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Economic Yearbook 2007
NORTHEAST: Room for the Boom
The port is calling.
Putnam County
RIVERFRONT: As Florida communities, including Jacksonville, work to redevelop riverfront areas that were industrialized, polluted or overbuilt with structures that block water views, Putnam County residents consider themselves lucky that their riverfront is only now developing. Residents and community leaders are being given a rare chance to help envision what form of development their part of the 300-mile St. Johns River will take. The Trust for Public Land is creating a St. Johns River "Greenprint," a detailed conservation plan that will establish priorities for which sites to save and which are suitable for river-based commercial uses such as marinas, restaurants and hotels. TPL is launching the project in Putnam County and will help identify and pursue funding for community conservation. "The St. Johns is the heart of Putnam County," says Putnam County Commission Chairwoman Linda Myers. "The greenprinting effort is a very important step for our community."
Baker County
URBANIZING: Two large, mixed-use Developments of Regional Impact and a dozen smaller projects proposed for sleepy Baker County on the Florida-Georgia border may triple the county's population within 15 years. As the counties immediately surrounding Jacksonville urbanize, commuters and retirees seeking rural ambiance are turning increasingly to outlying areas such as Baker, about a 25-minute drive from Jacksonville on Interstate 10. At the county center, construction is scheduled to start next year on the 3,240-acre Cedar Creek project, which will include 7,000 homes and 425,000 square feet of commercial space. One year behind it in the pipeline is 3,654-acre Navona Creek, with 8,300 homes, a 1.5-million-sq.-ft. business park and a 330,000-sq.-ft. village center.
Innovator
? New Baker County Manager Joe Cone, 59, is leading the county in an effort to redo its transportation master plan, adopt utility standards and revise zoning rules and regulations to get ahead of the major developments coming to town.
Regional Data
