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Economic Yearbook 2006 - Northwest Florida
Hitting Home
In the Florida panhandle, the issue is housing, from Pensacola to Apalachicola.
Panama City/Bay County
Hurricane Katrina prompted an estimated 7,000 evacuees to seek shelter in Bay County, with several hundred believed to be putting down roots. The storm also channeled new business. Cargo diverted to the Panama City port created first-time regular container trade with the Yucatan and helped boost shipments above a record 1 million tons in 2005, with 1.6 million tons projected for this year. ... Panama City Beach continues its conversion from "mom-and-pop'' vernacular to cosmopolitan high-rise; developers added 1,600 condo units and hotel rooms last year and are building another 5,000 to open this year. Future Bay County growth seems assured: Groundbreaking for the new airport at West Bay could come this year, plus St. Joe Co. has some 10,000 acres in the county in construction or predevelopment stages, not figuring in airport-perimeter plans.
Key Newcomers
? County manager since October, Ed Smith stresses the need for more roads, more strategic planning and improved highway efficiency.
? Ripley's Believe It or Not museum is scheduled to open next month. A partnership of former Visit Florida Chairman Bill Sims and Panama City Beach's Gary Walsingham, the museum will resemble a vintage cruise liner run aground.
Fort Walton/Okaloosa County
Business and government are gearing up to meet major housing, transportation, education and healthcare needs in connection with an influx of 12,000 residents, including dependents, beginning in 2010, the result of an expansion at Eglin Air Force Base ordered by the Base Realignment and Closure Commission. ... Today's workforce housing shortages are prompting innovative solutions: Worker dormitories at Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort and soon faculty housing at Okaloosa-Walton College. Says OWC Vice President David Goetsch: "We've had six faculty positions we couldn't fill because people came and looked at housing and said they couldn't afford it.'' ... At nearby Destin, construction is under way on Peter Bos' 14-story, $200-million Emerald Grande resort, the first phase of his HarborWalk downtown revitalization plan.
Apalachicola/Franklin County
The Allen Boyd-Franklin County Oyster Industry Laboratory started its testing operations in April to validate post-harvest oyster-processing methods.
Holmes, Washington Counties
Greenhorne & O'Mara, a Maryland-based engineering firm with offices in Tallahassee, is expanding to oversee Panhandle projects from facilities in Milton and now Bonifay. "We want to be in the middle of the action,'' area engineer Eric Rosenstein says.
Jackson, Calhoun, Liberty Counties
Reston, Va.-based Advanced Training Services has established its primary training facility near Altha in Calhoun County, attracted by varied terrain and manpower resources, including retired military. The company provides training, operational support, logistics and intelligence services to a variety of clients from government and industry.
Walton County
Atlanta's PEC Development Group plans to build about 700 residential units, most of it workforce-priced, on 292 acres at DeFuniak Springs, its first Panhandle project. ... Robert Smith takes over as director of the Walton County Economic Development Council, succeeding Tom Powell, who resigned last summer. Smith was previously with the Alabama Development Office.
Business Beat - Week of May 3rd
