At first glance, Gainesville seems to have what other North Central communities covet: a huge, high-tech, clean employer. The University of Florida, the state's oldest, biggest, most prestigious education center, provides more than 37,000 jobs, including 3,500 workers at its Shands Teaching Hospital and 17,000 employed students. Not bad for a city of 100,000.
By contrast, the area's next two largest employers, the city of Gainesville, with 1,900 workers, and North Florida Regional Medical Center, with 1,700, account for not even a tenth of UF's total workforce. Manufacturing, meanwhile, represents only about 10% of all non-farm jobs in the Gainesville metro area.
But with more than one out of every three members of the workforce working for UF, Gainesville is struggling with the problems that come with being a one-company town. Diversifying the town's economy hasn't proven easy, despite efforts by the city's three economic development groups -- the Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce, the Council for Economic Outreach and the newly formed Alliance for Economic Development.
Also, students aren't the only ones who want to live here. Growth has strained infrastructure in several traffic corridors. And the many newcomers -- especially highly educated spouses of UF employees -- add to a chronic workforce dilemma: underemployment. Gainesville's 2.7% jobless rate makes matters worse by scaring off some out-of-town companies that feel they need a bigger pool of hungry workers. And low unemployment in the city masks another problem: "In certain parts of the county we have pockets of unemployment that run as high as 25%," says Albert E. White, executive director of the local chamber.
To be sure, Gainesville has made some big gains in its private sector. Upscale retailer Nordstrom recently began construction on a $12.5 million distribution center near the airport and discount retailer Dollar General announced plans to build a 1.5 million-sq.-ft. distribution warehouse on 250 acres near I-75 and hire up to 500. "We're finally learning that we have to diversify," says White.
Meanwhile, the university isn't sitting around waiting for the rest of the city's economy. UF took in $266 million more funding in fiscal year 1997-98 compared to the previous year, and its total revenues of about $2.672 billion now place it 13th when ranked among Florida's private and public companies. University enrollment, full-time and part-time, totals 42,104. "And UF officials expect that number to grow to 50,000 within the next decade," says spokesman John Lester.
UF is also becoming less dependent on the state for its resources: Currently about 83% of UF's funding comes from sources other than state government, meaning "the University of Florida is no longer a state university," says professor of economics David Denslow. "It's a state-assisted university."
Such high levels of support from private enterprise as well as steady government funding anchor the university, but also provide the city considerable comfort as it continues to diversify. Because of UF's stability, Gainesville is well-positioned for the inevitable economic downturn. With state funding there's always a lag in any reduction in spending, Denslow says, "which means a recession would get to Gainesville late. Besides, students come in good times or bad."
Business to Watch
Equalease, a construction company owned by mall renovator Tiff Murphy, is responding to a lack of industrial space with two buildings, each the size of three football fields, featuring the city's first-ever "flex-space" modular structures whose dividing walls can be changed to meet tenants' needs.
People to Watch
Perry Maull, Gainesville's transit director, took control of the city's moribund bus service in 1997. Told that the system's purpose was to provide "high-paying jobs," Maull focused instead on the needs of riders, added 21 buses, improved service and increased ridership 33%. He expects even better results in 1999.
Patty Crawford, a veteran film maker, says she plans to build a $300 million motion picture studio here. With a reputation for assertiveness and effective networking, she may find overcoming growth management requirements her biggest hurdle.
Self-Image
Gainesville is decidedly North Central's cultural hub. It's also a university town with a reputation for exercising caution with commercial development. Such an attitude may annoy developers, but it does keep the city picturesque and green. Community leaders winced recently when Kansas-based Morgan Quinto Press, a statistical research firm, ranked the Gainesville metropolitan area, which includes Alachua County, the 11th most dangerous place in America. This finding, though, doesn't square with Money magazine's repeated ranking of the city as one of the "best places to live."
Ocala: Time to Grow Up?
After decades of fast growth, many community leaders in Ocala think it's time to pause and take stock of the city's increasing regional presence. One indication that things are changing came last summer when a task force in neighboring Alachua County asked an Ocala business group to help promote the use of Gainesville's municipal airport -- the only facility offering commercial air service in North Central Florida. The Ocalans rebuffed the request and instead hired SHE&E, an international aviation consultancy, to determine whether Ocala (pop. 43,630) had grown up enough to have its own commercial air service. To Gainesville's chagrin, the firm reported that the Ocala market is, in fact, strong enough to support four daily flights between Ocala and Atlanta on either turboprops or regional jets.
Such air service would be a boon to the, on average, 434 Marion County air travelers daily who make the 90-minute drive to airports in Orlando or Tampa. Commercial air service in Ocala dovetails with another idea being floated by a local task force -- a plan to build a new $22 million civic auditorium and conference center.
As Ocala lobbyists pursue air service, other city residents are taking advantage of a more down-to-earth transportation option spawned by the city's population growth -- a brand new mass-transit system. Last January, SunTran, a private company owned by Fort Worth-based McDonald Transit Associates, launched a city-wide bus service that is fast proving a godsend to workers. "Anywhere from 10% to 20% of the riders use the bus to get to work," says Steven Neal, SunTran's General Manager. So far, adds Neal, an estimated 1,800 passengers ride the bus each week -- a figure 33% higher than what SunTran officials expected. All of this is sweet news to area economic developers who say Ocala lost business prospects in the past because it lacked both public transportation and air service.
Meanwhile, local government and business leaders have taken action to help West Ocala -- a section of town that has not shared in the county's prosperity. The unemployment rate on Ocala's poor side exceeds 15%. So far, local development groups have garnered more than $3 million in local, state and federal funds to improve the area. Efforts are under way to bring a Dollar General retail store to West Ocala along with a job training center.
Ocalans are also taking a hard look at their education systems. Some good news surfaced recently when Management Expansion Magazine gave the Marion County public schools its official "green light," which signals to the magazine's corporate readers in search of relocation sites that a community has good schools.
A coalition of Ocala business leaders wanted more information and spent $70,000 in private funds for an independent audit of the public schools. According to Ohio-based SchoolMatch, the private company that did the study, Marion County's college-bound students receive a better than average education. But the school system suffers, according to the audit, from over-crowding and a high drop-out rate.
What's driving all this self-examination? "All of our recent economic summits say the same thing," says Pamela Wilcox, Projects Manager, Ocala-Marion County Economic Development Council. "After years of growth, people are settling in and realizing they have a responsibility to this community. In other words, we're growing up."
Business to Watch
Closetmaid is building a $6 million facility in Ocala to make its own wire for its shelving products and a 200,000-sq.-ft. distribution center. The manufacturer expects skilled workers to average $18.55 an hour.
People to Watch
Jude Hagin, the Ocala/Marion County film commissioner and a former private investigator, noted for her zeal and doggedness, keeps reeling in motion picture prospects to sites in Ocala and elsewhere in North Central Florida.
Described as a man who "knows his stuff," British-born racer/businessman Ivor Wigham is setting up a $1.2 million European Rally and Performance Driving School at the airport. In addition to teaching emergency-vehicle drivers and police officers, Wigham expects a lot of corporate types will pay to learn how to handle high-performance Audis.
Self-Image
Gainesville's sturdy blue-collar cousin sees itself as diverse and strong, with a big manufacturing base. Don't expect many National Public Radio wine-tasting fund-raisers here. Instead, "God-and-Country Day" and Vince Gill concerts at nearby Silver Springs are proven crowd-pleasers. Though its horse industry remains strong, Ocala's image as a quaint equine region is fading as high-profile horse farms along major roads sell out to developers building houses and medical centers for the ever-increasing retiree population.
County Prospects
Alachua, Bradford, Putnam
Several industry expansions are bringing modest gains to Putnam County. For example, Keith Marine, a yacht-builder, expects to expand production near Palatka and boost its workforce from 60 to 250 in two years. International Cuisine, a local start-up, plans to produce frozen food dinners and hire up to 250 workers. Alachua County residents generally can look to Gainesville for economic stability; neighboring Bradford isn't so fortunate. "NAFTA has hammered the north Florida apparel industry," complains Lex Green, executive director for the Bradford County Chamber of Commerce. "In the past three years we've lost more than 500 jobs." Bradford's business community also worries about a stagnant tax base and high power costs. "We've lost business," says Green, "solely on electrical rates."
Business to Watch
A bright star in Bradford: Sightline Studios, a maker of props for museums, movies and theme parks, increased sales from $2.7 million in 1996 to $5 million last year, and employment grew from 20 to 125. Last June, Entrepreneur magazine ranked the company the 58th fastest-growing new small business in America.
Levy, Citrus
Levy and Citrus counties still hope ecotourism will give them a boost. "It's about all we have in Levy," says Carol McQueen, mayor of Fanning Springs, which hosts a Suwannee Bird Fest on April 3 to showcase the area's eco-charms. Another tourist-lure is an old CXS railway line that is being converted into a biking and hiking trail. In Citrus, a 7% increase in annual tourist-tax revenues, four new bed and breakfast facilities and a new 50-bed Best Western motel all indicate that marketing efforts by the county government's tourist bureau may be working. Also, after years of feuding over economic development, Citrus County officials and private business groups have called a truce and hired Rick Jensen, formerly with the Pinellas County EDC, to head up Citrus' brand new joint-venture economic development council.
Businesses to Watch
Rock Crusher Canyon, a lime pit mine transformed into an outdoor concert venue, offers entertainment ranging from classic rock groups to the Russian Ballet. Built by Stan Olsen, a Citrus County developer who previously turned another pit into the Black Diamond Ranch golf course, the complex draws its audiences from across the state.
Sebring Industries expects to relocate its Monterey boat-building facility from Archer in Alachua County to a 40-acre site in Levy County sometime in early spring and bring up to 400 jobs.
Sumter, Marion
Sparsely populated Sumter County is North Central's fastest-growing county, showing a 4.1% increase between 1997 and 1998. With only a few industry relocations and construction on a federal prison entering its final phase, the county is searching for other opportunities. "What's needed now is restaurant, rental housing and motel construction for visitors and families of the 3,600 inmates," says Charles Lewis, executive director of the Sumter County Economic Development Council. "There's not much there now within 10 miles of the prison." Sumter's big economic engine is the "Villages," a sprawling, 9,000-home retirement community shared with Lake County. Plans to spread the Villages into Marion County with another 5,000 homes are under state review.
Business to Watch
Miami-based Associated Grocers of Florida picked Marion County for a distribution center expected to employ 200. The company also plans to open up an extra 150 acres for a new business park.