Jacksonville,
along with several local counties, is the "hottest city" in the
United States in which to relocate or expand a company, according to
a list released Friday by Expansion Management Magazine.
The monthly magazine's annual list of "America's 50 Hottest
Cities" will appear in this month's issue.
To determine the ranking, the magazine surveyed site consultants
across the country on factors including business climate, workforce
quality, operating costs, incentive programs, and the ease of
working with local political and economic development officials.
"This kind of attention shows how the city and the Jacksonville
Chamber of Commerce work closely together to market our community to
business leaders around the world," Mayor John Delaney said.
"We have a consolidated government, basically one-stop shopping
for new business needing permits and other assistance."
The No. 1 ranking is the second such top ranking in the four
years the Overland Park, Kan.-based magazine has been compiling the
list.
The area, which includes Duval, St. Johns, Clay, Nassau and Baker
counties, is the only one to be ranked in the top 10 each year and
the only area in Florida that is ranked in the top 10 this year.
Other Florida cities on the list are the Tampa-St.
Petersburg-Clearwater area, which is ranked at No. 19, and
Pensacola, which is ranked at No. 38.
"I have lived in many cities, Washington and New York City, and I
have found Jacksonville to be the most comfortable place to live
in," said Michael Huyghue, chairman of Cornerstone Regional
Development Partnership, an arm of the Jacksonville Chamber of
Commerce.
Huyghue resigned from the Jacksonville Jaguars in November as the
team's senior vice president of football operations to start Axcess
Sports and Entertainment, an athlete representation and marketing
company.
"We had our choices to be anywhere, but we decided to be in
Jacksonville," Huyghue said.
Following the Jacksonville area on the list are
Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, N.C., Albuquerque, N.M., Oklahoma City,
and Phoenix-Mesa, Ariz.
The majority of the magazine's 45,000 subscribers are chief
executive officers, vice presidents, directors and other officers of
companies who have indicated they are considering expanding into new
geographic areas.
"With the constantly shrinking time frame in which site location
decisions are made these days, the perception companies have of a
community becomes increasingly more important," said Bill King,
chief editor of Expansion Management Magazine in a statement
released yesterday.
Staff writer Earl Daniels can be reached at
or via e-mail at edaniels.
