Print ArticleParts of Jacksonville would look completely different if the opposite decisions were made on these ten missed opportunities.
8. Sorry Uncle Sam. Keep Your Jets In Virginia!
Recently, GE Oil & Gas announced plans to open a new advanced manufacturing facility at AllianceFlorida at Cecil Commerce Center. Employing 500, Mayor Alvin Brown called it the city's largest job creation project in more than six years.
However, it's peanuts compared to what could have been landed in 2005 when the Base Realignment and Closure Commission considered closing Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia Beach and relocating nearly 250 jets to Cecil Field.
Under the gun to return Cecil Field back to the Defense Department by December 31, 2006, the economic benefits where enough to make a priest pay for community lap dances at Wacko's. 12,000 new jobs with an annual payroll of $800 million, an immediate influx of 30,000 people to the region, and an estimated first year economic impact of $1.2 billion.
After much community debate, Jacksonville passed on the opportunity due to fear of jet noise and a desire to gamble on the potential economic benefits of landing major manufacturing and distribution centers at Cecil and keeping the westside sprawl growth machine going.
A year later, the real estate market and economy crashed and the rest is history.
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