Jabil Expanding on Site of Current Headquarters in St. Petersburg

Tampa Bay Business Journal Online

The largest company in St. Petersburg has decided to stay in the city and construct a new world headquarters at its current location.

Jabil Inc. (NYSE: JBL) will expand operations at its current site at Roosevelt Boulevard and Dr. Martin Luther King Street North, the company said in a press release.

The deal is pending final approval from the state, Pinellas County and the city of St. Petersburg.

Jabil will expand operations at its current site at Roosevelt Boulevard and Dr. Martin Luther King Street North

“We are thrilled with this news as we have been working for years to keep Jabil in St. Pete,” said St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman. “Gateway is an area of focus for us and it is comforting to know that Jabil will be there for the long-term.”

The cost of construction was not disclosed, and the company did not say if it would be seeking financial incentives from the state or local governments for the project.

Jabil, an electronics service company with $19.1 billion in revenue in fiscal 2017, had considered many other locations, including the site now housing Tropicana Field near downtown St. Petersburg. In addition to its headquarters, the company has smaller sites located all over the Tampa Bay area.

“The new campus will bring our local employees together on a single, safe, modern, environmental friendly campus,” Mark Mondello, Jabil CEO, said. “Our home here in St. Petersburg will continue to be a global connector for our 180,000 employees worldwide.”

As of last May, the company employed 948 people in St. Pete, with an average annual wage of $96,000.

The city paved the way for the deal last year, when Jabil got an option to buy city-owned property at 10900 Roosevelt Blvd. that was leased by Tampa Bay Research Institution.

Part of that agreement called for Jabil to keep at least 800 jobs in St. Petersburg, including substantially the same level of existing senior staff, for two years.

Gensler is the architect on the project and Skanska USA is construction manager.

In addition to the city and county, the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce and Greater St. Petersburg Area Economic Development Corp. were supportive in the process, the press release said.