10-04-2007, 02:53 PM
North Port aims to bring new life to its economy
But for now, just finding a job is a challenge.
By JOHN DAVIS
john.davis@heraldtribune.com
NORTH PORT -- Kim Stephenson has been job hunting for weeks, applying at businesses up and down U.S. 41, inside and outside North Port.
After a year off to care for her twin girls, Stephenson wants to return to the work force. But the city's employment picture has changed dramatically during her hiatus.
Jobs have become more scarce as North Port's economy, dominated by construction and real estate, has hit the skids.
"Now that I'm open, nobody else is," said Stephenson, 24, whose search hit another snag this week when the family's phone was disconnected over failure to pay the bill.
The construction dropoff has been especially jarring in North Port, which had been one of the fastest growing cities in the state, more than doubling its population since 2000.
The decline highlighted North Port's dearth of jobs outside the housing industry, prompting the city to focus on broadening its economy.
This week, officials interviewed four economic development manager candidates. The city could select a manager within a few weeks.
The last time North Port had someone in the job, about 19 months ago, home building was going strong.
Now, the latest federal numbers show that unemployment in Southwest Florida, while still low, is up significantly over last year.
Compounding North Port's challenges are some of the traits that made it a magnet for growth to begin with: abundant, cheap land and affordable houses.
The population growth has also increased competition for jobs, making it harder for people like Stephenson to find work.
North Port's economy has long been driven by houses, not businesses -- much less the kind of large companies that employ significant numbers of people.
With its large size, both in population and geography, North Port's economic development hurdles are unique.
Other cities in the region do not have North Port's swaths of undeveloped land or face the question of what to do with it.
Sarasota, about one-fourth of North Port's geographic size, has targeted the Newtown area for development. Bradenton has formed enterprise zones and redevelopment areas to revitalize its empty or rundown areas.
Venice, North Port's more developed northern neighbor, does not even have an economic development manager. According to spokeswoman Pam Johnson, economic growth "pretty much takes care of itself" through the local chamber of commerce and other initiatives.
The opposite is true in North Port where, according to assistant city manager Danny Schult, the economic development role "has been a void for two years."
The city's next economic development manager will be under pressure to entice companies to a city that is still in the early stages of its buildout.
On the plus side, North Port is much younger than the surrounding areas, and families like the Stephensons provide a ready work force.
On the other hand, North Port has a limited public utility system, and efforts to court economic development have been in limbo for almost two years, since the resignation of Bob Tunis in February 2006.
When Tunis left, the city's new business recruitment largely dried up, though with hundreds of houses going up each month, it was difficult to tell.
Stephenson has turned to local Internet message boards to spread the word that she is willing to work at almost any job.
But she worries that her Internet access could be cut off soon.
She does not want to wait long for a job, though on Wednesday, watching TV at home with the family dog, Emma, all she could do was wait.
"Everywhere I go, they say, 'Oh, a couple of weeks or a couple months, when the snowbirds return,'" she said.
But for now, just finding a job is a challenge.
By JOHN DAVIS
john.davis@heraldtribune.com
NORTH PORT -- Kim Stephenson has been job hunting for weeks, applying at businesses up and down U.S. 41, inside and outside North Port.
After a year off to care for her twin girls, Stephenson wants to return to the work force. But the city's employment picture has changed dramatically during her hiatus.
Jobs have become more scarce as North Port's economy, dominated by construction and real estate, has hit the skids.
"Now that I'm open, nobody else is," said Stephenson, 24, whose search hit another snag this week when the family's phone was disconnected over failure to pay the bill.
The construction dropoff has been especially jarring in North Port, which had been one of the fastest growing cities in the state, more than doubling its population since 2000.
The decline highlighted North Port's dearth of jobs outside the housing industry, prompting the city to focus on broadening its economy.
This week, officials interviewed four economic development manager candidates. The city could select a manager within a few weeks.
The last time North Port had someone in the job, about 19 months ago, home building was going strong.
Now, the latest federal numbers show that unemployment in Southwest Florida, while still low, is up significantly over last year.
Compounding North Port's challenges are some of the traits that made it a magnet for growth to begin with: abundant, cheap land and affordable houses.
The population growth has also increased competition for jobs, making it harder for people like Stephenson to find work.
North Port's economy has long been driven by houses, not businesses -- much less the kind of large companies that employ significant numbers of people.
With its large size, both in population and geography, North Port's economic development hurdles are unique.
Other cities in the region do not have North Port's swaths of undeveloped land or face the question of what to do with it.
Sarasota, about one-fourth of North Port's geographic size, has targeted the Newtown area for development. Bradenton has formed enterprise zones and redevelopment areas to revitalize its empty or rundown areas.
Venice, North Port's more developed northern neighbor, does not even have an economic development manager. According to spokeswoman Pam Johnson, economic growth "pretty much takes care of itself" through the local chamber of commerce and other initiatives.
The opposite is true in North Port where, according to assistant city manager Danny Schult, the economic development role "has been a void for two years."
The city's next economic development manager will be under pressure to entice companies to a city that is still in the early stages of its buildout.
On the plus side, North Port is much younger than the surrounding areas, and families like the Stephensons provide a ready work force.
On the other hand, North Port has a limited public utility system, and efforts to court economic development have been in limbo for almost two years, since the resignation of Bob Tunis in February 2006.
When Tunis left, the city's new business recruitment largely dried up, though with hundreds of houses going up each month, it was difficult to tell.
Stephenson has turned to local Internet message boards to spread the word that she is willing to work at almost any job.
But she worries that her Internet access could be cut off soon.
She does not want to wait long for a job, though on Wednesday, watching TV at home with the family dog, Emma, all she could do was wait.
"Everywhere I go, they say, 'Oh, a couple of weeks or a couple months, when the snowbirds return,'" she said.