Rotarian Marty Clay presented the Club’s speaker, Jake Austin, fellow Rotarian and president of the Plant City Economic Development Corporation.
Jake opened his presentation by reminding the Club that things were tough in Plant City in 2009 and 2010. The City was hit hard by the 2008 recession, and the City was experiencing budget shortfalls, which resulted in reduced services to its citizens. There were basically two options at that time: 1) increases taxes, or 2) increase the tax base with new businesses that bring investment and future taxes to City. Rather than committing “political suicide” by increasing taxes, the City wisely decided to create the Plant City Economic Development Corporation in 2015 to identify, attract, and recruit new businesses, jobs, and business investment to Plant City. While there are many Rotarians who have supported the EDC, Jake specifically acknowledged the leadership of Randy Larson, who was the inaugural chairman of the organization.
Since 2015, the EDC (and the members and leadership) have generated:
- Over 55 new or expanded companies
- Over 2,500 new jobs
- Over 10 million square feet of new buildings
- Over $1 billion of capital investment to Plant City
Jeff Lucas was a pioneer investor who built a couple 10,000 sf spec buildings, which were the first speculative buildings in decades. The project was met with skepticism, but the buildings were fully leased before construction completed. Since then, some of the biggest developers have targeted Plant City for their growth strategy.
Jake reviewed several projects, and reported that the incorporated areas of County Line Road are basically “built out.” He reviewed the projects along I-4, such as the Wish Farms and City Furniture properties, and commented that these projects (and others) included a component of administration, which brings higher-wage jobs to the area.
Jake changed gears, and updated the Club on FDOT projects. The EDC regularly communicates with the FDOT on projects to ensure traffic issues are considered. Jake reviewed a number of projects in the Hillsborough area, and reported that almost every Plant city exit on I-4 either has, or is scheduled to have capital improvements. Jake also discussed improvements coming to 92.
Jake wisely stated that economic development is not a destination, but an ongoing journey. Priorities three years ago are not likely to be priorities for the next three years. In 2015, the priority was growth, and in the past 6 years, Plant City has seen 4.2 million square feet built, and has another 4.2 million under construction. There is 5.5 million sf in planning. The EDC board is carefully considering what is best for Plant City over the next 3-6 years.
Thank you, Jake, for the presentation, and for your leadership at the Plant City Economic Development Corporation!
