Bill Cronin, President & CEO, Pasco Economic Development Council

July 2026 — Invest: spoke with Bill Cronin, president and CEO of the Pasco Economic Development Council, about how Pasco is balancing growth with long-range infrastructure planning, industry diversification, and workforce readiness. “Infrastructure is the horizontal foundation that supports every vertical industry,” Cronin said.

What changes over the past year have had the biggest impact on Pasco EDC, and in what ways?

Two projects stand out because they represent both visible progress and long-term scale. First, we saw major movement at the Moffitt Cancer Center Speros campus. Their outpatient building recently opened, and the proton beam therapy facility is close behind. That is part of the larger campus of roughly 775 acres with a long-term projection of about 11,000 jobs. The key shift is that the site has gone vertical, which makes the future real for people. Instead of looking at a flat piece of land and imagining what it will become, you can now see it taking shape.

That visibility is already changing surrounding market behavior. As those buildings rise, other developers and business leaders begin to understand the magnitude of what is coming, and they start planning around it. We are seeing stronger interest in the area for life sciences, in part because it is a fly-to-market that sits about 20 minutes north of Tampa International Airport. Access matters, and that proximity makes the campus more practical for partners, talent, and corporate teams that need to travel.

Another investment that made a real impact was Bauducco Foods from Brazil locating in Zephyrhills. They will be producing panettone for the U.S. market, and they are moving operations that historically were based in Brazil. Beyond the direct job and capital investment, what has been notable is how engaged they have become in the community. Zephyrhills has not always had consistent investment at that scale. It was historically more of a bedroom community with a significant retiree presence, and large employers were not always part of the local fabric.

When a company shows up and acts like a citizen, people notice. Sponsoring events, being present, and investing time in the community changes the dynamic. Residents can see that decision-makers are invested in the area, and that corporate citizenship creates value beyond the balance sheet.

More broadly, these wins connect to a longer story in Pasco. Years ago, Pasco functioned primarily as a residential product for Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Clearwater. People lived here and drove out to work, then returned home. That is flattering in the sense that people choose to live here, and the lifestyle and cost of living have been a draw. But residential growth alone creates structural issues for local government and long-term service delivery.

How do you manage growth in a way that is fiscally sustainable for the county?

To plan infrastructure responsibly, you have to understand the tax mix and the cost to serve different land uses. In Florida, and especially here, residential is expensive to serve relative to what it generates. For every dollar we receive in property tax, it costs about $1.20 to serve residential. That means it does not pay for itself. Commercial is much closer, about 80 cents on the dollar. Industrial is lower still, closer to 20 cents on the dollar.

When you plan growth, you need infrastructure and land-use patterns that include a mix of residential, commercial, and industrial so communities can become self-sufficient. That is one of the reasons master-planned unit developments have been so important here. The intent is not simply to entitle land and let it fill however the market chooses in the short term. The intent is to plan for industrial, employment centers, and residential in a way that works together.

Over time, that mix does more than stabilize the tax base. It creates real community outcomes. It supports the idea that people can live, work, and play within the same area, rather than getting in the car every day to commute long distances. That takes pressure off roads and aligns infrastructure investment with actual daily patterns of life.

A lot of what you see now is the result of planning decisions made years ago. Residential development can be lucrative upfront, and it is often easier to sell land to residential developers. But if you do not also create the employment center piece, you end up with a community that looks healthy on paper but is difficult to sustain long term. One of our biggest successes has been maintaining focus on filling those planned areas with employment uses so each development has jobs nearby and a healthier fiscal structure.

With the current focus on real estate, construction, and infrastructure, what signals are you seeing from other sectors right now?

Infrastructure is the horizontal foundation that supports every vertical industry. If you do not have the right infrastructure in place, it becomes difficult to compete for the kinds of employers that drive the next generation of growth. Fiber is a good example. If you do not have fiber, it is hard to attract technology companies that rely on high-capacity connectivity. And the fiber used for broadband access is closely related to what life sciences organizations, medical companies, and Department of Defense-related firms need as well, especially when security and closed-loop systems are part of the requirement.

You cannot approach infrastructure with yesterday’s assumptions. In the past, a community might have installed basic coaxial cable and considered the job done. Today, you have to invest in fiber ahead of demand, because the industries coming in are built on data and secure connectivity. If you do not prepare, you miss the opportunity to attract the companies that will define the next decade.

One advantage for Pasco is that we were a little later to some of these advanced industries, which means we can adopt newer infrastructure rather than retrofitting older systems. That can be a real competitive benefit.

On the sector side, defense is a major driver for our region, even though it is not always something people talk about loudly. Much of it is sensitive, and many companies prefer not to advertise what they are doing. But the reality is that the Tampa Bay area has a unique defense asset base. With U.S. Central Command and Special Operations Command at MacDill Air Force Base, we have a deep pool of talent coming out of the military and moving into private-sector roles that support these missions. SOCOM, in particular, represents highly specialized capabilities.

How are you approaching workforce attraction and development so local businesses can scale with the talent they need?

The workforce is the foundation underneath everything else. We can have land and buildings, but if we do not have people, those assets do not matter. Florida continues to experience strong in-migration, and Pasco has ranked among the fastest-growing counties in the country by net migration. A meaningful share of the people moving here bring talent, experience, and skills that employers can use.

But we cannot rely exclusively on migration. At some point, flows change, and we need to be prepared for the next two or three generations. Many large employers have been hiring from the pool of people relocating here, which is useful, but long-term resilience requires local talent pipelines. That means working with the school system and aligning curriculum to the needs of employers so students are prepared for the kinds of jobs that will exist.

A lot of workforce programs focus primarily on the individual job seeker. Our focus is on employers, because employers are hiring across a spectrum of roles that require different entry points and different training systems. We operate a program called Workforce Connect, and within it we use a software platform called ConnectOPP.

The goal is to help employers navigate the landscape of workforce development and training resources efficiently. One day a business might be hiring an engineer, and the next day they might need an administrator. Those roles may come through different training institutions, recruiting channels, and workforce agencies. By mapping the ecosystem and clarifying entry points, we help employers find the right pipeline more quickly.

The platform can also help job seekers. If someone wants to become an engineer, for example, the tool can help them understand where they need to go to school and what steps they need to take. We have received recognition for this work, including awards through the International Economic Development Council, and the program has matured into a practical tool for existing businesses that need talent now and in the future.

Looking ahead, what are your key goals for Pasco EDC over the next five years?

One overarching goal is controlling costs. As we grow and become more popular, costs rise, and that can erode competitiveness. We want to remain a strong place to do business, and that includes keeping taxes low so companies will reinvest and grow here. If we do that well, it supports the whole ecosystem and strengthens resilience over time.

A lot of our work is risk mitigation. When companies decide where to invest, they are evaluating uncertainty. Our role is to help reduce risk and make it easier for them to choose Pasco and then succeed once they are here. That approach matters regardless of which industry is most dominant at a given moment.

In terms of sector emphasis, life sciences will remain important because it is resilient and always needed. Food and agriculture are also part of the ecosystem, both from a wellness standpoint and from a security standpoint. Florida has a long history in food production, and we expect to see increased emphasis statewide on food-related industries.

Defense will continue to matter, and we also see opportunities in aviation and drone technology. Florida is flat, and we have space and airspace that make certain kinds of aviation activity practical. Tampa Bay also has a long aviation history, including the first commercial flight between Tampa and St. Petersburg. As drone technology expands, the infrastructure requirements can be different than traditional aviation, and that creates new entry points for regions like ours.

Ultimately, the goal is to keep Pasco positioned so that growth is sustainable. We want to keep this ground fertile for growth. That means making sure that if something lands here, it can grow here, and that the government does not accidentally step on something that is growing.