JACKSONVILLE AND NORTHEAST FLORIDA SPONSORED SECTION 11
Development Spreads Countywide
W ith so many transformative
projects underway
in Jacksonville, developers
and economic officials
say they sense a spirit of
cooperation as they see the
growth as good for the entire
community.
“The more the merrier,”
says Peter Rummell, whose
District project is directly
across the St. Johns River
from the Shipyards. “We’re
still at the point here of
trying to gather critical
mass.”
JAXUSA is an economic
development organization
that brings the seven
Northeast Florida counties
together to cooperatively
promote growth for the
region. “I don’t think I’ve ever
been to a place that works so
well together,” says JAXUSA’s
Jerry Mallot.
Both Mallot and Rummell
see cooperation between
private business interests
and government officials in
moving projects forward.
Rummell describes it as a
“can do ethos” in the waters
that run through the region.
Rummell says Jacksonville
Mayor Lenny Curry is
supportive of big projects
like The District, which
is an asset to economic
development.
“He comes from business
and he’s surrounded himself
with talented people,”
Rummell says.
Business leaders like the
Jaguars’ Mark Lamping
are convinced that the
cooperative spirit will lead to
big things in the region in the
coming years.
“I think there’s a consensus
that this is Jacksonville’s
time,” Lamping says.
When you picture the future of Duval County, it’s
easy to look just at the transformational projects
changing the landscape in downtown Jacksonville.
However, that’s not the only activity in the area.
“It is not just downtown. It’s really spread across the
city,” says Jerry Mallot, president of JAXUSA Partnership.
Jacksonville, which makes up most of Duval
County, is the largest city by area in the continental
U.S. at 840 square miles, and it seems like every inch
of it is sprouting new development.
The St. Johns Town Center, an open-air upscale
mall with more than 150 stores, has been a centerpiece
of development on the Southside of Jacksonville
since it opened in 2005. Two other retail centers
Amazon fulfillment center
“Can Do Ethos”
St. Johns Town Center
“I think
there’s a
consensus
that this is
Jacksonville’s
time.”
— Mark Lamping
Jacksonville
Jaguars
President
opened in 2017 bringing more shops, restaurants and
hotels to the Town Center area: the Town Center
Promenade and the Strand.
Development in Duval County goes beyond retail.
The big news in 2017 was the opening of two fulfillment
centers by Amazon.com in the Northwest and
Westside of Jacksonville, bringing more than 5,000
new jobs.
Mallot says the Amazon centers were a boon for
those two areas of town, and he’s looking forward to
more development projects bringing more jobs to all
parts of town.
“I think this is our time to shine in Jacksonville,”
he says.
/Amazon.com