Studer Community Institute

Financial service company from Mississippi eyes North Hill

February 10, 2015
/ Shannon Nickinson
/ economy

A financial services company from Mississippi could be bringing its corporate headquarters to North Hill. Financial Management & Investment Corp., currently based in Meridian. Miss., is seeking conditional use approval to use the existing Knights of Columbus building at 519 N. Palafox St. as office space. The company would bring 15 employees. The request will be heard by Pensacola City Council on Thursday. [sidebar] WANT TO GO? WHAT: Pensacola City Council meeting. WHEN: 5:30 p.m. Feb. 12. WHERE: Council Chambers, first floor of City Hall, 222 West Main Street. [/sidebar] Office are allowed as a conditional use at a maximum of 5,000 square feet in that area, but the existing building is 7,273 square feet. The Planning Board recommended approving the request at a Dec. 9 meeting. The zoning approval mirrors a request before City Council to approve a resolution of support for a state qualified target industry tax refund for “Project Centaur,” a corporate headquarters with 15 employees earning an average salary of $74,720. To access the QTI program, a business must file an application with the state Department of Economic Opportunity. That application must include a resolution from the local government entity in the community where the business will relocate or expand. The Community Economic Development Association has been working with Financial Management & Investment for some time, assisting them with the application to the state incentive program, says Danita Andrews, director of business development for CEDA. The company would invest $1,355,000 in the now vacant building. Andrews says the Qualified Target Industry program is "the state's number one incentive program for targeted industries. Corporate headquarters are themselves a targeted industry for the state program, Andrews says. "Corporate headquarters are extremely desirable no matter where you are," Andrews says. "The wage level is one thing, which in this case is 200 percent of the county average (which for Escambia County is $37,360 a year)." City Councilman Brian Spencer, whose district includes that area, said having development at that pay scale, with the intention to give new life to a building that is in "a kind of purgatory" is good news for the city. "When it’s really meaningful is when the people with these salaries live in the City of Pensacola," Spencer said. Spencer said that staff from the Community Economic Development Association indicated that the new company's senior staff were very impressed with the North Hill, both for business and residential prospects.

Back to Blogs

Financial service company from Mississippi eyes North Hill

Recent Posts