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Northeast Florida In the News - Oct. 2005
ALACHUA -- Sysco, North America's largest food distributor, will build a 500,000-sq.-ft. warehouse on 300 acres on the northwest corner of CR 235A and CR 235. The facility, which will be across the street from a future Wal-Mart distribution center and an existing Dollar General warehouse, will employ close to 300.
CLAY COUNTY -- Three hospital chains will ask state regulators for permission to build hospitals in the fast-growing county. Baptist Health was the first to announce plans to build a $95-million facility on 32 acres near Fleming Island Plantation. Orange Park Medical Center hopes to build a 100-bed acute care hospital on a second campus, while St. Vincent's Medical Center unveiled plans for a 120-bed facility at an undisclosed location.
A grand jury looking into an illegal dumping scandal and other allegations of malfeasance declined to indict any members of the Clay County Commission. Instead, the grand jury simply instructed board members to "do their job."
The St. Johns River Water Management District will buy 3,303 acres in western Clay County for $18.4 million. The land is part of the 114,000-acre, three-county Northeast Florida Timberland and Watershed Reserve.
First Coast Service Options will hire an additional 320 employees at its Fleming Island call center to service a new Medicare contract. The contract is expected to generate more than 10,000 calls daily, most related to the new Medicare prescription drug benefit that will take effect Jan. 1.
GAINESVILLE -- City commissioners rejected a rules change that would have allowed developers of University Corners to qualify for an additional $60 million to $80 million in tax reimbursements over 30 years. Billed as the largest commercial/residential development in city history, the $180-million high-rise will include 140,000 square feet of shopping and dining on lower floors and about 325 condominiums, penthouse flats and
hotel/condo rooms on upper levels.
The Gainesville Sun will publish a weekly newspaper, the Gainesville Guardian, covering the city's predominantly black east side.
Longwood-based Hersh Cos. bought the 176-unit Covered Bridge Apartments on N.W. 23rd Boulevard for $11.9 million.
JACKSONVILLE -- Faced with evidence that it padded tourism figures, the Jacksonville & the Beaches Convention and Visitors Bureau will change the way it calculates the number of groups that visit the area. While most tourism agencies simply count the number of groups that come to the city, the visitors bureau calculated the number of hotels a group used, meaning it counted one group staying at three different hotels as three groups.
As enrollment approaches 15,000, the University of North Florida has launched an advertising and marketing campaign. The effort includes a redesigned logo and a new slogan: "No one like you. No place like this."
Excessive nutrient levels (mainly from lawn fertilizers) and hot summer weather have led to the growth of large plumes of blue-green algae in the lower St. Johns River and some of its tributaries. The algae can kill fish and cause skin and eye irritation, nausea and vomiting in humans.
The Jacksonville Humane Society has adopted a no-kill policy, meaning it will no longer euthanize unwanted animals. The Humane Society (which destroyed more that 5,000 dogs and cats last year) will have to limit admissions to assure universal adoptions.
The Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra is cutting its first commercial record in the organization's history, a performance of Carl Orff's "Carmina Burana." Release is scheduled for next February.
An Emergency Services and Homeless Coalition census counted 18,360 adults and children in Duval and Clay counties who experienced homelessness "at some point" in 2004, up 4% from 2003 and double the number cited in 2000.
The new owners of the Hilton Jacksonville Riverfront -- the city's fourth-largest hotel -- say they will adopt the Crowne Plaza brand.
JACKSONVILLE BEACH -- A state judge ordered the city's planning commission to issue a permit for a 12-story oceanfront condo just north of the historic Casa Marina hotel. The commission had twice rejected the permit, saying the complex would worsen traffic, schools and other services.
NASSAU COUNTY -- A 1,641-acre mixed-use community could be the county's first development of regional impact in more than a decade. Ambach Communities wants to build Three Rivers, with 3,200 units ranging from townhomes to marsh-front residences, along SR A1A in Yulee.
