Investment could net 700 jobs in southwest Florida

The recent approval by the U.S. Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services of the Charlotte Harbor Regional Center and its first EB-5 development project – Florida’s Charlotte Harbor Marina – represent a number of firsts for southwest Florida, the center said.

These include:

• The first Regional Center “headquarters” building in the United States. The marina project also will house the offices of Charlotte County Economic Development and Tourism and all services for EB-5 investors, EB-5 candidates and regional center businesses.
• The first “Fractional Marina Club,” including businesses that are complementary and supportive of marina club operations.
• The first full-service marina facility in the United States developed using EB-5 financing.

The EB-5 Visa program is intended to stimulate investment in the U.S. economy and create employment. In return, international investors are permitted to become residents of the United States and apply for U.S. citizenship.

Immigration Services’ approval for the regional center includes Sarasota and Charlotte counties and will have a regional economic impact that is expected to generate more than 700 direct, indirect and induced jobs in the region, the center said in a release.