Soar to New Heights in Lake Nona
When you think of Orlando you may think of theme parks and tourism, but if you don’t think of Central Florida as a prime place to relocate or start your business, it’s time to think again. With one of the fastest growing workforces in the country, Orlando has become one of the most attractive areas for business.
By Lake Nona
January 21, 2022
Orlando is also where you’ll find Lake Nona. This one-of-a-kind 17-square mile “Living Lab” community provides a real-world test bed for companies looking to test and deploy innovative solutions at scale. Built for the future, it is CISCO’s first Iconic Smart+Connected city in the U.S. and features an infrastructure wired with a growing 5G network, ready for what lies ahead.
Lake Nona was created by the Tavistock Group, an international private investment organization. Their vision has built a neo-urban community of entrepreneurialism, collaboration and innovation, with individual hubs devoted to health, well-being, human performance, business and education.
Traveling to and from Lake Nona couldn’t be easier or more convenient. This aerotropolis is contiguous to Orlando International Airport and provides businesses and residents close proximity to Florida’s busiest airport with direct connections to more than 150 cities worldwide.
For traveling closer to home, Lake Nona will soon open the first vertiport in the country where electric Vertical Take Off and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft offer quick access to regional destinations. Within Lake Nona, autonomous shuttles whisk passengers throughout Lake Nona, connecting the many office, medical, dining and entertainment districts located in the community.
It’s just a short drive from Lake Nona to Florida’s Space Coast, where NASA, Space X, United Launch Alliance, Blue Origin and Boeing all call home. Central Florida is also home to Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and Aerojet Rocketdyne. All told, the area attracts $6 billion in annual modeling, training and simulation contracts.
Perhaps one of the most appealing aspects of Lake Nona is the highly educated population that calls it and its surrounding areas home. These tech-forward early adopters make up the workforce of the industry leading businesses located here, including SIMCOM, BBA Aviation, Johnson & Johnson, KPMG, Lilium, Verizon, View Glass, the U.S. Tennis Association and more.
You don’t have to look far for the next generation of innovators either. With more than 500,000 college students within a 100-mile radius, Lake Nona businesses have access to a deep talent pool. The University of Central Florida is the number one supplier of graduates to the aerospace and defense industry and 29 percent of Kennedy Space Center employees are UCF alumni.
Other Central Florida based colleges, including nearby Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Eastern Florida State College and Florida Institute of Technology, all offer fields of study in aerospace engineering and technology.
Lake Nona benefits greatly from Florida’s welcoming business climate, with a low corporate income tax and no state property tax. Orlando’s already enticing tax policy can be further bolstered by incentives available to qualifying companies that are relocating or expanding to the area. The dollar goes further here too, as the cost of living is 6.3% below the national average.
While Lake Nona looks toward the future, we’re open for business now. With robust transportation infrastructure, an educated workforce, a low cost of living combined with a high standard of living, we’re partnering with businesses to create a destination where tomorrow’s innovations are happening today.
To learn more about Lake Nona and how your business can thrive here, please fill out the form below.