Tampa Bay Business Journal - July 13, 2012

TAMPA - In this week's Tampa Bay Business Journal report, editor Alexis Muellner discusses how Tampa is becoming a hub for innovation, the growth spark USF St. Pete is causing, and how Pasco County is maturing its economic development process.

Attorney Anton Hopen, a partner at Smith & Hopen, devised an "innovation" to see how cities rank based on intellectual property activity on a per capita basis.

Hopen found Tampa scored a "75" -- better than either New York or Chicago. That means Tampa is ripe for an increase in business activity.

The growth of the University of South Florida St. Petersburg campus is having a positive impact in the surrounding neighborhoods. Expanding student and worker populations may encourage more retail and residential business opportunities in the area.

Pasco County officials are working with the public-private Pasco Economic Development Council to help adopt an economic development plan that would focus on bringing businesses to the county. Previously, Pasco has focused on retirees, a seasonal population and businesses that do not export outside the region.

For more information on these stories, click on the video player on the left to watch this week's report.