NORTHWEST: Playing off its Strengths
Regional Trends
BIOTECH: Okaloosa County business and military leaders unveiled plans in January for the 98-acre Emerald Coast Technology & Research Campus just outside the west gate of Eglin Air Force Base. "This is our little Silicon Valley,'' says Okaloosa- Walton College Vice President David Goetsch. ... In February, Green Circle Bio Energy, a Florida-based subsidiary of Swedish corporation JCE Group, announced it's building a $100-million wood pellet plant in Jackson County for generating electricity in Europe. ... In March, the Andrews Institute for Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine in Gulf Breeze -- the $40-million product of a sports surgeon's skills and vision -- capped construction with the opening of a research center, creating a place for the region's life sciences businesses to showcase their work. "Life sciences will be our big growth area for the next 20 years -- it plays off the strengths that are already here," says Al Wenstrand, executive director of Florida's Great Northwest, a Destin-based 16-county economic development agency. "Most of what we will see deals with medical device manufacturing or with the software side of medical technology, areas supported by what's going on in the aerospace industry.''
ENERGY: On the horizon: Additional wood-based alternative energy projects, including conversion of cellulose to ethanol -- "this really has the ability to revive the timber industry in the region,'' Wenstrand says. ... And Green Circle, says President Olaf Roed, expects to build more plants in northwest Florida. "We want to be a major player in the renewable energies.''
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St . Joe Innovations
Among this year's out-of-the-ordinary from landowner St. Joe Co.:
? A prebuilt house assembled in a day. The home, constructed at WaterSound in Walton County, is a Haven Homes off-site built model using factory-made components. It will be a featured Idea House in Southern Living magazine.
? A fast-round golf course with six holes and three sets of tees. The course, designed by professional player Davis Love III , will open at WaterSound this spring.
? A town center design with interpretations by six architects. Six buildings, representing individual takes on the region's indigenous architecture, will begin opening this summer at WindMark Beach in Gulf County.
? A restoration project returning woods to the way Hernando DeSoto found them in 1539. St. Joe is converting industrial pine forest to the region's original forestlands at a 7,000-acre site at Breakfast Point in Bay County, where the National Audubon Society is partnering with St. Joe to build a state-of-the-art nature center.
Pensacola / Escambia County
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DEVELOPMENT: Pensacola's premier economic event in 2006 was a vote, says Charles Wood, senior vice president for economic development for the Pensacola Bay Area Chamber of Commerce -- a vote approving development of the 30-acre, $70-million Community Maritime Park on the downtown waterfront. ... A close second: Approval of a $302-million, advanced-technology sewage treatment plant, removing it from downtown. "These are watershed events,'' says Mort O'Sullivan, managing partner of O'Sullivan Creel accounting firm and financial consultant, public cheerleader and mediator for both projects. "The move of the sewer plant opens up the entire west side of downtown for redevelopment.''
SLOWDOWN: Pensacola's economy could slow somewhat as construction drops back to a normal pace following two years of hurricane recovery.
OPTIMISM: "Summertime last year, our tourism industry moved back into tourism; before that our hotels were filled with construction workers and evacuees," says Ed Schroeder, vice president of tourism development. "Our attractions and museums will see an uptick.''
? Escambia Home Sales
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? Avalex Technologies designs electronic products for the aerospace industry, including a popular digital mapping system used by military, police and border patrols. Sales grew 53% last year, says President Tad Ihns.
? Bryan Clark's new business startup, Ceryph, markets concept mapping, an innovative way to capture and communicate knowledge and the first commercialization of research from the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition, which developed the concept mapping system with the University of West Florida.
? O&M Steel Fabricators manufactures steel framing for homes, a substitute method for traditional wood framing that's innovative, faster and provides better storm protection. The company was founded last year by Oliver Darden and Marvin Ginns Sr.
Panama City / Bay County
DOWNTOWN: Pier Park, Simon Property's retail and entertainment complex opening in stages beginning this spring, will be the new downtown for Panama City Beach, says Marta Rose, senior vice president of marketing and public relations at the Panama City Beach Chamber of Commerce. "There has been no downtown; now we're getting one with park benches, street lamps, underground utilities, sidewalks and palm trees.'' Tourism and the economy will benefit, says Mayor Gayle Oberst.
BY SEA: Port business is predicted to prosper this year, gaining from ongoing container traffic from Mexico, significant imports of copper from South America and the programmed late-year launch of wood-pellet shipments by Green Circle Bio Energy that alone will produce $20 million during the port's 10-year contract.
"There has been no downtown; now we're getting one with park benches, street lamps, underground utilities, sidewalks and palm trees."
-- Marta Rose, Panama City Beach Chamber of Commerce
PROJECT TO WATCH
? Construction of the $331-million Panama City Bay County International Airport at a West Bay site, possibly beginning this year, will pave the way for development of thousands of acres. Of needed approvals, only the Army Corps of Engineers permit remains to be issued.
Fort Walton Beach / Okaloosa County
? Per Capita Income
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DECIDING FACTORS: Tourism growth and military stability could be principal up-and-down factors this year for Okaloosa County's economy.
MILITARY: The fate of the Air Force's 46th Test Wing is expected to be decided this year after an aborted attempt last year to move the weapons research and development unit to California; the outcome could significantly impact the military- dominated economy. Jim Breitenfeld, task force manager of the Economic Development Council's Defense Support Initiative, says based on indications he's receiving as two groups probe the issue under congressional mandate, "We're cautiously optimistic that the 46th Test Wing will remain intact and actually be strengthened.''
REDEVELOPMENT: In Destin, two towering condominiums, Emerald Grande and The Palms, both opening this year, will create jobs and provide tax dollars for more tourism development and city improvements, says Shane Moody, president of the Destin Area Chamber of Commerce. ... Destin and Okaloosa County last year reached agreement on revenue sharing to enable $80 million to $120 million in multiyear improvements to proceed at the 400-acre Harbor Community Redevelopment Area.
STEPPING UP: Segers Aero last year moved its headquarters to Crestview, and this year, following completion of construction, it will also relocate its main overhaul operation and state-of-the-art research unit, adding 110 jobs within two years.
Innovators
? ActiGraph in Fort Walton Beach develops applications for energy-monitoring devices used in sports, medical research and home fitness -- and for customer adaptations, including for research on elephant and rhino obesity at two zoos. Entrepreneur Paul Hsu founded the company in 2004.
? Destin developer Peter Bos' 13-story, $125-million condominium Emerald Grande is the centerpiece of his 15-acre HarborWalk development along the Destin harbor.
? Destin aviation company Dimensional Research is working on a patentpending electronic anti-collision system for airborne vehicles including unmanned aircraft.
? The Emerald Coast Technology and Research Campus will target defense contractors, academic projects and private technology-research companies. Lease fees fund Eglin Air Force Base improvements.
Apalachicola / Franklin County
SEA FOOD: The Franklin County Commission has formed a seafood task force to explore ways to safeguard Apalachicola's traditional seafood industry against growing development pressure along the waterfront. Projects being considered include creation of an inland seafood processing area. Also being discussed: Buying waterfront property to guarantee seafood harvesters a place to unload. State grant applications have been filed to help fund purchases for both projects.
Holmes / Washington Counties
TOURISM: Wildlife expert Jim Fowler's plans to build a $35-million "Life in the Wild'' Nature Park on 789 acres in Holmes County are moving forward, says Bud Riviere, project chairman for the Holmes County Development Commission. Subsequent phases, including a celebrity theme park, could materialize in Holmes and Washington counties.
BUSINESS TO WATCH
? Patient Practitioners in Chipley, co-founded by Dr. Naomi Melvin, has developed a patented individual patient health electronic records system enabling patients to record, monitor and deliver healthcare information for use by all medical personnel. The company received an innovation award in the 2007 Governor's Business Diversification Awards program.
Jackson / Calhoun / Liberty Counties
MAJOR BOOSTS: Green Circle Bio Energy's $100-million wood-pellet production plant being built near Cottondale will be the biggest business investment ever made in Jackson County and its biggest taxpayer. It will employ 51 when operational by year-end in addition to 150 wood-gathering and transporting jobs. ... Calhoun County, which is focusing on eco-tourism, completed the Blountstown Greenway Trail, linking it to the Florida Trail and Blountstown's Main Street. The trail will increase foot traffic to the historic Panhandle Pioneer settlement.
BUSINESS TO WATCH
? The Family Dollar Distribution Center at Marianna, which received a newcomer award in the 2007 Governor's Business Diversification Awards program, employs more than 400 workers in a $55-million facility and ships to five Southeast states.
Walton County
BEACH WORK: A $19.1-million beach restoration project has been completed -- seven years and five tropical storms in the making -- adding 75 to 100 feet of beach to damaged areas. An extra penny of tourist tax levied beginning in 1999 paid part of the cost.
CHALENGE: Responding to its worker housing shortage, the county established the Community Workforce Housing Innovation Pilot Program, recently among 10 programs awarded state grants, receiving $5 million. An affordable housing development near Freeport will have 523 homes, a school and retail/office space.
BUSINESS TO WATCH
? Co-founded by Dr. Anthony Mork and and Dr. Scott Haufe, MicroSpine in DeFuniak Springs is one of a few U.S. spine surgery centers performing minimally invasive surgery. It also is conducting adult stem cell research.
Regional Data
