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« RETURN TO THE 2013 ECONOMIC YEARBOOK
Florida's Big Bend Region

↑Urban renewal and business relocations
↓Government sector job cuts & high feed costs for dairy and poultry farmers
Big Bend
» Tallahassee's urban renewal efforts got a boost from Gaines Street development, city capital improvements and new dining and hospitality venues. All the activity helped keep unemployment at a relatively low 6.3%. Cascades Park, a $30-million project on 25 acres downtown, will open in September, featuring a 1,500-seat canopied amphitheater.
» Increases in education and health services jobs helped offset the loss of some 800 government-sector jobs in Tallahassee's four-county metropolitan statistical area. The area's economy is expected to grow less than 1% this year, says Julie Harrington, director of Florida State University's Center for Economic Forecasting and Analysis.
» Also helping the region: Robotics, energy and development of new materials, says Barney Bishop, CEO of a consulting firm and former CEO of Associated Industries of Florida. What the region needs now, says Bishop, is manufacturing production. “We have a lot of young entrepreneurs coming out of FSU, FAMU and TCC who can start that manufacturing enterprise. And when you get manufacturing, you get the supply chain.” Among promising research-spawned enterprises, says John Fraser, executive director of FSU's Office of Intellectual Property Development and Commercialization: Bing Energy, Prevacus, BioFront Technologies, BevShots, Sunnyland Solar and General Capacitor. “All are young, based on FSU technology, growing and adding employees.”
Business to Watch
» NanoVision: The company has a deal with FSU to design a machine to scale up the manufacture of BuckyPaper, a lightweight, super-strong material developed through FSU research, to give manufacturers larger pieces of material for commercial applications.
Leon Population: 285,689 | ||||
Population Growth Rate (2009-13): 1.12% | ||||
Population by Age: | ||||
0-14 | 15-19 | 20-39 | 40-64 | 65+ |
16.08% | 8.63% | 37.01% | 27.49% | 10.80% |
Per Capita Income: $37,970 |
Jobs | ||||
MSA | Dec. 2012 | Dec. 2011 | % Change | Jobless Rate |
Tallahassee | 177,364 | 176,651 | +0.4% | 6.6% |
Source: Agency for Workforce Innovation |
Homes - Single-family, existing-home sales | ||||
MSA | 2013 Sales | 1-Year Change | 2013 Price | 1-Year Change |
Tallahassee/Leon | 2,396 | +10% | $163,500 | +0.3% |
Source: Florida Realtors |