Jacksonville Mayor John Peyton [Photo:Kelly LaDuke]

In recent months, international firms Pilot Pen, Deutsche Bank and Alenia have all announced major expansions there. The city’s wages remain higher than the statewide average, at $884 a week compared to $777. The unemployment rate is 6.6% compared to the statewide average of 6.8%. Economists say Jaxport is one of a few experiencing real growth at this time, thanks to exports.

Jacksonville Mayor John Peyton talks aout the city:

On the economy:
We cannot let the existing climate create survivalist thinking or paralysis. On average over time, I am extremely bullish on our ability to perform with our business climate; over time we’re going to be fine. We are on a down cycle that may take years to pull out of. There are some good things that come with this. One thing is you can get the most competitive bids you ever sought for any capital projects, and this is a very favorable climate to get capital work done. We know we are not going out of business, so we should do all we can to not turn off the spigot. There is a lot of job creation that comes from contracts issued by this government, by the Jacksonville Aviation Authority, the Jacksonville utility and the port. All of us, we let hundreds of millions of dollars of contracts each year. So we should view ourselves as an economic catalyst, as a bargain shopper, and improve the financial climate. Balancing all of those is a challenge. This is certainly a down period, and it’s terrible, but we cannot take our foot off the gas when it comes to the long-term economic prospects.

On Jacksonville’s job growth:
Jacksonville is a very, very different place. We have managed our infrastructure better. We’re the most western city on the east coast, even west of Orlando. So we have tremendous access to the Midwest and we’re sitting right in the middle of where all the growth is occurring in the Southeast as we see people migrating for better jobs and better climate. That’s what I call better to be lucky than good - we are very lucky. We have these fundamentals, with a very low tax burden that is 20% lower than the next lowest in the state. You combine that with a consolidated government that allows us to share one vision and speak with one voice, and you have a true competitive advantage for economic development.

On his platform to raise per-capita income in Duval County to equal or better than the national average:
If you were to pick one single indicator for success of the community, I think it would be per-capita income. That may be just because I’m a business guy, but economic development is major for us. Per-capita income tells a story, and if you’ve got poverty or challenges in the community, it will show up here, particularly in disproportion to your rural population.

We’ve increased per-capita income, but we have not surpassed the national average. We have a comprehensive strategy called Blueprint for Prosperity. This has been in place for several years. It involved thousands of citizens really giving input. We cannot talk about per-capita income without talking about education, infrastructure, leadership, safety, race relations; everything goes into that. You take critical benchmarks, it’s very quantifiable, things that you know you need to improve and we create what we call Blueprint partners. These are people who take ownership and accountability for trying to move along specific issues or targets. It’s been going really, really well. It’s very, very big. If there’s any one criticism of it, it may be too big. But I think we have redirected our focus as a community. It tells you where you need to shore up: You need to shore up in education, prepare your workforce and improve your graduation rate.

On downtown’s slump:
Certainly our progress has been slowed with this economic cycle. We’re using this time to make sure that we’re investing in walkability, access to the river, improvement of public parks, keeping it clean and safe so that when the market does change it will be a viable solution to housing demands. Some dynamics that work to downtown’s favor: You’re going to see a migration to rental properties with foreclosure rates. We’ve got a nice offering of product mix here downtown. As fuel prices rise, which are now falling but I think over time will go up, people are going to desire to spend less time in their car and spend less money on fuel. So downtown becomes that place. If you think about Jacksonville’s downtown, there are a lot of things here that are different. You have this river that comes through that creates value. Some of the highest-end neighborhoods are close to downtown. Most downtowns are circled with a ring of light poverty, typically. In Jacksonville, if you look at the adjacent neighborhoods: San Marco, St. Nicholas, Avondale, certainly Ortega, all of these communities have very, very strong property values and very nice neighborhoods. We have some challenges to the north, but the Springfield neighborhood directly north is going through this amazing revival where you have a lot of historic homes being refurbished and a sense of pride and community engagement unparalleled to really any neighborhood in Jacksonville.

On Cecil Field:
The port activity has enabled us to jump-start Cecil. Now we have a demand for distribution centers and the space for them. We have 4,000 acres at Cecil on Interstate 10 where an interchange is being built for direct access. That land is poised and ready to serve as a tremendous what I call “job sanctuary.” We’re passionate about conserving environmentally sensitive lands, and we should be equally passionate about land that is held for jobs. There should be a balance there. If we’re going to raise per-capita income and hopefully pull more people out of poverty, for job opportunity we’ve got to have the space, we’ve got to have the land for jobs.

Cecil really has two purposes, one 4,000 acres for distribution, then you have a 10,000-foot runway, phenomenal infrastructure for the aerospace industry. We are now starting to get traction through a long cultivation cycle. The cultivation cycles for these aerospace-type contracts are very long and very, very competitive. Everyone with a runway wants the type of job we are competing for. The good news is that we do not have limited airspace, and we have plenty of land and you’ll never have to wait on the runway. So we now have a new deal which we just signed (Alenia), which is a significant milestone. Boeing has had a presence there; Flightstar has had a presence there; FCCJ community college is putting in an aerospace school with a paint shop for airplanes, a joint venture with major aircraft manufacturers. So you see a critical mass now.

To put it into perspective, Cecil is probably a 30-year development. We are in the process of making sure that we find the most qualified partner that has the relationships, the capital, and the know-how to develop this and get it out of the hands of City Hall. We tested the market, and we have a lot of interest. How the deal is structured and what it looks like is basically what we’re working on. This is what we’ve contributed — we have put in over a hundred million dollars, we’ve got the space available, we’ve got all your concurrency for needed trips, we’ve got all the environmental done, we know where the wetlands are. It’s poised and ready. We do not have the expertise, the staying power or the relationships to make it work. I just don’t want City Council to debate every week on whether Cecil is working or not. You’ve got to have long-term vision.

On Jaxport:
We are all optimistic that Jacksonville may emerge as the premier port in the Southeast. But we are in a race right now with the Savannah and Brunswick ports. With the addition of the MOL trade pact and Hanjin deal, we become very competitive. We’ve got some hurdles. We’ve got to get the channel deepened — that’s a big hurdle — and we’ve got to figure out a transportation infrastructure plan: Getting those containers from the dock onto the interstate system and on the rail. We’ve got a plan basically put together, but we have not solved the funding challenge yet. I’m optimistic that we’re going to get that figured out because it is absolutely a top priority in this community. Failure to do that will really hit our ability to be the third-largest port.

On his future when his term is up in 30 months:
I envision going back to the family business from whence I came (Gate Petroleum). This job appealed to me because it’s a CEO position. The way our government is structured here lends itself well to a manager. All 8,000 of the employees in this government report to the mayor; I prepare a budget. The focus is my job; I keep us focused. I don’t see my skill-set being to anyone’s advantage in the Legislature.

Gate was founded in the 1960s, so a lot people working on the original team are starting to retire. My father is nearly 80; he’s running the company today. Gate will be significantly larger than the budget here, and there will be good opportunities. I’ve actually looked forward to going back to the family business. My brother is there. We have a great working relationship. There are a lot of good people working at the company. It’s a much saner environment than this. Although I will miss the activity and being a part of the good things that happen in our city and the people I work with ... anything will be easy after this, let’s put it that way.