Economic Development District (EDD)


Staff Contact:

Patrick O'Neil
Senior Planner
4000 Gateway Centre Blvd.
Suite 100
Pinellas Park, Florida 33782
Phone: (727)570-5151 ext. 31 Fax: (727)570-5118

Economic Development District (Edd)

About edd

The Tampa Bay region was designated an Economic Development District on April 30, 2003 by the Economic Development Administration. Local governments in the district are now eligible for an additional 5% bonus under EDA funded programs for construction projects (i.e, 55% federal participation instead of 50%). This designation also relieves annual reporting of county adopted Comprehensive Economic Development Strategies (CEDS) which are now covered under the regional CEDS. EDD designation also increases access to additional federal funding such as for disaster preparedness and recovery, brownfield mitigation, revolving loan fund, and Southern Crescent Commission.


The primary functions of the EDD are (but are not limited to):


  • the preparation and maintenance of a CEDS.
  • Assist in the implementation strategies identified in the CEDS.
  • Provide technical assistance to local governments and economic development organizations on their economic development activities, programs, and grant applications.

The EDD is comprised of the four counties that make up the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council (Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, and Pinellas, and all municipalities therein). The staff of the Regional Planning Council will act as the administrative arm of the EDD. The EDD must provide an annual report of the economic development activities in the region by the end of April each year. This will be accomplished with the help of the economic development departments/staff within each municipality and other economic development practitioners. They will be expected to provide updated information about their respective economic development initiatives to the EDD staff. The CEDS will be updated every five years through a comprehensive planning process that addresses the needs of the entire region. EDD staff will ensure that groups representing all socioeconomic segments of the Tampa Bay region will be invited to participate in the CEDS update.


A new CEDS was created in 2007 and adopted on September 10, 2007 by the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council. A downloadable copy is located here. The CEDS was created with guidance from the CEDS Strategy Committee. The Strategy Committee member list is located here (insert hyperlink). The current project list is located here. Additional projects can be submitted for CEDS inclusion by using the form located here.

Under Florida law, e-mail addresses are public records. If you do not want your e-mail address released in response to a public records request, do not send electronic mail to this entity. Instead, contact this office by phone by calling (727) 570-5151 or in writing to 4000 Gateway Centre Blvd., Suite 100, Pinellas Park, Florida 33782. Copyright © 2012 Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council. All Rights Reserved.