An affiliate of Colorado-based vacation club developer and operator Timbers Resorts is seeking up to $560,000 in tax refund incentives from the state and local governments to move its corporate headquarters to Winter Park.
Orange County Commissioners will consider approving a 10 percent local share of the Qualified Target Industry (QTI) tax refund request, or $56,000, while Winter Park will consider a request on Aug. 13 for paying the same 10 percent portion.
Timbers Resorts’ corporate headquarters relocation would create approximately 80 new jobs in Orange County with an average salary of at least $92,848, which is 200 percent of the overall prevailing average in the county ($46,424), according to a summary provided to county commissioners.
The company specializes in the development, sales, marketing and operations of luxury residence clubs, vacation homes and boutique hotels and resorts around the world, according to its website.
Local office market brokerage sources told GrowthSpotter on Monday that Timbers Resorts had agreed to initial lease terms for approximately 12,000 square feet in the Seacoast Bank-anchored building at 1031 W. Morse Blvd.
“We are evaluating Winter Park along with several other communities for possible expansion, but no formal decision has been made on any location,” CEO Greg Spencer said via email. “With that being said, Winter Park and Orange County are both wonderful communities that are well represented, and we have been pleased to be in conversations about a possible expansion with their respective leaders.”
Total capital investment would be approximately $700,000, per the summary by Orange County’s Office of Economic, Trade and Tourism Development.
Winter Park is among the costliest and most in demand office submarkets in Greater Orlando. Among 12 submarkets tracked by Cushman & Wakefield, Winter Park had the second lowest overall vacancy rate (7 percent) through this year’s second quarter and third highest average asking rent for Class A space ($27.00 per SF).
The company’s HQ would service its 16 resorts around the world and new business lines being developed for the hospitality industry. Those include in Florida the vacation homes of Timbers Jupiter at Trump National Jupiter Golf Club.
The company anticipates the new jobs will include approximately 55 in management, 12 administrative, nine in sales and four IT positions, over three years from December 2019 through December 2021.
Both Orange County and Winter Park would pay out their shares of the QTI incentives seven years, on condition of Timbers Resorts proving it has hit the annual job creation benchmarks.
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