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Unidentified company considers area for headquarters move with 500 jobs

 
Published Feb. 16, 2015

Tampa Bay's quest for a corporate headquarters relocation has focused on a new target: an e-commerce retailer that employs more than 500.

The efforts of economic development leaders to woo corporate relocations are usually conducted in secret, out of the public eye. But this particular effort was revealed in emails obtained from Pinellas County. The campaign even has its own cool code name: "Project Monaco."

The company was not identified in those emails, however. Nor was it identified to local leaders. Even the identities of the company executives set to travel to the bay area next week will not be revealed to the local executives and politicians they meet with during their visit and tour of Tampa Bay.

"Their identities will likely remain confidential during the course of the visit," according to the email from the Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Corp.

The unidentified company is considering several locations around the nation, according to the emails, but in Florida it is only considering Hillsborough and Pinellas counties. The company's tour of the bay area was arranged by Tampa Hillsborough's EDC and its counterpart, Pinellas County's economic development arm.

The EDC declined to comment on Wednesday.