Three firms paid grants for moving to downtown Miami
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Miami’s Downtown Development Authority has approved funding three companies that would relocate to Miami and provide high-paying jobs.
Two companies would receive grants from the authority of up to $50,000 yearly over three years under requirements of the Follow the Sun campaign, implemented in the fall of 2020, which incentivizes companies to relocate to Miami’s downtown area and provide at least 10 jobs with a minimum salary of $68,000 a year.
Bafu, a digital bank and cryptocurrency exchange startup founded by Henry Grijalba, managing director of Oblique Capital; and Tampa-based company Project Bay, a sales management software firm, would receive that funding.
Bafu would relocate to the Brickell area to 4,700 square feet and invest $135,000 in the next three years, with a plan to hire at least 22 people from Miami with an average annual salary of $89,000 for jobs in business development, marketing, customer service, finance and data science, among other posts.
Project Bay would be moving to 2,500 square feet downtown, make a capital investment of $140,000 and hire 12 people with an average annual salary of $113,000 in the next three years for jobs in business development, sales account management, marketing and customer service.
According to the development authority, both companies would receive only part of those incentives unless they hire more employees. So far, Bafu is to receive $22,000 and Project Bay is to receive $12,000 in grants from the authority, whose funds originate from a portion of property taxes collected within its district boundaries.
The Follow the Sun campaign grants businesses that would relocate to Miami a one-time payment of $500 per employee and up to $50,000 per year with a maximum of three years. Since the campaign began, according to the development authority’s website, companies such as Icahn Enterprises, Universa Investments and Boston Private have receive grants to relocate to the area, which generates around $39 billion in total annual economic impact.
The development authority would also grant $50,000 to a company with the code name “project Pegasus” for the 2021-2021 fiscal year of its incentive programs.
