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Economic Yearbook 2006 - North Central Florida
Greener Pastures
Accelerate population growth is driving up land prices and spurring economic development.
Tropical storms, congestion and housing costs keep pushing South Floridians to greener pastures in North Central. But not all of the newcomers from South Florida are staying full time. Says Jayne Moraski, economic development director of the North Central Florida Regional Planning Council, "Many people are building upper-end weekend homes on the Steinhatchee and Suwannee rivers and the coast at Horseshoe Beach and Cedar Key."
The booming housing market -- especially in Marion, Alachua and Sumter counties -- and other development reflect a growing regional population: Proposed cement plants in Alachua and Sumter, construction of a $2-million conference center in rural Bradford, downtown development in Gainesville and completion of a $2.8-million airport runway in Williston. Though large-scale industries and business aren't swarming into the region, North Central's location continues to make it attractive as a distribution point.
New residents are driving up land prices, straining local resources and causing contention over growth issues everywhere. In Cedar Key, newcomers are not only changing "the quaint fishing village they adore" but also making it hard for support facilities for fishing industries to stay in business, says Leslie Sturmer of the University of Florida Shellfish Aquaculture Extension Program in Cedar Key.
Key Newcomer
? West Palm Beach transplant and Realtor Tom Warriner heads Marion County's new Florida Horse Park -- a showcase for world-class riders located on 500 acres of public land adjacent to the Florida Greenway. "This area has a greater concentration of all horse breeds than anywhere else in the world," says Warriner. "We're quickly becoming the sports horse capital of the world." Since the park opened in November, says Warriner, more than 14,000 people have passed through its gates, generating an estimated $30-million impact.
New Companies
? Houston-based Sysco, a major food service marketing and distributing company, plans to open a regional distribution center in the city of Alachua in 2007 with work for 250.
? New building codes on coastal areas prompted Eden Prairie, Minn.- based Cardinal Glass to build a $22-million Ocala plant and hire 135 workers to build laminated hurricane impact-resistant glass products. Operations are scheduled to begin this summer.
? Gainesville city officials have given Fort Lauderdale developer Equity Venture Realty permission to build a $39-million, 12-story condo, retail and restaurant development.
? David Peterson is the driving force behind construction under way in Sumter County of the Florida Grand Motor Coach Resort, which could generate almost 100 jobs in Sumter averaging $27,000 a year. The resort will have sites for 499 motor homes.
? If all goes as planned, Tampa-based Florida Southeast Development will buy Butler Plaza, a mile-long shopping center, and other Gainesville properties for $300 million, making it possibly the biggest real estate purchase ever in Alachua County.
