by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
According to Expansion Management, one of the most widely read trade publications for site selection consultants and corporate relocation decision makers, Jacksonville is the No. 1-ranked city in the country.
The ranking of America’s 50 hottest cities was determined through a survey of site consultants from all over the United States and this is the second time Jacksonville has been the top choice. In fact, in the four-year history of the survey, Jacksonville has never been out of the top 10.
So, what exactly makes the River City so appealing to corporations?
Jobs — and the companies bringing jobs to Jacksonville and the surrounding area.
According to statistics provided by Cornerstone, a division of the Chamber of Commerce, 29 projects were completed in 2001 that created 2,825 high-wage jobs.
One of those projects included luring Craig/is, Ltd. and its corporate headquarters to Jacksonville from Long Island, N.Y. By the time Craig’s executives narrowed their choices to Jacksonville, Tampa and Atlanta, Jacksonville was last on their list. Then, they came to town.
“Technically, they came to Jacksonville as a courtesy,” said Sandy Argroves, the marketing manager for Cornerstone. “When they got to Jacksonville, they completely changed their thinking. When they got here physically, they were completely wowed. That was so gratifying to hear. Just getting them here was what did it.”
Paul Mee, the chief operating officer for Craig, said there were several factors that contributed to the decision to relocate the company’s headquarters here and hire about 100 people.
“The key was the very favorable tax and business climate,” said Mee. “Two, the very talented — and the depth and breadth — of the labor pool. Three was the support of local government and business leaders. That starts with the mayor [John Delaney] and goes to the City Council and several associations and organizations like the JEDC [Jacksonville Economic Development Commission].”
Mee said the quality of life was an issue, but the local beaches, climate and golf courses weren’t overriding factors.
“Most of the folks we hired are from the area,” said Mee. “About 95 percent were residents. So, quality of life wasn’t a big issue.”
Mee said the decision wasn’t a marathon process, but it wasn’t made overnight either.
“The selection process was three or four months long,” said Mee. “We did not know we were coming south, but we knew we wanted out of the greater New York area.”
Other companies that either have established themselves in Jacksonville or plan to do so include:
• ConAgra — selected St. Johns County site for a major distribution center after looking all over Florida and Georgia; high capital investment and 70 new jobs for St. Johns County.
• Fishman & Tobin — international clothing company that plans to open a major distribution center in Clay County and bring 200 new jobs to the area.
• CRG West — formerly TeraSpace; moving forward with plans to build a Network Access Point (NAP) near the airport; high capital investment and better than 100 high-tech jobs. NAP impact is high-speed World Wide Internet access that will give the community a significant competitive advantage for telecommunication and technology based companies where extra measures of speed and efficiency make a difference.
• Pilot Pen — has grown consistently since opening in Jacksonville seven years ago. It recently finished a $10 million expansion of their manufacturing and distribution facility in East Park — the third expansion since coming to Jacksonville and plans to hire 27 new employees, giving them a total of 175 in the area.
Bill King, chief editor of Expansion Management, said the rankings are a compilation of subjective opinions offered by 75 of the country’s most prominent site location consultants.
“Unlike most of Expansion Management magazine’s rankings, which are based upon hard economic and demographic data, this ranking is based upon the perception many of America’s top site location consultants have of a particular metropolitan area,” said King. “With the constantly shrinking time frame in which site location decisions are made these days, the perception companies have of a community becomes increasingly important. It won’t ever replace bottom-line factors such as tax rates, work force quality and availability, or real estate lease or construction costs, but it will help communities make ‘cut lists’ they might not otherwise make.”
Right behind Jacksonville in the top five are the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, N.C., Albuquerque, Oklahoma City and Phoenix.
“When it comes to attracting new and expanding businesses, some cities stand out above all the rest,” said King. “These are the metro areas that companies think of first when they are considering locations for a new manufacturing or distribution facility, or perhaps a back office or headquarters locations.”
A couple of years ago, Kemper Insurance decided to move its personal lines (auto and home as opposed to corporate) insurance out of Chicago. After a four-month process, the company chose Jacksonville.
“When we were looking, we did a survey of about 10 cities,” explained Bob Davis, vice president of human resources for Kemper in Jacksonville. “We had several criteria, including ease of doing business, resources available and the ability to attain and retain upper level staff, business taxes, ease of travel and help attracting future employees. Out of those 10, Jacksonville, for all those reasons plus personal reasons like cost of living, was picked.”
Jacksonville was actually in the finals with another city that virtually mirrors Jacksonville with the exception of one thing: Jacksonville’s single-best natural resource.
“It came down to Jacksonville and Nashville and we selected Jacksonville because we felt it being a coastal city we would have more flexibility to attract people and high-level talent,” said Davis.
Today, Kemper’s offices at Southpoint employ about 130 with plans to make good on their assurance to more than double that number.
“We are moving toward our goal of about 300,” said Davis.
America’s hottest 50 cities
1. Jacksonville, FL
2. Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, NC
3. Albuquerque, NM
4. Oklahoma City
5. Phoenix-Mesa, AZ
6. Norfolk-Virginia Beach-Newport News, VA-NC
7. Indianapolis, IN
8. Greensboro-Winston Salem-High Point, NC
9. Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, NC-SC
10. Atlanta, GA
11. Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson, SC
12. Huntsville, AL
13. Colorado Springs, CO
14. Memphis, TN
15. Salt Lake City-Ogden, UT
16. Jackson, MS
17. Dallas, TX
18. Austin-San Marcos, TX
19. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL
20. Sumter, SC
21. Houston, TX
22. Richmond-Petersburg, VA
23. Lexington, KY
24. Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
25. Athens, GA
26. Tulsa, OK
27. San Diego, CA
28. Montgomery, AL
29. Asheville, NC
30. Jackson, TN
31. Seattle-Bellevue-
Everette, WA
32. Visalia-Tularc-
Porterville, CA.
33. Auburn-Opelika, AL
34. Boston, MA
35. Longview-Marshall, TX
36. Greenville, NC
37. Chicago, IL
38. Pensacola, FL
39. Jonesboro, AK
40. Bakersfield, CA
41. Fort Collins-Loveland, CO
42. Denver, CO
43. Roanoke, VA
44. Lake Charles, LA
45. Tuscaloosa, AL
46. Decatur, AL
47. Lawton, OK
48. Cincinnati, OH
49. Savannah, GA
50. (tie) Tuscon, Ariz./
Columbus, OH