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FOR SOFTWARE COMPANIES
 
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
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Baldwin County offers a unique
set of assets to software and technology
companies. Chief among these are:
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Available buildings and sites. |
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Trained and growing workforce. |
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Growing regional population, 75% increase
since 1990. |
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Diverse and robust transportation system
consisting of interstate and other highways, rail, commercial airports and
maritime facilities handling bulk and containerized cargo.
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Competitive wages, on average are over 30%
less than national averages. |
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Superb quality of life. |
Available Buildings:
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Reasonably
Priced
Space.
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Class
A
6 buildings.
Between 750
to 8,250
square
feet.
Lease
rate
between
$12.00
to $16.50 per
square
feet.
Class
B
11 buildings
Between 1,500
to 38,189 square
feet.
Lease
rate
between
$10.00
to $12.50 per
square
feet.
Class
C
6 buildings.
Between 1,800
to 34,000 square
feet.
Lease Rate
between $6.00
to $8.00.
Available Sites:
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Location
Acres Price |
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Daphne
Business Park. |
Daphne
56 $24,000 - $87,000 |
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Daphne
Commerce
Park. |
Daphne
40 $42,500 to $65,000 |
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Daphne Commerce
and
Technology
Center. |
Daphne 215 $25,000 |
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Public Parks |
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· Barin
Field |
Foley
350 $20,000 |
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· Bay Minette
Airport
Commerce
Park |
Bay Minette 110 $15,000 |
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· Robertsdale Industrial
Park |
Robertsdale
23 $15,000 |
Incentives:
| Infrastructure Development Grants for renovating a building or for
site preparation. |
| Property Tax Abatement up to 10 years on land, building, machinery and
equipment. |
| Sales and Use Tax Abatement on construction materials and equipment
placed in service. |
| Tax Increment Bond Financing. |
| Special Improvement Bond Financing. |
| Low interest and zero interest loans. |
| Other federal, state, and local incentives:
 | Industrial development training, which Includes program development,
use of advertising, mobile training unit, pre-employment training,
on-the-job training, and wage reimbursement. |
| State Capital Income Tax Credits of 5% of capital investment for 20
years to offset state income tax liability. |
| Foreign Trade Zone in Gulf Shores and Fairhope. |
| Federal Hub Zone in Bay Minette. |
| Waiver of the cost of certain local fees. |
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Employee intangible
incentives for relocating employees that include discounted banking,
moving, printing, and hotel services for house hunting. |
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AIDT
helps
new
or
expanding
companies
find
and
train
workers
at
no
cost
to
the
company. AIDT
specializes
in
program
development,
recruiting,
assessing
and training
potential
employees,
providing
on-the-job
training,
developing
and producing
training
materials
and
videos,
and
locating
facilities
and delivering
customized
service. |
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Alabama’s
Career
Center
System:
Provides
On-The-Job Training,
Incumbent
Worker Training, and Customized Training
to
train
employees who are
upgrading
their
job skills
at a low
or
no cost to
the employer
who
meet
eligibility
criteria. |
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Alabama
Technology
Network: Helps
businesses
to
improve
competitiveness
through
technical assistance,
workforce
training and
technology transfer. ATN
links
the
business
with
universities,
colleges,
businesses
and government
to
improve
efficiency and
productivity. |
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Workforce:
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Availability:
| Over 3,000 employed in electronics/electrical assembly
manufacturing. |
| 25% of workforce is "underemployed" persons in the Mobile MSA. |
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| Training:
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South Baldwin Center for Technology: Offers the CISCO
Network Academy Program and the Network Academy Program on the
principles and practice of networking. |
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Faulkner State Community College: Offers Associates in
Computer Technology and Computer science as well as several
certificates. |
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Southeast College of Technology: Offers several programs
such as Computer Information Services, Computer Network Technology and
Internet Information Systems. |
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University of South Alabama: Offers degrees in Computer
Sciences, Information Systems, E-Commerce and Computer Engineering. |
| University of Mobile: Offers a degree in Computer Information
Services. |
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Pensacola Junior College: Offers associate degrees in
Computer Information Services, Computer Science, Computer Programming
and Network Services Technology. |
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George Stone Vo-Tec: Offers certificates in Network
Support services, and a CISCO Networking Academy. |
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Wage Costs |
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Demographics:
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Baldwin County population
growth |
| 1990 |
2007 |
Percentage Growth |
| 98,280 |
171,769 |
74.8% |
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Transportation:
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Highway: Interstates 65 & 10. |
| Truck: 1,067 carriers are licensed to serve the Mobile MSA. |
| Seven terminals are located in Baldwin County. |
| Fifty terminals are located in Mobile MSA and eight offer container
service. |
| Rail: Class I service provided by CSX Rail in Bay Minette. |
| Commercial Air:
| Between two regional airports: Mobile Regional Airport and Pensacola
Regional Airport. |
| Service: ASA, American, Continental and Continental Express, Delta,
Northwest Airlink, Skywest, United Express, US Airways and US Airways
Express. |
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| Cargo: UPS and FedEx maintain terminals in Mobile and Pensacola. |
| General Aviation:
| Four municipal airports offering lighted approach.
 | All four with instrument approach: |
| Jack Edwards Airport, Gulf Shores: Full Cat 1 ILS |
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| Public Bus: Baldwin Rural Area Transportation (BRATS) Network. |
| Parcel: UPS, Fed-Ex, DHL, Airborn Express ( UPS maintains a terminal
in Robertsdale). |
| Ports: Alabama State Docks, Mobile; Port of Pensacola, Pensacola. |
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Waterways: Intracoastal
Waterway, Tensaw River, Mobile River, Mobile Ship Channel. |
Telecommunications Infrastructure and
Utilities:
| Two Common Carriers in Baldwin County (BellSouth,
CenturyTel). |
| Long Distance Carriers: AT&T, CenturyTel, MCI,
Sprint. |
| Dark Fiber recently installed along major highways.
| 264-mile sonet
ring from Mobile to Pensacola. |
| 150-mile sonet
ring in Baldwin County, Alabama. |
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| Redundancy available along major highways (Sonet
Ring). |
| Digital and Analog Central Offices. |
| 16 ISPs Serving Baldwin County |
| Reasonable Cost, Reliable Electric Power. |
| Self Healing Networks. |
| Favorable Regulatory Climate. |
| Highest Switching Capacity: OC 192. |
| Five Points of Presence in the County. |
Assistance in Acquiring Related
Local Businesses:
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Venture/Seed Capital Network
available for financing. |
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BCEDA will assist in
introducing aerospace and manufacturing companies to local firms. |
Quality
of Life:
(Reflects cost differentials for professional and executive households in
the top income quintile)
| Abundant Recreational Opportunities. |
Great
Ability to Relocate Professional Talent
Due to a high quality of life with a low cost of living, the area continues
to draw qualified workers
to fill positions.
“We have ten high level engineer jobs that have opened up, but the company
will not have a problem filling those positions. There is always a pool of
qualified labor available even though the wages are lower here. People want
to move their families here because of the great quality of life and the
cost of living in Baldwin County is low.”
-Linda Houser, Human Resources, Goodrich
Aerospace/Aerostructures Group
Every year, over four
million people spend one week at the Gulf of Mexico beaches in
Gulf Shores
and Orange Beach – Some of
us are lucky enough to live here! Family is the
word for Baldwin County;
locating your company here
shows that with Good People
comes Good Business.
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