The cooperative atmosphere is paying off. Last year, St. Johns County landed ConAgra and a new 400,000-sq.-ft. warehouse distribution facility. Clay County's Orange Park attracted Fishman and Tobin's 280,000-sq.-ft. apparel distribution center.
Meanwhile, Merrill Lynch decided to move a financial services center from Denver to Jacksonville. And even when Ring Power decided to relocate from Jacksonville to a site next to the World Golf Village in St. Johns County, Jacksonville officials took comfort in the fact that the company stayed in the region.
Jacksonville & Duval County
Key trend: Construction, construction and more construction. The $2.2-billion Better Jacksonville Plan is in full swing, with roadwork and the construction of a new downtown library, courthouse, baseball park and sports arena under way. Maintaining costs on the multitude of projects is expected to tax the resources of Jacksonville Mayor John Delaney and his staff, as well as his replacement next year.
Person to Watch: After months of wooing, Michael Kelly, 31, agreed to take over as president and chief operating officer of Jacksonville's Super Bowl Host Committee, where he'll oversee the city's preparations for the game in January 2005. Kelly had been University of South Florida's associate athletic director and executive director of the Tampa Bay Super Bowl Task Force.
Business to watch: With the bloom off many technology companies, investors are taking a shine to old-line operations like trucking companies. Jacksonville-based Stonier Transportation is a small but growing transportation logistics company that matches shipments with a fleet of independent truckers under contract. Former CSX railroad executive Tom Piatak joined Stonier as chief operating officer a year ago.
Major Challenge: As the city continues to try to attract businesses, two perennial hurdles still stand: Jacksonville International Airport needs to expand its air service, especially the number of direct flights, according to business leaders; and Jacksonville's public school system needs to improve so it is consistently graduating students prepared to compete in today's knowledge-based economy.
St. Augustine
Key Trend: After a failed first attempt, St. Augustine has renewed its plan to build a restaurant-shopping-marina facility on city-owned property near downtown. Jacksonville-based builder Vestcor Cos. and partner Hutson Land Group won the bid to develop the San Sebastian complex. Meanwhile, the restoration of the famed Bridge of Lions is set to begin.
Person to Watch: Less than two years ago, Fred Halback left busy Orlando to retire in relatively quiet St. Augustine. He's never been busier. Halback, an urban designer and landscape architect, is on the design team handling the renovation of the city's historic Bridge of Lions. He recently completed a master plan for a 5,000-seat performing arts facility on the grounds of the old St. Augustine Amphitheater. His firm, Frederick Halback and Associates, is also doing design work on a project to improve St. Augustine's traffic flow and parking. Meanwhile, Halback still teaches landscape architecture at the University of Florida in Gainesville.
St. Johns County
Key Trend: Residential growth continues to be the issue. Two monster residential communities have now been proposed in the northern parts of the county adjacent to the Intracoastal Waterway: Nocatee and Palencia. To better plan for the residential and commercial growth countywide, the St. Johns County Commission and the county chamber of commerce each put up $125,000 to pay for a long-range strategic map. The plan should be completed later this year.
Person to Watch: As the newly hired executive director of St. Johns Vision, the county's public-private long-range planning effort, James Sutton, former editor of the St. Augustine Record, will have a heavy workload. A 27-member steering committee will pick 170 St. Johns residents to serve on the Vision Task Force, which will draft the actual "vision" document over 18 months.
Nassau County
Person to Watch: Nassau County Commissioner Vickie Samus has taken an active role in confronting explosive growth in the county's Yulee area. First, she pushed for the creation and funding of an areawide development regional impact study. Now she's working in the trenches, chairing the Nassau County Area-wide DRI committee.
Development to Watch: The county will be busy this year trying to hammer out a master plan for 37,208 acres in the fast-growing area along S.R. 200, from I-95 to A1A. Phase one of the plan is expected to get local approval later this year. "This is one of the most important issues this year," says Kenneth Willette, executive director of the Nassau County Economic Development Board. Already scheduled for opening this year on nearby sites are a Super Wal-Mart, Lowe's home improvement warehouse, Target and Publix Super Market.
Clay County
Person to Watch: A woman has never chaired the Clay County Economic Development Council. That may change in the coming years. And a prime candidate for the post is Theresa Smith, vice president of CGS Engineers, a civil engineering company owned by Smith and her husband. Smith joined the council's board two years ago and now chairs the membership committee.
Business to Watch: Area Communications has been one of the county's fastest-growing companies for a number of years. It offers voice and data telecom installation and service to commercial users in the Southeast. Growth slowed considerably last year during the overall telecommunications recession, but the company expects to resume its torrid pace this year thanks to the shakeout. "We're aggressively working on returning to our 70% to 80% growth rate," says Andy Rustad, head of network sales.