This is another in a series on area executives and political and community leaders who have played prominent roles in the development of Downtown or Jacksonville as a whole over the years. Some are still in the area, working or retired or a bit of both. Some have moved away and are working in other areas of the state or country. The series continues with former Downtown Development Authority head Frank Nero.
by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
What he did then:
•Downtown Development Authority executive director and deputy mayor for economic development
What he’s doing now:
•President and CEO, the Beacon Council
•Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau board of directors
Geographically speaking, the path from New Jersey to South Florida goes through Jacksonville. For North Plainfield, N.J. native Frank Nero, his career in government and economic development followed that same path.
The former head of the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission’s Downtown Development Authority is now president and CEO of the Beacon Council, a public-private economic development agency that serves Miami and Dade County.
Nero didn’t waste any time beginning his public service career. He was a North Plainfield City Council member while still in his teens and was later elected the town’s mayor (and the youngest in the United States) at age 22. In 1977, Nero was named the regional representative of the U.S. Department of Labor for New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. He was also appointed by President Jimmy Carter as chairman of the Federal Regional Council which coordinated the efforts of 19 federal domestic agencies.
“The Downtown Development Authority is what brought me to Jacksonville in 1991,” said Nero, who would eventually serve as deputy mayor for economic development under Mayor Ed Austin and later as Mayor John Delaney’s senior advisor for economic development.
Nero left Jacksonville in 1996 for his job at the Beacon Council and has certainly made his economic development mark on Miami. In the past 12 years, more than 400 location and expansion projects have created more than 30,000 direct jobs, absorbed 15 million new square feet of commercial space and brought $1.8 billion in new capital investment to Miami-Dade County.
“The best way I can describe how the Beacon Council works is that it’s close to what Cornerstone does in Jacksonville,” said Nero of the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce’s economic development arm. “It’s a 20-year-old non-profit created by the private and public sector to recruit and retain companies. Beacon Council is under contract to the county and its 34 municipalities. We also market Miami’s assets worldwide.”
Developing Miami-Dade’s economy on the international level is a big part of Nero’s job, he said.
“Ten years ago there were less than 200 multi-national companies doing business here,” he said. “Now there are more than 1,300 in South Florida and more than 1,100 in Miami-Dade alone. Back then, Miami was known as a tourism area, but we diversified the economy by going after Latin American companies. About half the work I do now is with international companies.”
Nero misses Jacksonville from time to time, particularly people he knew and friends he made.
“I made some great friends in Jacksonville and I still stay in touch,” he said then added, “I even think (Times-Union columnist) Ron Littlepage and I agree now more often than not.”
Another thing Nero said he misses about Jacksonville is the opportunity to be part of developing Downtown and its assets. Beacon Council isn’t part of Miami-Dade’s urban plan.
“I’m proud that I was able to be part of laying the platform for Jacksonville’s current Downtown development. I think I did some of my most creative work while I was in Jacksonville,” he said. “I think the city has really turned the corner as a leading business city in the South and I’m proud of what I was able to contribute.
“I’m also pleased to see Cecil Commerce Center doing so well, even when I’m competing against Jacksonville for aviation companies.”
The culture of South Florida is something that Nero has come to truly appreciate.
“I frankly like the multi-cultural and multi-lingual atmosphere in Miami. It’s like New Jersey without the snow,” he said then added, “When I was in Jacksonville, I was ‘that eye-talian from New Jersey.’ Now I’m an Anglo.”
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