Deltona focuses on
economic development
with the drafting of a strategic plan
While southwest Volusia County’s
history began thousands of years before
Florida became the nation’s 27th state in 1845,
the area between Orange City and DeBary
was mostly a wide-open and sleepy expanse
of Florida’s interior—until 1962.
That’s when the Mackle brothers bought
17,203 acres, named the area Deltona and filed
plans to offer 35,143 lots for sale.
At the moment the Mackle brothers
stuck a for sale sign in Deltona, the
population was 180. By 1970, the census
indicated a population of 4,868. In 1980, it was
15,710 and in 1990 the population exceeded
50,000. In 1995, Deltona residents voted to
incorporate and become the City of Deltona.
Today, with 86,540 residents, Deltona is
the most populated city in Volusia County.
Since incorporation, Deltona city officials have been busy
assembling a
professional staff, providing municipal services, managing a water
utility and
building a city hall. When a community decides to become a city, the
to-do list
never ends. Now, city officials have embarked on an initiative to
bolster Deltona’s
economy through an organized economic development effort.
“Many of our residents travel to Daytona Beach, Orlando and other
cities to
work,” said Sally Sherman, Deltona’s assistant city
manager and economic development director.
“However, when we are able to attract more
business and industry to our city, surely many of
them will be happy to work closer to home.”
Mayor Dennis Mulder agreed. “We want to
strengthen our community, and economic
development is an important part of that effort,”
he said.
To make that happen, the city partnered
with Volusia County and funded a Strategic
Economic Development Two-Year Action Plan.
It seeks to promote collaboration between public
and private sectors to ensure the economic
health and well-being of the city, with the
preservation and expansion of the community’s
economic base as a prime objective.
Objectives include maintaining an overall
economic development plan; exploring the use of
economic incentives to assist in the recruitment
of business and industry; developing an
industrial park for business recruitment;
developing partnerships to establish
economic centers; developing marketing
tools for business recruitment including ecotourism;
establishing a reputation for support
of economic development; and ensuring
cooperation among municipalities, state and
federal agencies for economic development
projects in the city and in the region.
One early marketing effort included an
advertisement touting Deltona as a prime
location for business and industry that
recently appeared in Florida Trend magazine’s
annual Business Florida publication. The ad
already has yielded several responses, an
encouraging sign for city officials.
“The hope is to generate interest from
companies wishing to expand in or relocate to Deltona,” said Nick
Conte,
chairman of the Deltona Economic Development Advisory Board. “Our
targeted
industries include companies engaged in training and simulation,
financial
services, information technology, research and development and
communications.”
The city is backing up its marketing efforts with the kind of
investment that
will appeal to economic development prospects, specifically
providing sites that
are ready to accommodate commercial enterprises. Foremost among
these
efforts is the area known as the 472 Activity Center at S.R. 472 at
Interstate 4.
Approximately 900 acres of this center are in Deltona. This area is
a designated
workplace district, part of which is designated for light industrial
and part of
which is designated for retail, office and hotel use.
Sherman said among Deltona’s most effective economic development
initiatives is its partnership with the Volusia County Department of
Economic
Development, which has helped Deltona develop its economic
development
plan.
“We meet often with (Volusia County Economic Development Director)
Rick Michael or his staff to share information and discuss economic
development leads,” Sherman said. “It’s a great way for us to extend
our reach
and keep an eye on the bigger picture that includes our neighboring
Volusia
County cities, Central Florida’s High Tech Corridor and the entire
state.”
Sherman added that it’s important to increase business and
industrial
activity in Deltona.
Michael responded: “Considering the pace of things in Deltona and
all of
southwest Volusia County, it’s a pretty safe bet that economic
development
efforts will continue to gain traction.”
