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Economic Yearbook 2007
NORTHEAST: Room for the Boom
The port is calling.
St. Augustine / St. Johns County
ACHIEVEMENTS: In 2003, the St. Augustine City Commission brought together hundreds of residents and business owners to tackle a crushing problem: The traffic gridlock that made visiting the city's historic districts more frustrating than fun. Just four years later, their Parking and Traffic Master Plan is easing navigation throughout the city's brick streets and Spanish landmarks. The plan's centerpieces, the 1,170-space Historic Downtown Parking Facility and the remodeled St. Augustine & St. Johns County Visitor Information Center, were completed this past year at a cost of $20 million.
| ? "We're trying to
get ahead of the curve and identify sites (for future
industrial
development)."
-- Melanie Ferreira, Nassau County Economic Development Board |
Innovator
? Wayne Robison is president of the Rulon Co., which moved its headquarters in 2004 from Brunswick, Ga., to St. Johns County's World Commerce Center. The company manufactures acoustical wood and wall systems for everything from churches to convention centers. Robison says it will soon be the largest acoustical wood ceiling manufacturer in the nation.
Nassau County
OUT OF SITE: With its 300-acre Yulee International Tradeplex built out, Nassau County leaders are scrambling to find suitable sites for future industrial development. Just north of Duval County, Nassau has drawn significant interest from companies that want access to Mitsui's facility in Jacksonville. "We're trying to get ahead of the curve and identify sites," says Melanie Ferreira, executive director of the Nassau County Economic Development Board. The board is working with partners including TerraPointe, a subsidiary of Rayonier, which is one of the largest landowners in the county, to identify potential sites, most likely west of Interstate 95.
Clay County / Orange Park
CHALLENGE: Clay County has the highest out-migration of its labor force in the region, with 60% of job holders working outside the county.
STRATEGY: Clay's strategic plan aims to create 1,700 high-skilled, high-wage jobs by 2011 to try to keep workers closer to home. One facet: A new international trade program being funded with a $75,000 grant from Enterprise Florida. Priorities include developing international capacity, increasing export sales from existing businesses and attracting foreign direct investment. International trade development "directly contributes to the sales and profits of existing companies, which ultimately results in higher-paying jobs for the local economy," says Ted
McGowan, chairman of the county's chamber of commerce board of directors.
Innovator
? Kurt H. Peterson is president and CEO of Green Cove Springs-based Atlas Hovercraft, a manufacturer of commercial hovercraft. A former port engineer in the Great Lakes region, Peterson hopes to sell one of his $10-million, 150-passenger boats to the Jacksonville Transportation Authority for use on the St. Johns River.
