Infrastructure

DeSoto County offers swift movement, inbound or outbound, and fast arrival at domestic and global destinations, thanks to Florida’s first-class infrastructure, the region’s extensive multimodal connections and a strategic location outside urban congestion zones. The Highway 17 Industrial site provides frontage to Highway 17 and I-75 is less than 20 miles away. Arcadia Municipal Airport is 10 miles away, Punta Gorda Airport is 17 miles from the site and Southwest Florida International Airport is 54 miles away. The site provides frontage to a CSX line and SeaPort Manatee is 70 miles away. 

Incentives

Florida is considered one of the best states to do business. Labor costs are low, regulations are limited, and the state has no state income tax. Local incentives include:

• No Impact Fees: No application necessary
• Rural Jobs Tax Credit: For eligible businesses, a $1,000 to $1,500 tax credit for each qualified employee, taken against either the Florida Corporate Income Tax or the Florida Sales and Use Tax
• Sales Tax Exemption on Electricity for Manufacturing: Qualifying businesses will be granted either a 50% or a 100% exemption of the sales tax on the charges for electricity or steam used in manufacturing
• Quick Response Training: Administered by CareerSource Florida, this program provides funding to qualifying businesses to train their new full-time employees
• Business Incentive Grant (BIG): The DeSoto County Board of County Commissioners created the Business Incentive Grant (BIG) program to incentivize businesses to locate or expand in DeSoto County and to bring high-wage jobs and/or invest in property and equipment. Each BIG agreement is customized to the business and will be reviewed and approved by the Board.

Quality of Place

With more than 400 buildings and homes on the National Register of Historic Places, DeSoto immerses visitors in turn-of-the-century architectural beauty. DeSoto County is located in South Central Florida, covering 637 square miles with a population of approximately 36,000. The City of Arcadia, near the center of the County, is the County Seat. Within a fifty-mile radius of Arcadia are several Florida beach communities, including Sarasota, Punta Gorda and Fort Myers. DeSoto County is one of those places where a friendly small-town flavor still thrives. The architecture, businesses and recreation all reflect the County’s history of agriculture.

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