The Nestlé Waters project in rural Madison Co. carries an economic development weight well beyond its $120-million price tag.

Beverages Slake Thirst for Growth

At the same time that Gov. Jeb Bush has successfully concluded water rights negotiations with the governors of Alabama and Georgia, the state that gave birth to Gatorade is continuing to drink in the benefits of its large liquid assets.
        In June, Gov. Bush and others cut the ribbon on a $113-million, 620,000-sq.-ft. (57,598-sq.-m.), 85-employee plant in Auburndale, east of Tampa, that will produce Gatorade's rival product, Powerade, Dasani water and other drinks for the Coca-Cola Co. Employment is slated to approach 300 by 2006 at the Atlanta company's largest non-carbonated beverage plant.
        Furthering the same corporation's Florida commitment was the July 2003 announcement of an 86,000-sq.-ft. (7,989-sq.-m.), 135-employee customer development center in the Tampa community of Temple Terrace by Coca-Cola Enterprises. The company's fourth Hillsborough Co. facility aims to employ close to 400 within a few years. After a nationwide search, said Tim Goff, vice president, cold drink, North American Group, Coca-Cola Enterprises, the choice was swayed by the economic development team led by Gov. Bush and by the university recruiting opportunities in the area.

See the SITES Enterprise Florida www.eflorida.com Florida High-Tech Corridor www.floridahightech.com BioFlorida www.bioflorida.com Codina Beacon Lakes www.beacon-lakes.com West Bay Area Vision www.westbayareavision.com Tallahassee Economic Development Council www.taledc.com City of North Port www.ci.north-port.fl.us

        Some worry about the state's water resources being exploited beyond their renewal capacity, but new plans are in the works to further attract corporations for whom big water is a big deal. St. Joe Co. has targeted several large-scale sites in Northwest Florida for semiconductor use. Just to the east, it's drinks that are driving the economy.
        In the under-developed northern border region of Madison County, east of Tallahassee, Nestlé Waters is investing $120 million in a new bottling plant. Like distribution projects over the past year from Wal-Mart and Lowe's, this project benefited from a $1.3-million state grant for an access road. Expected to open in December 2003 with 75 employees and a 400,000-sq.-ft. (37,160-sq.-m.) footprint, the plant is slated to expand to as much as 1 million sq. ft. (92,900 sq. m.) and could employ up to 300 by 2013.
        "In a county like Madison, that's a miracle," says Keith Mixson, executive director of the Madison County Economic Development Council. "Without the road fund, there are some projects that would not happen in Florida. There will be 300 trucks a day in and out of that site."
        Mixson says the choice of his county over states like Virginia has whetted the development appetite of local leaders as well. Not long after the groundbreaking, county commissioners voted to borrow funds to build new water and sewer infrastructure.
        "I think this project really had an overweighing impact on what happened," he says of that vote. "They opened the doors to economic development in Madison County, and I relate it all to Nestlé Waters."