Don’t look now, but some very good economic news has been invading Jacksonville in the past few months, news that will have a direct impact on Realtors and builders.
We’re bombarded continuously with reports about the soured stock market, home foreclosures, credit pressures, job layoffs, falling home prices and a bloated inventory of new homes that is only growing.
There is no question that the economic hurricane blowing through the United States — and around the world — is delivering a painful punch to many of us right here on the First Coast. A lot of folks are suffering.
With all of the constant bad news and the worry and anxiety it causes, it’s understandable that we might overlook announcements of positive investments happening around us.
While these new economic developments won’t have an instant impact, the billions of dollars of investments and thousands of jobs that will be created will make a very big difference for us over the long haul.
Let’s review some of the most significant.
• Just after the July 4 holiday, Jacksonville Port Authority officials joined Mayor John Peyton to welcome the first Mitsui O.S.K. Lines container vessel to Jacksonville.
Here’s what makes this big news: The event marked the start of service between Jacksonville and Asian markets through the Panama Canal. The ships will dock at the TraPac Container Terminal at Dames Point, which expects now to handle 800,000 containers annually, create 6,000 new jobs and generate around $1 billion in economic activity.
• The Mitsui/TraPac news was followed in early November by an announcement that the Port approved a contract with Hanjin Shipping Co. to build a new terminal that will handle another 800,000 containers. The terminal will be built on undeveloped land off Hecksher Drive along the St. Johns River.
Hanjin, a Korean company, is expected to approve the contract soon. Under the agreement, Hanjin will sign a 30-year lease to make annual payments that will pay for costs of terminal construction.
• In late July, Deutsche Bank announced it will open a major new financial operations center in Jacksonville. This year Deutsche Bank will employ 400 and expects to have 1,000 employees by the end of 2011. The facility will be on South Gate Parkway.
• In mid-October, Mayor Peyton signed an agreement with Alenia North America that committed the company to build a final assembly and delivery center for C-27J Spartan cargo planes at Cecil Commerce Center.
Once again, we’re talking about investment and jobs. Alenia is going to add 300 new workers and invest $42 million in new private capital for equipment, technology and infrastructure. It will also spend $65 million in construction costs and add more than $100 million in capital investments to Duval County’s tax base.
I believe these job creating investments will cause other big investments to come here, not to mention support industries and services.
Why’s that important to us?
• Many of these jobs are brand new, which means that people making good wages will be relocating to Jacksonville. And, the people who work in these new businesses and industries will need places to live.
• Buildings must be built. Roads and other infrastructure must be constructed. That’s real money — and lots of it — flowing into our local economy.
There is tremendous opportunity for significant economic growth in this region over the next decade. It won’t come automatically, no more than it just happened that these four great companies made decisions to come here.
It takes leadership, hard work and teamwork.
The competition for these kinds of businesses is steep. Other ports along the east coast are fighting hard to get these container ships into their ports.
And, every city in the Southeast would love to have Deutsche Bank bring its investment and employees.
But, we have the assets at places like Cecil Field, the Port and our first class manufacturing, distribution and office centers all over this area.
And, I believe we have the attitude to make it happen here.
That’s very good news for us all.
— Jim Bailey is president of Bailey Publishing & Communications Inc. and publisher of Realty/Builder Connection.