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Economic Yearbook 2006 - Northeast Florida
Suburban Spurt
Growing businesses and families finding a home in the Jacksonville metro area and adjacent counties.
Jacksonville
Perhaps the year's most important newcomer came from Asia. Last fall, Jaxport inked a $100-million deal with Japanese shipping line Mitsui O.S.K., opening the door for container shipping between Jacksonville and lucrative Asian markets and creating more than 1,800 jobs. ... City officials continue to search for ways to bring industry to the former naval air station at Cecil Field. The latest idea: Use the Westside base's 12,500-foot runway as the centerpiece of a private spaceport. ... Jacksonville Sheriff John Rutherford announced an initiative to reduce the city's murder rate; last year, the city ranked 25th nationwide out of 68 cities with populations of more than 250,000.
Key Newcomers
» John Culbreth came from metro Atlanta to take command of the city's park system, the nation's largest with more than 340 parks and 50,000 acres of preserved land.
» Mac Brunson is the new pastor at the 28,000-member First Baptist Church, succeeding Jerry Vines. First Baptist is the third-largest Southern Baptist congregation.
St. Augustine
Though they hail from nearby Ponte Vedra Beach, developers Rich Newton and Matthew Merritt are arguably the city's most important newcomers as they steer construction of their $120-million Sebastian Inland Harbor residential/retail/commercial complex. The development, which includes 96 condominiums, 85 hotel rooms, 24,000 square feet of shops and a 65-slip marina, has been billed as the impetus for the long-awaited revitalization of the city's western entrance.
St. Johns County
According to the latest figures, developers have announced plans for nearly 70,000 residential units that will be built over the next two decades. ... Construction of the sprawling Nocatee project in northeast St. Johns has begun in earnest with land clearing for the development's central parkway. ... Growth even extends to the potato fields of Hastings, where Tommy Lee's 360-acre farm is slated to become a residential/commercial project that will include 750 homes and apartments.
Business Beat - Week of May 3rd
