Jacksonville Daily Record reporter David Cawton talked with WJCT News Director Jessica Palombo about the top 3 business stories he’ll be watching in 2019.
1. Big warehouses. Like, really big ones
With companies like Amazon and Wayfair leasing mega warehouses on the outskirts of town this year, industrial park developers are now building out more space in anticipation of other companies’ eyeing Jacksonville as a strategic Southeastern distribution point.
2. Big downtown projects will finally “turn dirt”
2018 was the year of the architectural rendering for long-anticipated downtown projects like the Barnett Tower and the District on Jacksonville’s Southbank. With all permits in place, those projects will actually start coming to fruition after the New Year.
3. Construction will continue at a breakneck pace in the suburbs
Whether it’s new housing developments like eTown or apartments on Jacksonville’s Southside, new residential developments—and the strip malls to support them—are popping up like crazy in one of the nation’s fastest-growing metro areas. That means the market could be somewhat insulated from an expected national slowdown in the construction industry next year. And it’s not just new projects that are getting the love from developers. Baymeadows Park, a mixed-use revitalization of the old Baymeadows golf course, is also expected to start construction.
