Quote Originally Posted by John Davis, Herald-Tribune
THE RISE AND FALL OF NORTH PORT

Working families who caused North Port’s population to balloon are moving out because they can't find work.

The exodus of people is leaving holes in neighborhoods.

It is evident in the abandoned homes on many streets, the declining number of students in the city’s schools and the struggle of local businesses to attract non-existent customers.

The growth stagnation is also visible in the flattened Chamber of Commerce membership and even trash collections.

North Port has issued fewer new home construction permits for the year — 119 — than it did during some weeks during the housing boom. Property values are plummeting.

Mike Brooks, 40, left for his job delivering pizzas, the only work he has been able to find. It is not enough to sustain his family of eight. During the boom, he made six figures as a construction manager.

North Port has come full circle. Florida has a history of real estate boom and bust cycles, and North Port was created by the General Development Corp. as a classic speculative venture.

The developer drained swampland with canals and paved miles of roads leading nowhere so it could market cheap home sites to northern retirees.

Just as the school district started getting its arms around North Port’s school population, the number of students is quickly shrinking. In the second month of school, North Port High had 169 fewer students than last year.

Principal Kenney said families are leaving so fast that the school barely get's a one day notice that their gone.

North Port’s rebound could take even longer because its employment is dependent on construction and real estate growth.

Home values in North Port have dropped between 35 percent and 60 percent since prices crested in 2006, and they continue to plummet.
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