Northeast Florida Business Environment
Regional Initiatives

Vision — A Region on the Move

Blessed with a young and skilled workforce, wonderful climate and business-friendly environment, the greater Jacksonville region has enjoyed tremendous growth and prosperity over the past decade. The vision of its leadership has played no small role in this growth. From the wisdom of consolidating the city and county governments in 1967, to the airport expansion in the early ‘90s, to the region-wide effort to secure the Jaguars franchise in 1993, the Jacksonville area has a strong track record of consensus-building and accomplishment that have helped fuel Jacksonville's economic development.

These efforts have resulted in significant recognition:

  • Jacksonville is consistently rated as one of the "Hottest Cities in America" for business expansions and business relocations by site consultants in an annual poll for Expansion Management magazine. Ranked #3 in 2004, Jacksonville has been in the top 10 for eight straight years and is the only city to be ranked first three times.
  • In April 2006 Jacksonville was recognized as one of the top three U.S. organizations for "Leadership and Innovation" in economic development by CoreNet, the world's premier association for corporate real estate and related professionals.
  • In the May 2006 issue of Business 2.0, Jacksonville was ranked in the Top 10 "Hottest Cities" that will lead job growth through 2015.
  • Jacksonville was ranked by Expansion Management as being in the top 15 percent of all U.S. metro areas for fiber optic connectivity.
  • J.D. Power and Associates rated JEA — the electric, water and sewer authority for Jacksonville — as among the top electric utilities in the South in terms of customer satisfaction.
  • The NFL selected Jacksonville as the host city for the 2005 Super Bowl.

And we are poised to achieve even greater success in the years ahead. In 2000 Jacksonville voters approved The Better Jacksonville Plan and Preservation Project Jacksonville, two significant initiatives that will ensure that our infrastructure and beautiful natural surroundings are secure for the years ahead. These measures help to guarantee our vision for the future, positioning the Jacksonville region as a place with something for everyone and plenty of room to breathe and grow.

The Better Jacksonville Plan
The Better Jacksonville Plan is a comprehensive approach to growth management, transportation, the environment and economic development, designed to ensure that Jacksonville remains an ideal environment for business growth, business expansion and life for years to come. Voted on by Jacksonville residents in 2000, several projects have already been completed, with more in the works. Among the major development projects:

  • The Jacksonville Veteran's Memorial Arena, which opened in November 2004. Located in the Sports Complex, this $125 million, state-of-the-art facility is capable of seating up to 16,000 fans for a variety of events, including concerts, ice shows, basketball, hockey and arena football;
  • The Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville, which opened with the start of the Jacksonville Suns' 2003 season. The new baseball stadium seats 10,000 people and features a brick exterior, matching historic St. Andrews Church;
  • The New Main Library, with an innovative children's center, an updated genealogy department and a section dedicated to African-American history opened in December of 2005;
  • A $1.5 billion investment in ongoing transportation improvements, including road paving, creating sidewalks and bike paths, and land purchasing for future rapid transit expansion;
  • And $225 million in environmental and economic development initiatives designed to expand neighborhood parks, preserve our urban forests and provide economic development incentives to targeted neighborhoods within the area.

For more information on this outstanding communitywide undertaking, please visit www.betterjax.com/index.asp.

Preservation Project Jacksonville
Part of The Better Jacksonville Plan, the Preservation Project Jacksonville is designed specifically to address future growth and development. Aimed at preserving land for conservation, the Project is helping to control growth while also saving the area's valuable natural resources. Almost 20,000 acres have already been set aside, with thousands more targeted for acquisition and management.

Part of the land impacted is within the Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve, a 46,000-acre preserve in the northeast corner of Duval County and a portion of Nassau County. This beautiful expanse of wetland and upland habitats is home to wood storks, great blue herons, alligators and marsh crabs, among many other animals. Among its many unique features, this area is managed by the nation's only cooperative arrangement between the National Park Service, The Florida Park Service and the City of Jacksonville.

More information on the Preservation Project Jacksonville can be found by visiting http://apps1.coj.net/preserve.

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