Tallahassee may be a victim of its own expectations. Five years ago, when Tallahassee (population 140,643) landed the world-famous National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, the capital city appeared poised to finally shed its image as a government town and enter the high-tech big leagues. Florida State University officials and local economic development boosters expected the Mag Lab and its research park to bring high-paying technology jobs and economic diversity to Tallahassee.
But the Mag Lab has attracted only one company -- Eurus Technologies, maker of superconductive cables for the power industry. The city hasn't been able to lure any corporate giants to anchor the industry and provide the job base needed to attract smaller companies. The number of technology jobs has grown steadily, but not fast enough to stem a brain drain of engineers and computer experts from FSU and Florida A&M University. The city is still trying to find tax-paying tenants to fill the Mag Lab's research park.
Meanwhile, the government employment that buffered Leon County during the recession in the early 1990s also has insulated Tallahassee from the growth boom of the late 1990s. Population and jobs have grown at a slower pace here than the rest of the state; yet unemployment remains so low -- 3% in 1998 compared to the statewide average of about 5% -- that the tight labor market has hurt business recruitment.
"Our unemployment in this region was so low, it scared USF&G away," lamented Bill Smith, president and CEO of the Capital City Bank Group, at a regional economic conference last fall. City officials tried convincing the insurance giant to relocate its claims processing center to Tallahassee by selling the notion that many workers in Leon County were underemployed. "It was a hard sell," Smith says.
Businesses to Watch
St. Joe Co. and its real estate development arm Arvida have begun seeking permits to build a giant master-planned community of commercial and residential property called Southwood on more than 3,000 acres in southeast Leon County. St. Joe also plans a 350-acre site to accommodate light manufacturing.
Telemarketing centers such as DialAmerica and West TeleServices have tapped the part-time labor pool available through the universities and established Tallahassee as a call center hub. Regional developers are pursuing similar business-services operations, such as billing centers for insurance companies.
People to Watch
Rick Kearney, founder, Tallahassee-based Mainline Information Systems, is building a $7 million to $10 million "smart" park east of downtown to help lure technology talent to the city. The complex will wire fiber-optic cable to all tenants, offer instant Internet access, and supply tenants with a shared data-processing center and a video conferencing center.
Katherine Blyth, Tallahassee entrepreneur and mother of six, recently sold her $2 million computer programming business to Pennsylvania-based Computer Aid, a company with $120 million in revenues. Blyth remains as the company's Tallahassee business manager, aiming to expand its clientele to include her former client base: government.
Self-Image
In Tallahassee, government reigns as the largest employer, but football is king. Here, it doesn't take a special order to get a new car off the lot in garnet and gold, the Florida State University colors. This town of rolling hills and live oaks is an island of liberality in a rural region. Its educated populace -- including a large number of young families -- boasts the highest per capita income in the region, fuels progressive thinking and imbues a sense of community that newcomers grow to love. Growth has been steady, although a glut of spec homes led to a decline in construction in recent years, and laws have barred large-scale construction on congested roads.
Lake City: Big Promise
Don Arnold is a testament to the price of progress in Lake City. Arnold, sales manager for Alltel Communications, has seen business at his cellular phone center on U.S. 90 take a sharp dive since road-widening began in January. But the four-lane highway will soon be six, and Arnold is upbeat. "Our customer base continues to expand," he says. "There are a lot more benefits than downsides to our growth."
Indeed, Lake City is a small town with big promise. Located at the intersection of two interstates, three major highways, two railroads, and home to an airport with an 8,000-foot runway, it has become the transportation hub of north Florida. Proximity to everywhere else makes the city an attractive business location and appeals to new residents, including many who took their Hurricane Andrew insurance settlements and moved north, says Jim Poole, Lake City Chamber director.
Business growth has been strong: A manufactured housing firm has tripled in size, an aircraft refurbishing company has grown from 200 to 750 employees, two lumber companies have expanded their building-products lines, and a new $33 million hospital is under construction.
But growing pains have disrupted more than roads. Several homegrown companies have given up their local bases. Homes of Merit, the Lake City-based manufactured housing company, was bought out by competitor Champion of Illinois. The city's banking company merged with another regional bank to become CNB Inc. and plans to move its headquarters to Jacksonville. Aero Corp., an aircraft refurbishing company, merged with another company, which has plants in two other states, and changed its name to Timco.
Businesses to Watch
CNB Inc., the Lake City-based banking company, went public in January with an initial public stock offering valued at more than $12 million. The bank plans to use the stock proceeds to move its corporate headquarters to Jacksonville and continue its expansion into the region.
Daniels Lumber created a spinoff company, Daniels Building Products, employing 34 people, renovating a building and installing $3.5 million in new equipment, including a rail spur onto its property.
County Prospects
Jefferson, Leon, Wakulla
Jefferson County's economy is still rural; it serves primarily as a bedroom community for Leon County. In Leon, where the lack of available land continues to hurt growth prospects, the county has teamed up with six other counties to create the Capital Regional Partnership, offering 2,000 acres for business parks. Wakulla has succeeded at attracting more than just commuters: It is home to Olin Corp., a munitions factory and the county's largest employer, and it recently completed an industrial park.
Business to Watch
CSG Systems International, a Denver-based company that handles billing services for telephone and cable companies, opened a $13 million bill-processing center in Wakulla County's 240-acre industrial park.
Madison, Taylor
Madison County is still struggling to attract industry to broaden its tax base and limit its reliance on Dixie Packers, the Winn-Dixie subsidiary that shut down briefly last fall after federal health inspections. The county approved a 2% bed tax last year and hopes to recruit more business to its Interstate 10 interchange.
For Taylor County, 1998 was a plague year: Floods damaged the seedling crop for timber, the county's major commodity. Then, summer wildfires destroyed 40,000 acres of forest. The county is combatting its above-average jobless rate with a stream of job programs; it's building two spec buildings next to the airport in hopes of attracting new business, and county residents approved a 2% bed tax to raise money for tourism development.
Business to Watch
Sport-Craft Boats, the Perry-based boat builder, doubled its workforce in 1998 and plans to hire more than 100 this year.
Dixie, Hamilton, Lafayette, Suwannee
These counties, some of the poorest in the state, have few tools to attract new industry. Economic development efforts are often run by volunteers or one-person offices. Many residents live in mobile homes and pay no homestead taxes. Their cities lack the roads and sewers needed to expand, and much land is off the tax rolls because it's state-owned. Some want to capitalize on unspoiled rural areas through ecotourism. Dixie County has begun by building the Coastal Greenway, giving access to the coast with bike and hiking trails in areas not presently accessible by road or bridge. The county also plans to expand its annual April bird festival and its fish festival in May.
Business to Watch
Job growth for this region is expected to be for lower paid occupations such as child care workers, hand packers, truck drivers, cashiers, sales workers, teachers and medical workers.
Baker, Columbia, Gilchrist, Union
Shutdowns in the apparel industry have crippled private employment in this rural region sometimes known as the prison belt. The largest employers in Baker, Gilchrist and Union counties are state prisons. Local retailers have suffered as national chains have opened up in Lake City, drawing customers from the surrounding counties.
Business to Watch
Local government, prisons and low-wage service jobs are seen as the biggest sources of employment growth in the near future.