Project Power could bring nearly 400 jobs to Tampa
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Aug 25, 2022

Tampa is in the running for a code-named economic development project that could bring nearly 400 jobs to the region.

Project Power, the code name for the expansion of a Colorado-based provider of technical products and services for communications, will add 372 jobs in Tampa, San Diego or Colorado Springs.

The Colorado Economic Development Commission on Thursday approved up to $3.94 million in incentives to entice the company to grow in the Centennial State, reports the Denver Business Journal, a sister news organization. The average annual salary the company reported to the CEDC was $143,247.

Project Power had yet to generate much buzz within Tampa commercial real estate circles as of Thursday afternoon; dealmakers the Tampa Bay Business Journal contacted were unaware of the prospect. Tampa could be mentioned as a contender purely as leverage — companies frequently use the threat of choosing other states and cities to their advantage when negotiating economic development incentive agreements.

Florida economic developers are limited in terms of the state-level incentives they can offer. The state's qualified target industry incentive, a state and local tax refund program, expired in 2020. Without state incentives, Florida is frequently left off the shortlist for corporate relocations and expansions.

A spokeswoman for the Tampa Bay Economic Development Council, which handles economic development within Tampa and Hillsborough County, told the Business Journal on Thursday that the EDC "can't comment on any project activity."

The company has 24 employees, 22 of whom are based in Colorado, and recently acquired a 14-person firm in San Diego, according to DBJ. Colorado will remain its home base even if it chooses to grow elsewhere, Michelle Hadwiger, director of global business development for the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, told the CEDC.