In this month's Owner's Report, Felix Haynes gives a timeline of Plant City economics.
When I arrived in Plant City in January 1999, this was a thriving place.
New businesses were coming to town, and existing businesses were expanding. Tracts of land south of Interstate 4 that had been zoned for industrial or commercial development were rezoned for new, large housing developments. And with our four I-4 exits for commercial and industrial development, Plant City was poised to jump that important roadway.
"Late in 2014 Plant City picked itself up by its bootstraps, and good economic successes began to occur again."
Our population was also growing, and service clubs, such as Kiwanis, Lions, and Rotary, were supporting the community well. Every year or two, another local nonprofit organization seemed to announce a plan to increase its contribution to our quality of life by conducting a multimillion-dollar fundraising campaign. They always reached our goals. The Plant City YMCA raised nearly $3 million to replace the old branch. Hillsborough Community College Plant City raised $2.5 million to fund campus growth into the future, and every year the United Way conducted a strong campaign.
All that slowed significantly in 2007 and 2008, and most of those new residential developments were never built. We began to lose major businesses like Smithfield and Albertson’s.
But the First Baptist Church of Plant City, Unity in the Community and the United Food Bank of Plant City figured out how to raise money in the midst of the longest national recession since the Depression. And city managers David Sollenberger and Greg Horwedel coped with the recession by preparing Midtown and northeast development plans for when the economy turned positive.
Late in 2014 Plant City picked itself up by its bootstraps, and good economic successes began to occur again. Our City Commission hired a new city manager, Mike Herr, who brought a strong skill set in economic development. Herr reached out to a former Plant City mayor and commissioner, Randy Larson, who had also served as CEO of a couple of state and national companies. Larson and banker David Sullivan put together a new Plant City Economic Development Corp., and in less than a year our local economy has begun to look more and more like it did in the early 2000s.
As the Plant City EDC’s success accelerated, leaders from the city, the Greater Plant City Chamber of Commerce and the Plant City EDC re-defined the roles of each and laid the groundwork for more future local economic development growth.
As of now, the Plant City EDC has recruited 40 dues-paying members, with a goal of 50 by the end of 2016. It just approved a 2016 budget of nearly $400,000 and has hired Jake Austin as its new CEO. Austin brought a strong educational background and several years of experience working in Kentucky, Hillsborough County and Plant City for the Tampa-Hillsborough EDC.
Along with nearly 100 other business representatives, city employees, educators and nonprofit workers, I attended the EDC’s second meeting a couple of weeks ago. Most of the meeting was taken up with stimulating presentations from businesses newly-recruited to the community, such as Sparkle Skirts, AgFreeze and Central Florida Development.
In an important example of the Plant City EDC’s commitment to focus equally on existing business growth, Sunshine Bank’s decision to keep its base in Plant City was reaffirmed. Herr reported on the city’s streamlined permitting processes, enhanced internet marketing capabilities and expanded water and water treatment services to support new business development.
Focusing on the energy in the room generated by the business presentations and the large attendance, I left the meeting with a smile on my face and one thought: seems like old times.
Felix Haynes is a co-owner of the Plant City Times & Observer.
