Ormond Beach is about to get a new gateway. For that matter, so is Volusia County. It's called Ormond Crossings and city officials are confident of its success.

Ormond Beach followed a dream from Volusia Vision, the countywide visioning program of 1993 that painted an inviting portrait of how Ormond Beach could look 20 years hence. The city is planning to annex approximately 3,000 acres northwest of the city for a state-of-the-art business park, an industrial park, refined residential neighborhoods featuring many types of housing, shopping areas and more.

"Ormond Crossings promises to become a stunning port of entry to Ormond Beach and Volusia County," said an enthusiastic Mayor Fred Costello.

"We are responsible for our own success and this may be the most important project in the history of the city. If we do it right, it will become a major contributor to our continuing success, for generations."

Costello said Ormond Crossings will bring to Ormond Beach superior office space. "The office space will start at Class A and go up from there," he said. The development will include fiber optic networks that will make voice and data communications lightning fast and underscore Ormond Crossings as a tech-ready business address.

The project will straddle Interstate 95, just north of the Ormond Beach Municipal Airport. The airport will be enhanced with the addition of an air traffic control tower. The site provides easy access to the airport, U.S. 1 and Interstate 95. Companies in Ormond Crossings also will have access to Florida East Coast Railroad service.

The project could generate as many as 10,000 jobs over the next 20 years, according to city officials. "We are seeking high tech businesses including medical technology," said Ormond Beach Director of Economic Development Joe Mannarino. "We welcome corporate offices, certain classes of warehouse and distribution operations and light manufacturing."

Since one business can generate utility taxes equal to hundreds of homes, the city stands to gain financially from its share of the revenues companies pay for telecommunications, water and sewer services and electricity. There could be a special taxing district established, enabling the city to generate revenues from the increased property values, which will be substantial since much of the land is vacant or underutilized today.

"This land could approach $2 billion in value one day," said Mannarino. "Revenues from such a taxing district would be used to purchase land titles and pay for some of the $145 million in infrastructure needs.

Obviously this holds great potential for the city, but the mere fact this project has the unanimous support of the city commission already is paying dividends.

It adds to the vitality of Ormond Beach and helps to support our claim as a progressive city that is committed to careful planning."

Clay Ervin, Planning Director for the city, outlined some of the specifics of the proposed Ormond Crossings. "Ormond Crossings will include a recreation area, apartments, shopping centers and approximately 3,600 homes over a 10 to 20 year period," he said. "The business site could occupy 1,000 acres, making it the largest in the region. Right now, we are making the most important investment we can make an investment in time to do the proper planning to ensure the success of Ormond Crossings."