The City of
DeLand is taking bold steps in developing future opportunities for
creating
jobs. After several years of planning and engineering, work began
last October on the city’s
newest development project at the DeLand Municipal Airport.
During a groundbreaking ceremony, Mayor Bob Apgar touted the efforts
of the city’s
development team in recognizing the importance of preparing
locations where the city will be
able to work with future employers and the jobs they will create for
the community.
“Demand for suitable industrial sites has remained constant and the
city has been a major
supporter of our manufacturing community,” said Apgar. “We have been
a desirable location for
manufacturing ever since World War II and we want to remain a
location of choice.”
Work began in October with the construction of a one-mile road that
will extend the
available industrial acreage on the northwest section of airport
property.
“When the expansion is complete in June, an estimated 97 acres of
new industrial acreage
will be available to accommodate upwards of one million square feet
of new manufacturing and warehousing space,” said Dale Arrington,
DeLand’s assistant city manager.
The project’s cost of $2.4 million is comprised of several
government grants from the
Florida Department of Transportation and the Volusia County Council.
“The County Council has invested $300,000 to aid the city’s efforts
to leverage its initial
investment and to attract the financial assistance of the State of
Florida,” said Rick Michael,
director of the Volusia County Department of Economic Development.
“We share a common
goal in what the city is trying to accomplish. Our investment in
this project leverages $7 for
every $1 invested by the County Council. This is a great rate of
return of public investment for
future tax base and employment opportunities.”
Arrington added: “We are working on a pre-permitting plan that will
eliminate months of
pre-planning and permitting for site development and allow companies
to be in a position to
begin quickly the construction of future factories.”
The new road will be named Eidson Drive and will provide for more
than a mile of
frontage terminating at the junction of Kitty Hawk Court. The 97
acres will not be platted to
accommodate the future acreage needs of individual companies.
“This acreage will aid the county’s efforts to market the area to
new manufacturers looking
to expand within central Florida or relocate from other parts of the
country,” said Michael.
“What DeLand has accomplished is to provide insightful leadership
for planning for the assets
and resources that will lead to future success in attracting wealth
to the community and
providing for the gainful employment of current and future jobs for
our neighbors.”
The county Department of Economic Development estimates that
DeLand’s new
industrial acreage has the capacity to attract well over $100
million in new capital investment to
the community while creating employment opportunities for a minimum
of 1,000 new jobs.
“The ability of the county or the city to attract or grow another
1,000 manufacturing jobs
to the DeLand area will generate more than $40 million in new worker
payrolls. By any
measure this can be a tremendous impact to hundreds of other
businesses throughout the
area”
If you or your company is looking for a new site in which to expand
or relocate your
current manufacturing or warehousing operation and would like to
explore the opportunities
and benefits of locating near the DeLand Municipal Airport, please
contact Arrington for more
information as 386/626-7024.
