Encore Alabama/Florida Regional Center, LLC offers investment opportunities in ten counties, including the the state of Alabama (2 counties) and Florida (8 counties). These gulf areas of the states share a common regional economy, interstate system, and connection to the Gulf of Mexico.
Geography and Climate
Alabama is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west, while Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, and to the south by the Straits of Florida. The climate of Florida is tempered somewhat by the fact that no part of the state is very distant from the ocean, making the majority of the state subject to a humid subtropical climate. While the northern portions of Alabama are exposed to more temperate climates, the lower portion of the state that is exposed to the Gulf of Mexico also features a humid subtropical climate. Such climate is partial to high humidity, temperate winters, and hot, rainy summers.
As of July 2012 the population of Florida was just over 19 million inhabitants, while that of Alabama was just shy of 5 million. Florida was the seventh-fastest growing state in the U.S. in the 12 month period ending July 1, 2012. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the racial makeup of Florida was 75% White American, 16% Black or African American, 0.4% American Indian or Alaskan. 2.4% Asian American, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 3.6% from some other race, and 2.5% multiracial Americans. Similarly, the racial composition of Alabama was 68.5% White (67.0% Non-Hispanic White Alone), 26.2% Black or African American, 3.9% Hispanics or Latinos of any race, 1.1% Asian, 0.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, 2.0% from Some Other Race, and 1.5% from Two or More Races. Major population centers in the state include Birmingham-Hoover, Huntsville, Mobile and Montgomery. In the case of Florida, major population centers include Jacksonville, Miami, Tampa, Orlando, Saint Petersburg, Fort Lauderdale, and Tallahassee.
Economy
In Florida, economic development has been spurred greatly by tourism, industry, construction, international banking, biomedical and life sciences, healthcare research, simulation training, aerospace and defense, and commercial space travel, while in Alabama the state has invested in aerospace, education, health care, banking, and various heavy industries, including automobile manufacturing, mineral extraction, steel production and fabrication.
Florida
The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Florida in 2010 was $748 billion. Its GDP is the fourth largest economy in the United States. In 2010, it became the fourth largest exporter of trade goods. The major contributors to the state’s gross output in 2007 were general services, financial services, trade, transportation and public utilities, manufacturing and construction respectively. In 2010–11, the state budget was $70.5 billion, having reached a high of $73.8 billion in 2006–07. Chief Executive Magazine name Florida the third “Best State for Business” in 2011. In the early 20th century, land speculators discovered Florida, and businessmen such as Henry Plant and Henry Flagler developed railroad systems, which led people to move in, drawn by the weather and local economies. From then on, tourism boomed, fueling a cycle of development.
Alabama
According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, the 2008 total gross state product was $170 billion, or $29,411 per capita. Alabama’s 2008 GDP increased 0.7% from the previous year. The single largest increase came in the area of information. Alabama’s industrial outputs include iron and steel products (including cast-iron and steel pipe); paper, lumber, and wood products; mining (mostly coal); plastic products; cars and trucks; and apparel.