Longer leases could lead to greater innovation at The HUB

For companies developing cutting-edge maritime and defense technology, innovation takes time. Extending the lease limit at the Port of St. Petersburg from 10 to 25 years could provide the stability needed to attract new businesses to the Maritime Defense and Technology Hub – in St. Petersburg’s Innovation District – while creating more opportunities for collaboration among the companies and research institutions already there.

“For us, it’s stability,” said Tom Frazer, dean and professor at the University of South Florida’s College of Marine Science. “I think what we recognize is that there’s a blue economy here that’s super important. To me, a blue economy is how do we manage our ocean resources to improve our economy, improve our livelihood and create jobs.”

Having a facility like The HUB with a longer lease, Frazer said, would incentivize industries and government agencies to work together to solve and address the fundamental issues of the blue economy, something especially important for Tampa Bay.

Even if the lease extension doesn’t necessarily directly affect a current tenant, there are ancillary benefits, as is the case with Michael Spytek, who runs Aurora Borealis Networks, a company that creates satellite communication networks for vessels in the maritime and defense sectors.

Spytek noted that a longer lease would attract tenants that need more time to develop their technology on-site, and the opportunity to collaborate with such businesses is itself a draw.

While The HUB already has a long waiting list, many companies, despite appreciating the site and its opportunities, cannot commit to a location with only a 10-year lease. This is also true of some federal grants, which require a longer period to develop projects and demonstrate results.

As Jack Feldman, The HUB’s community manager, explained, some federal grants involve projects with a physical component that can take more than 10 years to see returns.

For businesses already operating at The HUB, a longer lease could also provide greater certainty in an environment where uncertainty is often unavoidable.

“As a small business, I face a lot of variables, so anything we can do that creates more consistency, like extending the port lease, gets rid of some variables,” said Andy Bennett, owner of SubUAS.

Businesses taking up shop at The HUB consistently point to collaboration with other tenants as a key draw and creative engine. The proximity of companies working in different but complementary fields creates opportunities to share ideas, tackle challenges and develop technologies that might not otherwise emerge.

Extending the lease limit could expand that network by attracting new types of technology companies whose projects require longer timelines and greater investment. Their presence would not only benefit those businesses but also create new opportunities for existing tenants, researchers and government partners.

And as more companies bring their expertise to The HUB, those unique collaborations could yield even more impressive technologies and research, further strengthening St. Petersburg’s growing blue economy.