Tampa woos new headquarters, plus 150 jobs

TAMPA — BlueLine Associates, a professional services firm that provides consulting, staffing and managed services to a variety of mid- to large-sized companies, intends to relocate its corporate headquarters to the Tampa and create 150 jobs.

BlueLine's move from Cary, N.C., also is expected to result in a $2 million investment in the community, according to a release. The new positions are expected to pay an annual average wage of $71,909.

“This move gives us access to Florida's strong talent pool and allows us to continue the strategic expansion of our business,” says BlueLine president Rocky Silvestri in the statement.

BlueLine, which currently operates an office in Tampa, will augment its local workforce with financial, legal and human resources personnel.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott, in the statement, notes the state competed with North Carolina and Louisiana for BlueLine's headquarters. For the past two years, BlueLine has been named among the “Best Places to Work” by Consulting Magazine and the Triangle Business Journal, a North Carolina business publication.

“Tampa's star continues to rise, as more companies like BlueLine Associates discover the advantages our city offers as a corporate headquarters home,” says Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn.

BlueLine marks the latest in a series of companies that have relocated to the Tampa area in the past two years, including North American Roofing Services Inc., Velocity Resource Group, Fay Servicing, Ashley Furniture Industries and Johnson & Johnson, among others.

In addition to the city and the state's Enterprise Florida and Department of Economic Opportunity, the Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Corp. and Hillsborough County helped lure BlueLine.

Dr. Ken Atwater, chair of the Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Corp., noted that Tampa's pro-business climate and quality of life, together with Tampa International Airport's international reach, gave the region the edge over competing municipalities.