St. Johns County, Florida

ST . JOHNS COUNTY , FLOR IDA the county came together to look at what the future would look like. According to Andrews, “The next step became clear. It’s how can we look at economic recovery?” While other communities around the globe were reeling, St. Johns County had sprung into action to plan for the future. Creating an economic master plan, analyzing how a bedroom community could become a place where top talent would not only want to live but work as well, and courting big name brands and exciting new industries to make St. Johns County a sought-after place to work. As with any step forward, sometimes you need to take a step back. Andrews admits, “We realized we were solely reliant on tourism, so we’re very much on the path of long-term recovery. We know we have high quality of life and a high-quality school system, but what are our impediments?” The group quickly identified that aspects like higher cost of land and cumbersome regulatory processes can impede the growth trajectory of a community looking to expand, and thus immediately dove into developing educational services and investigating how to ramp up their fiberoptic network to attract everyone from the new bevy of remote workers to top tier tech who might want to move to the area. And, lastly, adding a more personal touch for businesses to assist in their growth. “Even something as simple as bringing in a new fire marshal to work with businesses can play a huge integral role in commercial development,” says Andrews. With a growing economy, population, and workforce, St. Johns County has continued to develop local infrastructure to stay ahead of the curve. “The connector to County Road 2209 is being extended south through the World Golf Village,” says Andrews. “It’ll bisect a new development currently underway called SilverLeaf, and that’s going to provide an additional north-south corridor for commuters