stjohnsflorida

they’re locating in an underutilized business area, or any other relevant factors as it relates to public investment within the county.” Since St. Johns County established itself as a good place to do business, it has experienced tremendous growth. In fact, today, it’s the 16th fastest growing county in the United States. In the past six years, it has issued over 14,000 new sin- gle family residential permits and its population has grown to almost 230,000 residents. In 2013, CNN MoneyMagazine ranked St. Johns County as #5 of the “Top 25 Counties for Best Places to Live: Where the Jobs Are.”As of March 2017, the county unemployment rate was 3.3%, and its labor force has grown from 97,483 in 2010 to 119,444. Con- tributing to its popularity is its overall low cost of living - including having the 2nd lowest tax structure of Florida’s 67 counties - its top-ranked public school system, St. Augustine’s Flagler College, which rose to the #2 ranking in the U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Colleges Guide” for the “Best Regional Colleges in the South,” as well as its unique natural amenities such as its popular, eastern shore beaches. ST. JOHNS COUNTY, FLORIDA Since St. Johns County established itself as a good place to do business, it has experienced tremendous growth. In 2013, CNN Money Magazine ranked St. Johns County as #5 of the “Top 25 Counties for Best Places to Live: Where the Jobs Are.” Under its new incentive program, the county has attracted the first spec office project in the Northeast Florida region in the last ten years, which it was able to do because one of the pro- gram’s unique features is that it provides incen- tives for speculative building.“And we were also able to help an existing business–Burkhardt Dis- tributors–grow and expand into a new corporate office and distribution facility,” says Glasgow.“That project was just approved last fall and they’ll be starting construction this summer.” Another new project in the county is Durbin Park, a 1,600-acre property on its northern border, owned by Gate Petroleum. “It’s the first designated urban service area in the state,” Glasgow states. “It will consist of 1,600 acres –our largest concentration of urban develop- ment within the county. They anticipate having 2.8 million square feet of office; 2.4 million square feet of retail; 350 hotel rooms; and 999 multi-family units.” Since the County Commission approved the project in 2015, the landowner has announced a joint venture with premier, retail developer Gatlin