Florida Trend

Building Clout

POPULATION TRENDS Booming St. Lucie has gotten all the ink nationally for rapid growth, but of the four Treasure Coast counties, only smaller Indian River County posted gains above the state's average annual growth of 2.07% over the past five years - albeit from a smaller base.

Making Adjustments

The thrust of my job, says Barnwell, is getting the right leadership to come to the table to develop working solutions that we can offer state legislators, speaking with one voice.\n Neighboring Dixie County faces a troubling year now that Georgia Pacific, a major employer for decades, has suspended operations for 80 workers at its mill due to the housing slump. Under Miller's leadership, says Ron Lilly, CEO of the North Florida Regional Chamber of Commerce, "the county now has a conference ...

Battling a Misperception

Aside from some very real problems associated with the housing slowdown, economic development officials from each of the region's six counties say Tampa Bay's economy is diverse and positioned to stay afloat during what could be a difficult year. ST. PETERSBURG David Goodwin, St. Petersburg's economic development director, sees the city's rising office vacancy rate as a good thing. LEADER > Polk leaders want 2008 to be the year that the state starts allocating money to start construction...

Joining Forces

A new "medical city" under construction on the east side of Orlando will include a University of Central Florida medical school, a Veterans Administration hospital, a Nemours children's hospital, a Burnham Institute for Medical Research facility, the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center Orlando's Cancer Research Institute and a just-announced 100,000-sq.-ft. innovative "wet lab" and biotech incubator that Lake Nona developer Tavistock Group is building on spec to attract biotechnology startups. Cummi...

Upgrading

Transportation improvements, water and sewer system extensions in rural counties and access to better healthcare are big issues for leaders across the Big Bend region - and are recognized as key to meeting the No. 1 need: "We have a desperate need for quality jobs," says Rick Breer, director of economic development in Taylor County, where last year's three anticipated economic megaboosters - an advanced-technology coal-fired power plant, a downtown redevelopment project and a multimillion wat...

Back to Earth

Across Florida's Space Coast region, there's a flurry of activity to create jobs and mitigate the effects of the residential real estate collapse and the rapidly approaching end to NASA's space shuttle program, scheduled to shut down in 2010. The median sales price was down 9% to $197,300, putting the city in the bottom half of Florida metropolitan areas in terms of single-family housing prices.

Refocusing

The combination of falling real estate sales, lower housing prices, job losses and a government budget crunch reinforces the importance of having a regional economy based on more than tourism, real estate, construction and retail sales, Wenstrand says. The region's No. 1 need? A trained, skilled workforce in information technology and engineering to support aerospace, health services, renewable energies, logistics, transportation and international trade. PANAMA CITY / BAY COUNTY Despite the...

Eye Opener

Regional growth will slow, according to the Regional Economic Research Institute at Florida Gulf Coast University's Lutgert College of Business, because of a scarcity of land, building codes and hurricane restrictions, higher land costs, increased hurricane activity and a smaller cohort of retirees to follow the Baby Boomer generation. LEADERS > Former Sarasota mayor and former Sarasota City Commissioner Richard Martin is spearheading an effort by the Community Alliance of Sarasota County...

Tidal Forces

[...] a 46.5-mile, four-lane toll road called the First Coast Outer Beltway that will connect I-95 in St. Johns County to I-10 in Duval County andsweep through Clay County, is planned as one of the Florida Department of Transportation's new public-private partnerships that allow private construction financing. LEADER > Nassau's economic development board recruited Steve Rieck as executive director out of Atlanta, where he worked in a range of jobs, from serving in Jimmy Carter's gubernato...

Paying the Piper

The plan, which won approval from both city and county commissioners last December, includes funding for the performing arts center, a new streetcar line, two new museums, a new baseball stadium for the Florida Marlins, an underwater tunnel linking the Port of Miami to I-95 and other smaller projects. LEADERS > Key West Housing Authority Executive Director J. Manuel Castillo will grapple with an affordable housing crisis compounded by cuts in state funding for programs that help construct...