- February 5, 2025
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As Volusia County faces new changes in growth, development and tourism, cities are looking for ways to adapt and bolster their economic development throughout the coming years.
During the Tuesday, June 5, Daytona Regional Chamber meeting, multiple city officials discussed goals for bringing in new business and improving each municipality overall.
According to Volusia County Economic Development Director Rob Ehrhardt, programs such as the Florida Job Growth Grant Fund have been beneficial to the region and that unemployment is now down to 3.5%.
Matt Chesnutt, business intelligence and operations vice president for Team Volusia, said that when it comes to bringing in companies that would open up more jobs, those businesses are looking for incentives such as how quickly a workforce can be hired and what kind of buildings or property can be developed.
"We're working on the creation of a certified sites program that helps property owners understand and developers understand what needs to be done to get those properties ready," Chesnutt said.
In Port Orange, Community Development Director Tim Burman said that like Holly Hill the city is working to create more incentives for businesses to make their home along Ridgewood Ave. He said that could mean rehabbing older buildings or reducing code requirements to assist with what is going in alongside that roadway.
Cissy Proctor, executive director of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, said the state is working to recruit businesses to not only find a location in Florida but grow as well. She said that adding to this is when major anchor companies set roots down in a new place it allows for their supply chains to be brought in as well.
"We want to make sure we're not only supporting those businesses that are located here, growing here and serving our communities, but also bringing in more diversified companies," Proctor said.
In addition to business and job growth, cities are also looking at ways to structurally improve the various regions. One subject brought up by multiple city officials was construction on Williamson Blvd, which stretches from the Port Orange-New Smyrna Beach boundary to Ormond Beach. Ehrhardt said that the county recently received a little over $1 million for a project that would widen Williamson.
On top of all this Proctor added that tourism has not only continued to be a major player to bring in revenue but has continued to grow. She said that for the first quarter of 2018 there were 33.2 million visitors, which broke a record.
But it's not only revenue that tourism is bringing in according to Proctor, it's jobs.
"A lot of those tourists that come down to visit our state come back and they move here," Proctor said, adding that "every 76 tourists that come to our state creates one job ... that's a lot of jobs."
