Gov. Rick Scott helped Advanced Disposal Chairman and CEO Charlie Appleby with the grand opening Monday of the company's headquarters in the Nocatee area of Ponte Vedra.
Atlanta, Milwaukee, Charlotte, N.C., Jacksonville and St. Johns County all were in consideration for the relocation of the headquarters, the Daily Record reported in December, but St. Johns County's incentive package helped keep the project in Northeast Florida.
"In addition to keeping and expanding its headquarters in our state, Advanced Disposal has grown to become the largest privately owned environmental services company in the nation," Scott said.
The company headquarters formerly were in the Baymeadows area.
The expansion will create about 85 jobs, retain 35 jobs and inject $4 million in capital into the state economy.
Advanced Disposal was approved for a Qualified Targeted Industry Tax Refund program incentive of up to $595,000 in performance-based tax refunds in return for creating new jobs at an average annual wage of $112,000 or more.
The company also was approved for a state Quick Action Closing Fund of $200,000 and a $180,000 Quick Response Training Grant from Workforce Florida.
St. Johns County agreed to contribute $162,120 to the incentives at the local level.
"The state of Florida and St. Johns County were chosen to be the headquartered home of Advanced Disposal and a handful of our most valuable assets, our employees," after a review of four states and five different communities, said Appleby.
"Florida and St. Johns County emerged as the forefront leader and final selection due to a number of positive financial factors and a business-friendly environment, such as the state's competitive corporate income tax rate and no personal income tax," said Appleby.
Another incentive for the company was the turn-key condition of the property.
It was acquired by Advanced Disposal through foreclosure and the company is leasing the office furniture and artwork from former owner Medical Development International, said Lynne Graley, Advanced Disposal corporate operations analyst.
"We didn't have to wait on build-out of the offices because they were already furnished and ready to go," said Graley.
Artwork throughout the building displays animals and natural settings from the area and the history of St. Augustine.
Advanced Disposal is a full-service environmental services company and provides collection, transfer, disposal and recycling operations to more than 640,000 residential customers and more than 106,000 commercial customers in Florida.
Overall, it serves 3.3 million residential customers and 200,000 commercial customers across 20 states and the Bahamas.
The company has more than 3,100 trucks running routes daily.
Jacksonville lost Advanced Disposal to St. Johns County, but Jerry Mallot, JAXUSA Partnership president, still considers the project a win for the region.
"More than 80 local companies have national or divisional headquarters here and Advanced Disposal's selection of St. Johns County as the site for its combined headquarters adds to our reputation as a leading destination for business," said Mallot.
Advanced Disposal owns and operates commercial, industrial, and residential solid waste collection operations, municipal solid waste landfills, transfer stations and recycling facilities.
Along with its Ponte Vedra headquarters, it has operations in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Wisconsin and the Bahamas.
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