Sarasota stalwart moves operations north

ST. PETERSBURG -- A series of economic incentives is luring a longtime Sarasota retail software company north to Pinellas County.

GeniusCentral Systems Inc. announced it will relocate and expand its headquarters operations to St. Petersburg, hiring 40 new employees making up to $49,000 annually. That's in addition to the 60 positions the company already has.

Those hirings alone could allow GeniusCentral to pick up $200,000 in incentives simply for relocating to St. Pete's enterprise zone. The new headquarters will be at 2232 Fifth Ave. S.

The site is currently home to a 10,000-square-foot 1950s-era warehouse that prominent Pinellas County commercial landowner Philip Farley picked up a year ago for $420,000, according to property records.

“An innovative technology leader like GeniusCentral could choose to locate anywhere, but the strength of our Pinellas work force and the warmth of our diverse community make Pinellas the ideal location for growing technology companies,” says John Morroni, chair of the Pinellas County Commissioners, in a release.

Besides the enterprise zone incentives, GeniusCentral could also receive $8,000 per new job created above a certain salary level from Florida's Qualified Target Industry Tax Refund Program. At 40 positions, that would equate to $320,000 more in incentives.

Those incentives would be paid at the state, county and city level, with Florida providing 80%, and the county and city providing 10% each.

GeniusCentral started in a Sarasota garage in 1999 as Living Naturally after the founders trying to open an organic market realized they needed advanced technological tools to help them compete in an online age. The company now builds and maintains websites, and provides other digital shopping tools for clients primarily from the organic foods industry.

The company changed its name last year to reflect its software product line, with more than $5 billion worth of products processed through the company's software.