By Karen Brune Mathis
Managing Editor
Both Gov. Rick Scott and Mayor John Peyton confirmed on Friday that Jacksonville is working on recruiting a company headquarters, although few details were available about its industry or size.
It’s “an important headquarters,” said Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce Executive Vice President Jerry Mallot after a Cornerstone speech by Scott and remarks by Peyton.
The company has been looking at the area the past few months, said Mallot, offering no further details about the prospect. “I really can’t say anything,” he said.
“When we are involved in a project that requires or even demands
confidentiality, I can’t.”
Scott, who campaigned on a platform of creating 700,000 jobs in seven years with a seven-point plan, spoke to about 1,200 people Friday at the quarterly Cornerstone luncheon at the Hyatt Downtown. He referred to his Monday evening visit to Jacksonville. “I was here Monday night and I hope we win, he said. Later, Scott said he was “here a couple days ago” regarding a “company moving here.”
Peyton also addressed the Cornerstone group and mentioned Scott’s visit. “This past week, he flew in to meet with the prospect of a headquarters, relocation,” said Peyton.
Scott met from 7-8 p.m. Monday at EverBank Field in what was posted on his schedule as an “economic development meeting.”
While Mallot provided few details about the prospect, he said it was one of several. He is president of the chamber’s Cornerstone Regional Development Partnership.
“We are busy right now,” he said, adding that a “major company” had visited the Friday before in addition to the corporate prospect Monday and Tuesday. Another is expected today and yet another is expected this week, but he said Friday the date of that visit had not been set.
“It’s a range of industries,” said Mallot of the prospects. “One is a headquarters operation, but others are in manufacturing and technology, two different areas. In fact, there is pretty good balance in the type of projects we are involved in.” Mallot said interest has picked up.
“We are seeing more site visits,” he said. “We are seeing a hum in our business today that is very important and we believe will lead to serious job creation as this year goes on.”
Last year, the chamber said that announced projects would create 3,268 jobs in the seven counties of Northeast Florida participating in Cornerstone. Of those, 3,158 were in Duval County. The other counties in the partnership are Baker, Clay, Flagler, Nassau, Putnam and St. Johns.
Mallot said the goal this year is 2,500 jobs with a “stretch goal” of 3,000.
He said more than 50 prospects are looking at the area. “That is up a little from the last couple of years.” Those prospects are considered “qualified” in that they have a serious project and are looking at the region, he said.
Mallot said that while the economy suffered during the recession, “companies are saying it is time again to hire and time to invest.” The five-county area of Baker, Clay, Duval, Nassau and St. Johns counties lost more than 60,000 jobs from the employment peak in May 2007 to this past January. The national recession began in December 2007 and ended in 2009.
“We are a year or two away from getting back to normal, but it is definitely increasing and by the end of the year, we will be humming,” said Mallot.
The chamber’s targeted industries are headquarters; financial services; logistics; life sciences; advanced manufacturing; aviation and aerospace; and information technology.
Cornerstone Chair Scott Keith, BB&T regional president, an-nounced Friday that the chamber will use a $200,000 Econo-
mic Development Administration Grant to define “future targeted industries subsectors” that will deepen understanding of Northeast Florida’s “competitive assets.”
Mallot said the grant is through the Northeast Florida Regional Council.
Mallot said the governor can play a strong role in recruitment. “We would love to have the governor in on every project if the opportunity was there, but we really take a look and assess the seriousness of a client and the impact the governor’s participation would have at the stage at which the decisionmaking process is going,” he said.
“We have to be cognizant of his time when we believe it is important in the process,” he said. “Sometimes it is important early in the process or sometimes later in the process.”
Mallot said that Peyton Chief of Staff Adam Hollingsworth, who had taken a leave of absence to work with the state Republican Party during Scott’s successful campaign, was helpful in bringing Scott to the table.
“He is able to evaluate the governor’s interest and availability to see if his timing and ours might match, so he has been very important,” said Mallot.
Of the 50 or so prospects, Mallot said some have just begun their search, some are coming closer to a decision, some are “very serious” and some are on hold or delayed.
“All of them have a project, have named the First Coast as a location option and are proceeding down the path,” he said.
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