by Michele Newbern Gillis
The who’s who of commercial real estate gathered last month at the First Coast Real Estate Outlook conference held at the Adam’s Mark in Jacksonville. There was a lot on the agenda for the half-day conference including the economic forecast from Dr. Henry Fishkind, the presentation of the Golden Triangle Awards, a keynote address from Jacksonville Mayor John Peyton and a round table presentation on how regionalism impacts the commercial real estate industry.
The Golden Triangle awards were presented to Bruce Jackson of CB Richard Ellis for top volume in the office market, Walter Reed of Commercial Florida Realty for top volume in the industrial market, Gary Montour of Colliers Dickinson for top volume in the retail market, Hobart Joost of Colliers Dickinson for top volume in the land sales market and Louis Nutter of CB Richard Ellis for top volume in the investment sales market. Philip Elson of Aerostar received the Affiliate Member of the Year award and Mayor John Peyton received the Golden Triangle Service Award.
On the panel were Ken Willette of the Nassau County Economic Development Board, Ginger Barber of the Baker County Development Commission, Kellie Jo Killberg of the Clay County Chamber of Commerce, Wes Larson of the Putnam County Chamber of Commerce, Charlie Faulkner of Palm Coast Holdings, Roger O’Steen of The Parc Group and Jerry Mallot of the Jacksonville regional Chamber of Commerce’s Cornerstone division.
Nassau County
“If I could describe Nassau County in one word, it would be growth,” said Willett. “We definitely have been growing and our objective is to continue to grow. The population in Nassau County is just under 62,000 people. We grew in the 1990’s and had a 31.2 percent population growth and if you look at 13-year period from 1990 through 2003, we grew by 40.7 percent. The projections for this decade are between 35 and 40 percent growth for Nassau County. That means we could definitely be in the 77,000 to 80,000 population by the year 2010.”
Willette said that a fairly substantial amount of the workforce that leaves the county every day to go to work.
“That’s a critical issue for us to create jobs in Nassau County,” he said. “The other growth is the income growth. The average per capita income is $28,000. The average household income is over $64,000 and average wage paid by Nassau County employers is over $29,000 approaching $30,000. That has made many impacts in our county. With the population growth, we have seen a dramatic growth in retail services. Obviously they go hand in hand.”
Willette said one of the key things they would like to do is to continue to improve education in the county and to continue diversification of their tax base in the creation of jobs in Nassau County.
“There has been a lot of growth on Amelia Island,” he said. “There is not a room for a lot of additional growth, but there is still room for growth and that will continue to be part of our economic engine for Nassau County.”
He mentioned the Airport Business Park, the Gateway to Amelia Park and just recently the opening of an Applebee’s and a Stein Mart on Amelia Island.
“It still continues to grow on smaller projects, there won’t be large residential golf course communities. They will be smaller in nature because of the availability of land on Amelia Island,” said Willette.
Willette acknowledged that the area between Amelia Island and I-95 is the fastest growing area in Nassau County.
A trend he said he sees in Nassau County is national and international investment dollars flowing into real estate development.
“First in the residential market and commercial retail market,” he said. “But, we are now beginning to see it coming into the commercial industrial and office market. I presume we will see that in other areas surrounding Jacksonville.”
Willette said Yulee is also growing fast with the opening of a Lowe’s Home Improvement Center and a Super Wal-Mart. He said there is also a new high school planned for that area which should open in 2006. One of the major initiatives for that area is publicly sponsored Development of Regional Impact for the Yulee area.
“It is over 34,000 acres of land in the process of being reviewed for a DRI,” he said. “It is the largest single DRI in the state of Florida history. I think that is a major initiative. Within the DRI, there will be well over 4,000 acres for commercial development particularly the area right out at A1A and I-95. There will be a large tract of land for commercial growth.”
Willette said that the county is planning to add roads and widen existing roads to handle the additional growth in Nassau County.
“The other corridor is the area between I-95 and Baldwin is planned to be four-laned,” he said. “It will really open up land and opportunities in the western part of Nassau County.”
Baker County
Baker County is primarily an industrial development market fueled by several industrial parks including Enterprise East, Enterprise West and the commercial development of a Wal-Mart distribution center.
“It’s been less than two years and the Wal-Mart already employs over 600 people with expansion planned this fall,” said Barber. “The Northeast Florida Regional Council did an economic impact on what Wal-Mart’s economic impact was on our county and they estimated that would cause an additional $152 million to be circulated in our community in the first five years.”
She said they could not have achieved these goals without the workforce in Jacksonville.
“That workforce is always the key issue in any type of development and we always look at our region as a regional workforce,” she said. “Working with Cornerstone at the Jacksonville Chamber has been instrumental in locating these plants. We have a very lucrative incentive package and we do work with Realtors. We invite you to give us a call, especially if you have a manufacturing plant. Those are basically our target industry at this time.”
Barber discussed the 47,000 acres of timberland that was put on the market a year and a half ago and the impact it has caused in her county.
According to Barber, the land is located in the middle of the county and has been sold to developers and is now under residential development.
“If you look at our industrial development and residential development those growths have caused us to have commercial growth too,” she said. “We have an Eckerd that is being built at this time, a Walgreens that is looking for a site and a Wal-Mart superstore looking for a site. We are having a boom as far commercial growth and development.”
Clay County
Clay County underwent a merge between the Chamber of Commerce and the Economic Development County last year.
“What that means to you is that within our county we have one business organization unified voice,” said Kellie Jo Killberg of the Clay County Chamber of Commerce. “One of the first things we are looking at is a countywide strategic plan. The strategic plan should be completed by fall and once we get that into place we will identify and protect those areas within the county that we need for industrial and commercial growth.”
She said one of the things they are looking at is the southern extension of SR 203 with the outer beltway.
“This outer beltway will actually open up a lot of our county for additional economic growth as well as help us with our traffic issues,” she said.
Killberg discussed OakLeaf Plantation, which she said is growing fast.
“It will have 1.6 million square feet of office space, 1.7 million square feet of industrial office and 2.5 million square feet of commercial space,” she said. “The housing in this particular area is moving very quickly and it will be a growth industry for us as far as opening the county up and having some opportunities for some high-end economic development.”
Hutson Land Co. is leading the development, which also includes plans for 1 million square feet of retail space, 3 million square feet of industrial space and 2.3 million square feet of office space.
Killberg also discussed the impact of the Fleming Island area, which she called a “live work and play community.”
“One of the things about Clay County is that we are called a ‘bedroom community’ and I can tell you in 10 years that won’t be the definition you will have,” she said. “We are looking at how to keep our residents in our own county. We have about 60 percent of our workforce that travels outside our county, so if you think about your employees and want to have happy employees. Think of all the employees who come from Clay County that would prefer to actually work in Clay County. So, if you are looking at expanding, please look in Clay County.”
Putnam County
In addition to being the bass fishing capital of the state, Putnam County is also the largest industrialized rural county in Florida.
“We have the highest percentage of employment in manufacturing, mining and construction of any of the seven counties in Northeast Florida,” said Larson of the Putnam County Chamber of Commerce. “Putnam County because of its geographical location and other factors is an ideal location for manufacturing, distribution and other industrial facilities.”
Larson discussed recent and planned road expansions including SR 17 which has been expanded to four lanes and SR 207 and SR 20 which are both being expanded to four lanes.
“One of the most significant that will happen in the future is the four-laning of CR 207 and SR 20 from I-75 to I-95,” he said.
He said when the roads are finished Palatka will be come a hub for distribution centers and warehousing.
“Putnam County has the lowest cost of living in all of Northeast Florida and the lowest wages,” he said.
He discussed the Wal-Mart Supercenter that was built in Palatka and the Lowe’s Home Improvement Center and Home Depot, which are under construction and will be open later this year.
“We have a very proactive governmental attitude towards businesses,” he said. “If you come to Putnam County, expect priority treatment in all aspects of citing any business or industry.”
Flagler County
“I’m going to give you a flyover of Flagler County from about 30,000 feet,” said Charlie Faulkner of Palm Coast Holdings. “Flagler County has a lot of similarities to Collier County in Southwest Florida. The inland portion of Flagler County is largely rural and sparsely populated. The coastline is where most of the development is happening. It is mostly high-end and it’s accelerating at a rapid pace.”
He reviewed the past of Flagler County explaining that a selloff of a lot of undeveloped land has spurred a lot of additional growth in the area.
“That is when Flagler County really started to change,” he said. “If you look at Flagler County today, we have about a 65,000 population, most of that is in the City of Palm Coast and along the coastline itself.”
He said if you measure the growth in measurements of classrooms, they would need to add one classroom a week.
“So, Flagler County is most definitely growing right now,” he said. “The city itself is a smart city. It is professionally run by its staff and the elected council is a smart group of people. They fully understand the importance of a healthy tax base and a balance of land uses.”
He said the city is experiencing between 400 and 500 new home permits per month - the city of Palm Coast is second only in size to Jacksonville in this part of Florida.
“Flagler County has a deficit in commercial and multi-family development,” he said. “Those developments have not kept pace with the number of rooftops coming into town. There are definitely opportunities in that regard.”
He discussed several residential developments that have brought in higher-end retail to the area.
A new DRI along U.S. 1, The West Palm Coast, will soon be known as the Palm Coast Park.
“There will be a linear park on either side of U.S. 1 with pocket parks along the way with underground utilities,” said Faulkner. “The whole theme of the project is of passive, park like setting. It will be a 4,000 acre mixed-use park, which will include industrial.”
There is another DRI completed last year called the Town Center, which Faulkner described as a neo-traditional neighborhood.
“It’s weighted heavy to non-residential uses,” he said. “It’s actually the site of the new City of Palm Coast City Hall. There are opportunities there right now.”
Faulkner said the County is developing a commercial and industrial park around the airport and there is a private enterprise also doing a commercial/industrial/residential development in the area.
“I think Flagler County is the proverbial diamond in the rough,” said Faulkner. “The polishing is already started and there is a lot of polishing left. I would expect in three to four years land development codes will be pretty stringent, but well organized. It will demand high-quality growth similar to what you would see in Naples or Sanibel today. So, if you want to get in, it would be easier sooner than later.”
St. Johns County
“St. Johns County is a high growth area and will continue to be so into the future,” said Roger O’Steen of The Parc Group.
O’Steen discussed several multiple planned and potential project in the Northwestern portion of St. Johns County that will follow the Northwest Sector Plan.
“It will provide for increased opportunities for non-residential development,” said O’Steen.
With plans for several DRI’s in the area, O’Steen said that they will cause several improvements in St. Johns County.
“The end result of all of that is that St. Johns County will continue to grow,” he said. “I believe that in the next 20 years, everything north of St. Augustine airport and City of St. Augustine Beach up to Duval County will be developed. The key is how is it developed. Is it developed in the pattern that it looks good with properly planned roadways, school sites, parks, etc. Or is it possibly not done in a pattern that doesn’t look good. I think the current process that is taking place to plan what St. Johns County will look like in the future is good. I think we will be proud of what we will see.”
Roadway improvements planned include the SR 9B, which will provide enhanced mobility to accommodate new growth to the area.
“Other roadway corridors that are being talked about and studied are going to make a tremendous difference in what the major infrastructure looks like coming into St. Johns County,” said O’Steen. “That major infrastructure drives what will happen with commercial. We all know that when you have rooftops, that rooftops are followed by retail and retail is followed by jobs. St. Johns County has a significant issue that needs to be addressed which is the job issue. We don’t want to become a commuter county. If you are going to bring in jobs, you have to have transportation corridors to support it.”
Duval County
“We are seeing significant new economic development in every county around Duval County,” said Jerry Mallot of the Chamber’s Cornerstone division. “Duval County continues to be the economic engine for the region as a whole. We are doing very well particularly in some of our key targeted areas such as headquarters, financial/insurance services, aviation, distribution and health related technology. In the headquarters area, I think a lot of people were a little skeptical as to if we could be successful. In the last three years we’ve had 18 new corporate headquarters locations in the area with more to come.”
Mallot said he thinks the Better Jacksonville Plan is what is driving the success of Duval County.
“It is putting in the infrastructure for growth,” he said. “It has created so many jobs and affect every aspect of the city.”
He discussed various road improvement plans the Better Jacksonville Plan has affected.
“Growth downtown, along Butler Boulevard, the 9A corridor, near the airport and at Cecil Commerce Center will provide many opportunities in the commercial real estate market,” he said.
Mallot discussed the various projects downtown that were completed under the Better Jacksonville Plan.
“We’re starting the development of the entertainment district along Bay Street which will be enhanced by the Super Bowl,” he said. “Recent completions of 11 E. (apartments) and other major redevelopments of buildings like the Roosevelt Hotel. That is an enormous impact on downtown that I think will continue to draw companies to the area as well.”
Mallot talked about development at Cecil Commerce Center, the St. Johns Town Center near 9A as well as the substantial residential and commercial development near Tinseltown area on the Southside.
“Of course there are a lot of large condominium developments all along the ocean, Intracoastal and on the river that are redefining the way a lot of people are living,” he said. “Packaged together it is just a huge amount of activity that is happening in Duval County that goes along with what we have heard about in other areas. I believe the Super Bowl will supercharge the development that we already have taking place right now.”