Business View Civil & Municipal | Volme 3, Issue 2

28 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 3, ISSUE 2 Jacksonville, and Orlando, as well as being less than eight hours from Memphis, Tennessee and Atlanta, Georgia. David Pieklik, Citrus County’s Economic Development Director, reports, “You’ve got a significant amount of land that can still be developed from a commercial and industrial point and you’re in the geographic epicenter of activity within reach of these larger markets. So it’s very strategic from a distribution standpoint, from a supply chain standpoint, and from a growth perspective – attracting and recruiting these industries we are going after. There’s a lot of opportunity to find a suitable location and expand.” The surrounding cities will soon feel even closer, as the project to expand the Suncoast Parkway into Citrus County is expected to open in the first quarter of 2022. The highway is a major toll road corridor that will soon connect Homosassa up to Lecanto and Crystal River. It will also provide a direct link to the Tampa International Airport. Funding is in place to eventually extend the highway all the way to US19. “It’s a game changer,” says Pieklik, “connecting these larger metro areas to Citrus without getting the gridlock impact. You can still work wherever you want in the county, go home, grab your kayak, go out on the bay and be back at it that day and not be caught up in the hustle and bustle that you might be in bigger areas.” To attract more business, the county is currently working on designing a business park that will be complete by 2023. The new park will offer about three million square feet of industrial space and will be a huge addition to economic development in the area. One of the industries they have their eye on is aviation. The county has two municipal airports, Inverness Airport and Crystal River Airport, which are ready to grow. The Inverness Airport is currently utilizing a grant that will make its business park “pad ready” for future growth. “We see opportunity there,” says Pieklik. “If you