PGAV Destinations, a theme park attractions designer that has worked with Universal and SeaWorld, announced Tuesday it plans to open a studio in Orlando by late summer and hire local talent to staff it.
The company is looking to hire 20 to 30 workers for the new office. PGAV is finalizing lease negotiations and has not disclosed the studio’s address, but it will be close to Orlando’s theme parks, Chairman and CEO Mike Konzen of the St. Louis-based company told the Orlando Sentinel in an interview.
Company leadership said they are especially looking to recruit employees early in their careers and graduates of local universities’ theme park design programs.
“One of the great strengths about having an office down there is being able to tap into the strengths and talents that exist in what we consider to be — [and] what’s becoming — the theme park design capital of North America,” said Vice President Ned Diestelkamp, who will run the Orlando office and lead its recruitment efforts.
PGAV currently employs about 140 people across its Architects, Planners and Destinations division, some of which will relocate to Orlando. In addition to its St. Louis home office, the company also has a studio in Kansas City, Kan.
“We built our practice around recruiting folks from different parts of the country to come [to St. Louis] and really build a career with us for the long term,” Konzen said. “And so we’re really taking that same mindset to the Orlando studio as well.”
PGAV’s growth follows a larger trend of themed entertainment companies moving jobs here. Last year, Disney announced it was moving about 2,000 jobs in its Parks, Experiences and Products division to Lake Nona, which one expert predicted would attract other entertainment companies and create local jobs in the industry.
Disney could get more than $570 million in tax breaks for building the new campus, one of the largest in state history for a single company, records show.
PGAV Destinations has not received government incentives to open its Orlando office, a spokeswoman said. State records do not show any incentives given to the company.
Orlando’s reputation as a “critical hub for theme park design and development” prompted PGAV to expand here, Konzen said.
“The theme park industry will grow, and even in spite of the pandemic, the trend for growth is continuing … and a lot of that growth will be fueled by organizations that are based or have a significant footprint in Central Florida,” he said.
Founded in 1965, PGAV Destinations has designed attractions across Central Florida’s theme parks, including the roller coasters Manta at SeaWorld and Cheetah Hunt at Busch Gardens Tampa, which opened in 2009 and 2011, respectively.
It has also worked with Universal Orlando since its development in the 1990s and completed projects for various other theme parks, museums, zoos and aquariums worldwide, Konzen said.
krice@orlandosentinel.com and @katievrice on Twitter
