: Miami
• County: Miami-Dade County
• Zip Code:33156
• Type: Class A
• Min Size:417 sqft
• Max Size:29,292 sqf