THE COMPANY YOU KEEP

Expansion Management magazine ranked Jacksonville one of the top 10 “Hottest Cities” for business relocation and expansion in the United States for eight straight years, and Jacksonville is the only city to be ranked first three times. Over the last three years, Cornerstone assisted more than 100 companies with the creation of over 11,000 jobs. Among the most notable projects are:

Aviation and Aerospace

Through the redevelopment of Cecil Commerce Center, a former U.S. Navy base, to a modern aviation and industrial park, Jacksonville was successful last year in recruiting Alenia North America to build a $100 million aircraft assembly plant that will employ 300. Aviation MRO FlightStar Aircraft Services has also been expanding at Cecil, adding 150 jobs in 2006. Northrop Grumman continues to expand its aircraft assembly and maintenance operations in St. Augustine.

Finance and Insurance Services
Fidelity Investments made the decision to establish a regional customer contact center in Jacksonville in 2006, which brought more than 1,200 jobs to the region. Financial services company CIT also added 600 jobs over the last several years. Deutsche Bank recently selected Jacksonville for a global technology and operations center, creating 1,000 new jobs. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida also built two new buildings on its campus, investing $57 million.

Headquarters
Fortune 500 companies CSX and Fidelity National Financial both relocated corporate headquarters to Jacksonville in 2006. Last year, Japanese-based Pilot Pen relocated its U.S. headquarters to Jacksonville, along with logistics company RailAmerica and life sciences company Ion Beam Applications.

Information Technology
Web.com is adding 139 jobs at its Jacksonville headquarters, bringing the company’s total employment to more than 400. Merrill Lynch also added 800 IT professionals at its Southside campus over the last few years.

Logistics and Distribution
Distribution center activity is at an all-time high for our region as a result of commitments by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines and Hanjin to provide direct shipping service between Asia and Jacksonville, which will triple the container throughput at JAXPORT. Companies that have recently added or expanded distribution operations in Jacksonville include Bridgestone Firestone, Michael’s Stores, PSS World Medical, COACH, ICS Logistics, Sears Logistics Services, Samsonite and Georgia Pacific. Distribution centers are currently under construction for Unilever, Volkswagen of America, Wal-Mart Distribution, Dr Pepper/Cadbury Schweppes and Millard Refrigerated Services. Another 5 million square feet of speculative industrial space is planned by developers.

Click here to view a list of Northeast Florida employers