A Housing Surge

Two kinds of workers are particularly in demand in Southwest Florida: Service sector employees and construction workers needed to meet the demand created by a housing boom.

Lee County alone has seen a 148% jump over the last year in commercial construction permits and a 53% spike in single-family home permits. Meanwhile, more than $2 billion in construction is taking place in downtown Sarasota, and more than a dozen residential projects are under construction or planned in Bradenton and Palmetto. In the wake of last year's hurricanes, Charlotte County has received $17.3 million from FEMA to help displaced residents rebuild. The SBA has approved $45 million in business loans to Charlotte County businesses.

Further south, the Fort Myers-Cape Coral area topped the Milken Institute's "2004 Best Performing Cities Index" for creating and sustaining jobs. An influx of retirees has fueled a surge in home building, with single-family permits rising more than 80% between 2000 and 2003.

Unemployment in Collier, Lee, Manatee and Sarasota is at record lows, meaning "it's more difficult for employers to find employees with the right skills" like computer programmers, says Kathy Baylis, president of the Economic Development Corp. of Sarasota County.

By contrast, unemployment has reached near-record highs in southwest Florida's agricultural counties. In Hendry County, half the workforce is employed on farms, many of which were severely damaged by the hurricanes. There, the jobless rate hit a state-high 8.7%. Even with federal assistance, recovery for De Soto, Glades, Hardee, Hendry and Highlands counties could be several years away.

NEW COMPANIESPrestige Packaging, a pharmaceutical packaging company, is relocating from New York to Lee County, bringing 24 jobs. It plans to hire up to 10 more within a year at an average wage of $44,375, more than $15,000 higher than the county's average wage.
Genapol, a startup aviation parts manufacturer and distributor, will set up shop at Immokalee's Florida Tradeport with plans to create 80 jobs paying an average of $36,000 -- more than Collier County's average wage of $32,734.
Advocate Aircraft Taxation Co. of Indianapolis has set up an office in Naples, creating 11 jobs. The company, which helps aircraft companies wade through FAA tax rules, is considering moving all of its operations to Naples.
Nadco Inc., a New Hampshire-based tape products manufacturer, is moving its headquarters to Centre Industrial Park in southern Manatee County off U.S. 301, creating 21 jobs and investing $1.1 million.
Cote Lavande, a brand of bath and body products from France, is moving its U.S. marketing headquarters to Sarasota, creating a handful of jobs.

EXPANSIONSBradenton marine products manufacturer Ameritex Technologies wants to add 30 employees to its staff of 200.
Home builder Bonita Bay Group in Bonita Springs added about 150 employees to its workforce of more than 1,400. The company has built seven communities in Southwest Florida, the newest, Sandoval in Cape Coral, opened its sales office this year.
Naples-based Skytruck Co., a distributor for Polish aircraft manufacturer PZL-Mielec, is locating its aircraft manufacturing operations at Immokalee's Florida Tradeport, creating 30 jobs.
Venice's PGT Industries, which manufactures custom windows and doors, plans to add 134 employees this year at its Florida headquarters. PGT employs 1,900 in Venice and in Lexington, N.C.
Chico's FAS, the upscale women's clothing retailer based in Fort Myers, has added more than 2,000 jobs over the past two years.

SARASOTA
Billions of dollars in private investment is pouring into downtown construction, with more than a dozen upscale condo projects popping up along Sarasota's downtown skyline. Price tags for some units surpass $10 million...

A 2.5% unemployment rate has economic development officials worried that there are not enough workers to lure large companies...

County commissioners concerned over North Port's rapid expansion spent $9 million on land surrounding the city, upsetting North Port officials, who say Sarasota is trying to box it in.

Notable Names: Vern Buchanan, this year's Florida Chamber chairman and owner of more than 20 car dealerships throughout the Southeast, is a top fund-raiser for Republican politicians in the state and the U.S. and was just named to the Tampa Bay Business Hall of Fame...

Tony Souza is the new executive director of the Sarasota downtown partnership. Souza was an economic developer in Massachusetts.

Sarasota County
Notable Name: Infinium Labs will launch a cutting-edge online gaming service this year called the Phantom Game Service. Its games are designed to appeal to hard-core gamers and casual players.

BRADENTON
Downtown is experiencing a revitalization, especially along the Manatee River, where the city has combined efforts with nearby Palmetto to build a pedestrian riverwalk. More than $1 billion in condo development is taking place...

Debate is heating up over how to rid 14th Street West of the increasing number of homeless people. Many believe the area can't be revitalized until the homeless are moved elsewhere.

Notable Names: Bill Theroux, executive director of the Bradenton Downtown Development Authority, has led the effort to lure private development and will be key in ongoing revitalization efforts...

Jan Smith was one of the first developers to risk developing on the city's Sandpile site, which had been mired in litigation and remained undeveloped for decades. His plans for a 252-unit apartment complex on the site helped to spark redevelopment downtown.

Manatee County
Notable Name: Biolife, creator of QR (quick release), a powder that stops bleeding instantly, has gained a national reputation. QR products are now used in several emergency rooms and sold nationwide at several chains including CVS, Publix, Albertson's and Wal-Mart.

NAPLES
Naples officials are considering annexing Pelican Bay, a city of about 14,000 in unincorporated Collier County. Pelican Bay leaders asked Naples to absorb the city after wrangling with county officials over the price of water services...

Fifth Third Bank officially took over operations of Naples-based Florida National Bankshares of Florida in February in a $1.5-billion stock deal and is working on selling FNB's headquarters building, which has an asking price of $15 million. About 200 FNB employees have been laid off since the merger.

Notable Names: Fifth Third Florida CEO Kevin Hale, former FNB president, will work to expand the Cincinnati bank's presence in the state...

Alan Reynolds, CEO of engineering, planning and design firm Wilson Miller, will head up infrastructure efforts surrounding the building of Ave Maria, a town and university bearing the same name. Building will begin this year.

Collier County
Notable Names: Tammie Nemecek, executive director of the Economic Development Council of Collier County, spearheaded an effort to attract three aircraft manufacturing companies to Immokalee's Florida Tradeport, creating a $12-million economic impact there...

Longtime WCI CEO Al Hoffman has retired and was named chairman. Company President Jerry Starkey has taken over in Hoffman's place.

FORT MYERS
City residents will elect a new mayor this month, choosing between pro-development incumbent Jim Humphrey and Earl Smith, who wants to put the brakes on 12 condo developments planned or under construction along the city's waterfront...

Almost all of the city's downtown historic streets are getting facelifts as the city invests more than $40 million in streetscaping and other improvements.

Notable Names: Don Paight, downtown redevelopment director of Fort Myers, is seeing 17 years of work pay off as the city witnesses a surge in condo development...

Dominik Goertz, a German national from Munich, has sunk more than $12 million into renovating most of a city block at the intersection of First and Hendry streets. The building incorporates 50,000 square feet of commercial space at street level and 34 apartments and condos above.

Lee County
Notable Name: Robert M. Ball, executive director of the Lee County Port Authority, is overseeing the biggest surge in airport traffic in Southwest Florida International Airport's history. He is also in charge of the airport's new $438-million, 798,000-sq.-ft. Midfield Terminal.

Charlotte County
Notable Name: The county seat of Punta Gorda is expected to be a national leader in job growth -- about 3% per year -- over the next 25 years, according to Kiplinger's. Helping to forge the way is Charlotte Regional Medical Center, which was named one of the country's best cardiovascular hospitals in 2004.

De Soto / Glades / Hardee / Hendry / Highlands Counties
All five counties were hit especially hard by last year's hurricanes. Hendry, Glades, De Soto and Hardee have the state's four highest unemployment rates. Helping farmers across the state recover is Pat Carlton, a grower in Wauchula, who serves on the Florida Citrus Commission.

2.4% or
higher1.1% -
2.3%1% or
lessPOPULATION TOTALSCounty???2005Average Annual Growth
????2001-2005??????TrendCharlotte163,8463.02%Collier299,6323.11%De Soto34,9531.54%Glades11,4881.74%Hardee28,5041.47%Hendry39,4301.81%Highlands93,8401.44%Lee511,4392.73%Manatee307,1133.03%Sarasota360,7762.00%FLORIDA17,612,5841.84%

Tags: Southwest