Lake County officials say the area is poised for significant economic growth, with massive development expected to occur in both south Lake and Mount Dora in the coming years.
Employment is expected to increase 2.3 percent in the county this year while the unemployment rate continues to drop. The unemployment rate stands at 4.9 percent.
County officials say it is critical that the county has a good mix of residential and non- residential development, as well as high-wage and quality jobs.
But county officials contend that will not happen quickly. Two key challenges include securing funding for a facility to better provide training for the skilled workforce and improving education as a whole. The county’s two target industries include clean manufacturing and health and wellness.
The county ranks near the bottom in the average weekly wage in the nation among 342 counties with 75,000 or more employees and it also has the lowest weekly wage among 23 counties in Florida, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“It takes time,” said County Commission Chairman Sean Parks. “It won’t come easy. We have to focus on education and the training needed to attract these businesses. We must let everybody know Lake County is a great place for business.”
Robert Chandler, the county’s Economic Growth director, said the key is finding solutions to those challenges.
One way, Chandler said, is securing state funding for the Center for Advanced Manufacturing, a new center to train workers in manufacturing, machining and welding at Lake Technical College.
Diane Culpper, Lake Tech’s director, said she is optimistic the county may receive funding this year.
In 2015, the Florida Legislature pulled the plug on $2.8 million in funding for the center.
Chandler said another initiative to better prepare students for the workforce is Florida’s first Health Sciences Collegiate Academy on Lake-Sumter State Colllege’s south Lake campus.
The academy enrolled its first 130 students in the fall of 2015. Those enrolled follow a health sciences curriculum and, in the 11th grade, they begin their college education at LSSC’s south Lake campus.
The program has come to fruition as the result of a partnership between Lake-Sumter State College, the Lake County School District, the University of Central Florida, South Lake Hospital and Montverde Academy.
The academy fills a workforce need and helps students who are inclined to work in health-related fields to become academically prepared in a way that will make them successful, Lake-Sumter State College officials have said.
While working through the challenges, county officials say they are preparing for the growth expected. There are many developments planned, which could help the county achieve its goal of bringing in high wage jobs and organized growth.
Lake County commissioners recently approved a plan to transform 15,481 acres in the southeast corner of the county into a hub for high-tech, high-wage health care jobs and other industries. The Wellness Way Area Plan envisioned by Parks and business leaders has been called the largest piece of undeveloped property left in Lake County. The tract runs east of U.S. Highway 27 along the Orange County border, running south from State Road 50 to U.S. Highway 192. It is a collaborative effort between numerous landowners, the city of Clermont and the county.
If the plan is not challenged in the coming weeks, it presents one of a handful of opportunities to create a center for clean manufacturing, health and wellness related industries, according to Parks.
Chandler said another development expected to bring job growth to the county is the Wolf Branch Innovation district in Mount Dora.
Built in conjunction with the completion of the Wekiva Parkway in 2019, the planned 1,300-acre district will surround State Road 46 and Round Lake Road and conceptually will have an estimated 730 acres for industrial activities, about 300 acres for offices, roughly 100 acres for retail and institutional uses like schools and churches on the remainder acreage.
Another economic driver is the completion of the Minneola Interchange expected in the summer of 2017.
The new interchange will be located north of the existing Hancock Road alignment.
“Because of its location being 22 minutes from downtown Orlando we see it as an opportunity to reverse the commute,” said T.J. Fish, executive director of the Lake-Sumter Metropolitan Planning Organization. “We are optimistic there is an opportunity for an employment center around the interchange areas. This is an opportunity for people that currently commute form south Lake to perhaps live, work, play and shop in Lake County.”
While growth is expected, county officials say they are keeping an eye on the global markets, which have been turbulent in the past few weeks. At one point, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 500 points.
“Lake County is well positioned for growth moving forward,” Chandler said. “That all could go a different direction if the global factors start turning a different direction.”
But Jay Ritter, Cordell professor of finance at the University of Florida, whose main expertise is the stock market and the economy, is not worried.
“There have been numerous occasions where the stock market has dropped by 10 to 15 percent with minimal impact on the economy,” he said. “The forecast is that the U.S. economy is going to continue to grow in 2016. Unemployment is down to 5 percent in the U.S., so overall the economy is fairly healthy.”