A message from BDB Board President Susan Rabinowitz.
For more than 35 years, the Business Development Board of Martin County has been providing confidential, complimentary services such as site selection, market intelligence, connections to capital, and more.
But some of our quieter qualities deserve a turn in the spotlight. Those include:
- Economic strategies tailored to the unique needs and characteristics of local municipalities.
- Authority over a chartered resource ideal for funding qualified projects.
- A growing number of influential partners are ideally positioned to build local businesses and strengthen our economy.
Municipality strategies: As incoming communities such as Terra Lago get under construction, the Village of Indiantown is poised for increased job creation at permit-ready sites such as Venture Park and Indiantown Commerce Park. We’re working closely with village leadership and informing our network of contacts about Indiantown’s natural resources, unique and attainable lifestyle, and incoming workforce.
Nearly at build-out residential-wise, the City of Stuart presents different opportunities. With the help of BusinessFlare, our new economic development advisory firm, we’re identifying opportunities for the city’s commercial properties.
Martin County Industrial Development Authority: When interest rates run high, the IDA—under the governance of the BDB—can move a project from the sidelines to the starting line through to the finish line. Empowered to offer low-interest, tax-exempt loans to qualified projects, this specialized funding option—available exclusively through the BDB and attendant IDA board—can help projects in jeopardy of being grounded due to fierce fiscal headwinds get off the ground.
Private-sector support: Our campaign to attract private-sector support is progressing nicely, especially since Dan Hudson, interim executive director, arrived to help organize and streamline such initiatives. Just recently, we added SouthState Bank to a council of private-sector supporters that includes FPL, Bank of America, PNC Bank, Seacoast Bank, TD Bank, MidFlorida Credit Union, First Citizens Bank, Mattamy Homes, C&W Technologies, Evergreen Private Care and more.
The BDB is gathering momentum at a pivotal time.
The fundamental qualities of our community—safe, family-focused, acclaimed schools, low density—remain strong. The enduring track records and respected reputations of our core industries—aviation/aerospace, marine, agriculture, and innovative technologies—have caught the attention of C-suite executives and savvy investors.
The county has prioritized the installation of redundant fiber-optic infrastructure and permit-ready sites. Both support existing businesses and attract additional job creators, offering high-skilled, high-wage opportunities. This diversifies our tax base by adding business tax revenue sources and reducing reliance on residential property tax.
It’s a lot of working parts that the BDB is in the privileged position of helping move in the right direction, but when it does, everyone—working or retired, fresh entrepreneur or seasoned executive, small business owner or leader of a large corporation—reaps the benefits of.
In addition to volunteering as chair of the Business Development Board of Martin County, Susan Rabinowitz is Bank of America’s Treasure Coast Market President and Business Banking Market Executive for the Palm Beach and Treasure Coast markets.
