Northeast

Combine a new pro-business mayor with a visionary billionaire, growing population and a diverse portfolio of vibrant industries and what you have is the economic juggernaut that is the City of Jacksonville. Mayor Donna Deegan, who wants Jacksonville to become the “Small Business Capital of the Southeast,” has joined forces with Shad Kahn, owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars and a development company with plans for a transformative redevelopment of downtown waterfront properties.

 

To fully grasp the scale of the Northeast region’s thriving economy, centered around its Jacksonville headquarters, it may be helpful to make some broad comparisons.

The region’s seven counties cover some 4,400-square miles, about the size of Connecticut. Their combined population of more than 2 million is comparable to that of New Mexico’s. And its $125 billion economic output exceeds that of Nebraska’s entire annual GDP.

Driving this economic juggernaut, of course, is the City of Jacksonville, steadily rising up the ranks of the most progressive, affluent, diverse and economically successful cities in the U.S.

What’s more, it is the nation’s 10th most populous municipality, attracting nearly 10 percent of the estimated 1,000 people who move to Florida every day.

Jacksonville clearly is on an impressive roll and in the midst of an historic downtown renaissance, led by its pro-business Mayor Donna Deegan and Shad Kahn, billionaire developer and owner of the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars.

Downtown Revitalization

The Jags’ home, the EverBank Stadium, is undergoing a $1.4 billion renovation. Construction is expected to be completed on this “Stadium of the Future” by the start of the team’s 2028 season.

The cost of that massive project, the largest in Jacksonville’s history, is being split nearly evenly between the City of Jacksonville and Kahn’s Jaguars organization.

Kahn’s vision for downtown Jacksonville goes well beyond the EverBank Stadium makeover. Among other projects, it includes a $387 million transformation of the Shipyards, a long vacant waterfront industrial property.

Plans there call for construction of a 177-room Four Seasons Hotel, a modernized public marina and a multi-story office building and retail center.

Those capital projects are all designed to produce hundreds of new jobs and create entrepreneurial and tourism hotspots that blend modern placemaking and contemporary urban design with attractive and accessible waterfront entertainment.

Radiating Growth

Jacksonville’s robust growth is radiating out to the surrounding counties of Baker, Clay, Flagler, Putnam and St. Johns, says Aundra Wallace, president of JAXUSA Partnership and one of the region’s most enthusiastic and vocal pitchmen.

Recent capital projects taking place in the outlying counties include:

One of Putnam County’s larger employees, CertainTeed Gypsum, is nearing completion of a $235 million, 450,000-square foot expansion of its gypsum manufacturing plant in Palatka that will employ 100 new workers. The project, says Laura Pavlus, president of the Putnam County Chamber of Commerce, was aided by a 5-year Tax Increment Economic Development (REV) Grant and other economic development incentives offered by the State of Florida.

In St. Johns County the TyMe Institute is building a 30,000-square-foot cancer prevention clinic, research laboratory and small-scale cancer drug manufacturing facility. The $20.5 million project is expected to open in the fourth quarter of 2025 and create about 55 high-wage jobs. The project was landed, in part, by the St. Johns County Commission’s approval of a $621,031 economic development incentive agreement with TyMe Institute, affiliated with the Jacksonville-based developer Cross Region’s Group.

Construction is underway in Clay County on roofing manufacturer IKO Industries’ $270 million, 300,000 square foot plant that will employ some 100 local workers when completed in 2025.

Flagler County’s new top industry sector is health care, surpassing hospitality accommodation and food services for the first time, according to recent data confirmed by Florida Department of Commerce.

Much of the growth has come from AdventHealth, one of the region’s economic leaders over the past two decades.

“When you look across at the Northeast region, I would say five out of the seven communities have seen some kind of growth in the life sciences and health care services sector, which includes the world-famous Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville,” says Wallace of JAXUSA.

Wallace also cites the significant economic impact from the Northeast region’s NAS JAX and Mayport naval bases and their nearly 7,000 active duty military personnel.

Transportation Hub

Wallace also champions the region's potential as a logistics and transportation hub with JAXPORT, one of the busiest U.S. ports on the Atlantic and home to Carnival and Norwegian cruise lines.

Headquartered in Jacksonville, CSX is one of the nation’s largest rail carriers with over 25,000 employees.

Jacksonville International Airport handles some 7.5 million passengers, a figure growing by an average of 13 percent year-over-year.

“You can consider this region America's logistics center with its dynamic port, great opportunities for rail access for moving freight as well as a major hub for overland trucking,” says Wallace. “Our transportation logistics and technology services cross over and intersect almost all of the various economic sectors within the Jacksonville region.”

One of the more significant developments is the recent announcement by European-based HOLON to build its first U.S. Autonomous Shuttle Manufacturing plant in Jacksonville.

The 500,000-square-foot facility is under construction and expected to be operational and produce vehicles by mid-2026. The company initially plans to hire 150 workers and potentially increase its workforce to some 1,000.

Henning von Watzdorf, CEO of HOLON, says the U.S. and Florida offer “... an ideal environment for HOLON’s industrial initiatives and Jacksonville has demonstrated tremendous enthusiasm for our vision from the beginning, making the city a national leader in the deployment of autonomous transit.”