• The Navy recently unveiled HANGAR 511, a $123-million hangar at Naval Air Station Jacksonville – the largest P-3 hanger in existence.  More than 1,000 people were involved in constructing the 287,000 square-foot facility, with more than $60 million in goods and services procured from local vendors. The hanger will house the Navy's Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing 11 which will include a new P-3 squadron being relocated from Maine.  

•The 17th Annual Small Business Week Celebration was April 30th at the UNF University Center. The keynote speaker Tom Szaky, co-founder and CEO of TerraCycle, Inc.- the world's first products made from waste- addressed eco-capitalism in challenging economic times.

•The Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce’s 2009 Business & Career EXPO will be May 27 from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Prime Osborn Convention Center.  Click here for more information.

•The U.S. Coast Guard recently renovated its 32,000-square-foot building and added 150 new personnel to its drug interdiction operation at its Cecil Field location. Overall annual payroll for the operation is approximately $12 million.

•The first post-Panamax ship, a large ship that will be able to utilize the Panama Canal once it is deepened, arrived at JaxPort in March.

•Speaking of JaxPort, the newest terminal TraPac recently gained new shipping service to European and African ports.

•The JEDC welcomes new commissioner Chris Corr.  Corr serves as chair of EDAW Americas East and as Global Director of Real Estate for AECOM.  The addition of Corr completes the nine-seat commission.

•The highly anticipated Cecil Field Airshow 2009 was held April 18-19 and included 35 aerobatic performers, more than any other airshow in the U.S.

•The first MS Mud Run Jacksonville, held in February at Cecil Commerce Center, was a huge success.  The 10K, boot camp-style obstacle course race raised more than $125,000 for the North Florida Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS-NFL) and had close to 1,000 participants. Photos and additional information can be found at www.mudrunjax.com.

•In a recent Business Journal study, Jacksonville ranked No. 25 of the nation’s 100 largest metropolitan areas for starting a small business.

•Reality Check First Coast, a visioning exercise designed to discuss, analyze and develop alternative growth scenarios for our region through the year 2060, will take place on May 21. At the event, regional leaders will be challenged to rethink where and how to grow the First Coast in a way that adds value to the local economy, while preserving our environment and quality of life.  Visit www.realitycheckfirstcoast.com for more information.

•Jacksonville International Airport (JIA) was recently rated the best airport in North America for customer service in a survey commissioned by the Airports Council International- North America (ACI) of 26 North American airports.  JIA was also rated in the top 10 percent of all ACI airports surveyed throughout the world.  

•RailAmerica and Florida East Coast Railway unveiled four new energy-efficient locomotives at their Jacksonville yard.  RailAmerica now has eight of the locomotives that are 20 percent more efficient than traditional locomotives.

•The Small Business Center (SBC) has re-opened its doors at the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce’s downtown location. The SBC and its partners will provide the tools, resources and access to capital to grow businesses locally. For more information, contact Executive Director Sandy Bartow at (904) 366-6634 or Sandy.Bartow@myjaxchamber.com.

•Proton therapy is now a possible option for certain prostate cancer patients.  The first patient was recently treated with the latest proton therapy technology developed by IBA and its partners. IBA is the only developer and manufacturer of proton therapy systems to offer four types of scanning in its suite of products.  The JEDC and Cornerstone were instrumental in assisting IBA with their decision to relocate their corporate headquarters to Jacksonville.

•According to Kiplinger.com, Jacksonville was ranked No. 6 in a tally of the top 10 tax-friendly cities in the U.S.

•Volkswagen Group of America recently completed a new 260,000-square-foot parts distribution center in the Perimeter West Industrial Park in Jacksonville.

•Jacksonville was featured in the in-flight magazines on Southwest and Delta Airlines.  The February issue of Southwest’s Spirit magazine featured a 20-page spread on Jacksonville and the March issue of Delta’s Sky magazine featured 26 pages on Jacksonville.  To view the Spirit article, go to www.spiritmag.com and click on Jacksonville in the “City Profiles” section.

•The JEDC approved a resolution to recommend that City Council expand the existing 14,245- acre Jacksonville International Airport Community Redevelopment Area on the city’s Northside by adding 755 acres. If approved by City Council, the expansion of the community redevelopment area (CRA) would create a bigger domain for JEDC to offer special programs that promote economic revitalization.

•In the 2009/10 North American Cities of the Future competition, Jacksonville placed very well in the “Large Cities” categories  and was listed as the No. 5 City of the Future, the No. 4 Best Infrastructure, the No. 3 Best FDI strategy and the No. 3 Highest Growth Rate of Knowledge-Based Companies.

•The Jacksonville Aviation Authority is closer to opening a commercial spaceport at Cecil Field after the release of the Federal Aviation Administration’s Draft Environmental Assessment (EA) found no significant environmental impacts.  A public hearing on the proposed Westside spaceport will be held May 14 at Cecil Commerce Center.

From the JEDC’s Office of Film and Television:
•A television movie based on Jacksonville’s Safe Harbor Boys Home will air May 30 at 9 p.m. on the Hallmark Channel.  The movie “Safe Harbor” is based on the true story of Doug and Robbie Smith, the married couple that founded the unique program for at risk teen-aged boys on the St. Johns River in Jacksonville.  The program is celebrating 25 years of inspiring permanent and positive change in the lives of hurting boys and has resulted in a 95 percent success rate with the boys served.  For more information, visit www.boyshome.com or call (904) 757-7918.

•Doug Davis, Development Executive with Robert Halmi Inc. (RHI) and a Jacksonville native, wrote the script for "Carny”, a sci-fi television film about the monstrous, sideshow attraction of a traveling carnival. The show aired on the Sci-Fi Channel on April 25. 

•Other recent productions that the film and television office assisted were Bravo's "TOP CHEF" that was recently held in Hemming Plaza, a World Wrestling Entertainment video that was shown at the Veteran’s Memorial Arena, a few independent films and a national photo print ad production.

•Imeson Consolidated Services LLC will build a new refrigerated warehouse on a 24-acre site at Imeson Industrial Park, creating 75 new full-time jobs.  JEDC and City Council approved the site as a Brownfield area which allowed the company to receive tax benefits from the state.

•10East Corp, a Jacksonville-based software company providing service to the North American railroad industry, has grown.  10East provides systems and services that enable their customers to efficiently manage all aspects of the design, build, operate and maintain processes on a railroad's fixed infrastructure.  To learn more, visit www.10east.com.

•The Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce hosted the Northeast Florida International Showcase Week in March.  Thirteen people representing different companies from Europe toured Jacksonville and Northeast Florida to learn about business opportunities in the area for possible expansion or relocation of their business.

•The Florida Economic Development Council (FEDC) reintroduced the Legislative Letter Series, now known as “FEDC Currents.” The series is a set of letters used to educate both the state and local elected officials about economic development.  Click here to view the letters.

•The Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at the University of North Florida (UNF) counseled nearly 1,700 individual clients and trained nearly 2,300 workshop participants during the past year, according to their 2008 Annual Report.  That assistance equals $29 million in capital, 119 business starts and 845 jobs created or retained and $7.5 million in sales increases. Click here to learn more.

•As part of the federal economic stimulus package, the Small Business Administration (SBA) is now offering a Business Stabilization Loan Program.  The program provides deferred-payment loans up to $35,000 to viable small businesses to make payments on an existing, qualifying loan for up to six months. Loans will be 100 percent guaranteed by SBA. Repayment begins 12 months after loan is fully disbursed. Bill provides $255 million for this new program.  For more information on these programs, contact the SBDC at UNF at (904) 620-2476 or contact Janice Donaldson, Regional Director, at (904) 620-2479 or jdonalds@unf.edu.

Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations new state-of-the-art facility at Cecil Commerce Center.

With capacity for more than a million tires ranging from small passenger and industrial to commercial truck tires, this center supplies tires and automotive parts to Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina. In addition, the distribution center will ultimately supply the entire United States with imports from Latin America and the Eastern half of the United States with tires from Japan and other Asian countries.
            
"We are happy to be in Jacksonville — the people of this community have been great to work with," said Steve Shelton, vice president of Logistics & Supply Chain Management, Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations. "The City of Jacksonville, the City Council, Cornerstone and the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission helped us every step of the way. They've proven to us that Jacksonville is a great place to live and do business. We are very fortunate to have such great partners in this endeavor."

	JEDC Executive Director Ron Barton presents the Klechak award to Former Mayor Jake Godbold.

About the Klechak Award
The Klechak Award recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions resulting in a significant impact on the continued development of downtown. Dr. Lew Klechak was first honored with this award in his name for his vision and devotion for over 15 years to the revitalization of the downtown area while chairman of the Downtown Development Authority (DDA).

Mayor Beto Richa of Curitiba, Brazil and Mayor John Peyton officially sign agreement. Photo courtesy of Paulo Rigon Photography.

Jacksonville currently has six sister cities including: Bahia Blanca, Argentina; Masan, Korea; Murmansk, Russia; Nantes, France; Port Elizabeth, South Africa and Yingkou, China. In addition, Jacksonville has developed friendship agreements with other cities in China – Shaoxing, Suzhou and Ningbo. This designation helps the cities to build economic ties within each community and will generate tourism and trade for economic development to a greater extent.