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Belinda Kirkegard
Belinda Kirkegard, the City of Kissimmee’s first director for Economic Development, has been selected as the new president of the National Entrepreneur Center (NEC) in Orlando. She will take the leadership reins in the coming weeks.
The center is a consolidated office of various regional Chambers of Commerce, business organizations, and academic partners tasked with providing services to new and existing Central Florida entrepreneurs.
When Kirkegard came to Kissimmee in her role in 2010, the economy was struggling to come back from the 2008 Great Recession.
“I was originally hired by City Manager Mark Durbin to create the office and develop the City’s incentives program. Over my tenure, I’ve been so grateful for the leadership team’s probusiness approach to growing our economy,” she said. “I have colleagues that aren’t able to say the same, so I felt blessed coming to work every day.”
She spearheaded the launch of the Kissimmee Medical Arts District in 2016, propelled by a combined $300 million investment into expanded facilities by the city’s two hospitals over the last 10 years. The district, which includes the areas around HCA Florida Osceola and AdventHealth Kissimmee hospitals, saw an explosion of new medical facilities, including a new Veterans Affairs clinic near downtown Kissimmee. New medical development is occurring as Kirkegard departs.
“This year we landed a $5 million medical investment with the conversion of the old movie theatre across from Plaza Del Sol on Armstrong, into a medical hub called the Kissimmee Professional Plaza,” Kirkegard said.
As the city’s first economic development director, she was able to set the stage to take advantage of the city’s rapid growth once the recession was over.
“When I count my blessings in life, my time with the City of Kissimmee will be included. I have loved serving this community, and as the new President of the NEC, I will continue to serve more broadly as a champion for small business in the region,” Kirkegard said.
In 2018, Kirkegard and the City’s airport leadership introduced the Aerospace Advancement Initiative that focused on growing companies at the Kissimmee Gateway Airport. While numerous small companies utilized the incentives from the start, in 2021 prolific aircraft manufacturer Cirrus Aircraft invested $2 million to adapt the former Warbirds Adventure hangar as a regional service center. Cirrus is expected to invest another $19 million to build three more hangars on Dyer Boulevard in which to grow their operations.
A 2022 Florida Department of Transportation showed the airport’s overall economic impact to the area at almost 010523. ONG
$1 billion and adding over 400 jobs since 2015.
Kirkegard provided these parting words: “Here’s a teaser, my service on a regional board influenced the commitment of a $26 million investment in Kissimmee. The official announcement will come out in the coming weeks, but I was doing the happy dance at the end of that board meeting!”
