The CSX project could be the biggest thing to happen to Winter Haven, a city of 30,000 people, since the Boston Red Sox moved their spring training site from Scottsdale, Ariz., to Winter Haven's Chain O' Lakes Park in 1966.
   The Red Sox no longer train in Winter Haven, having moved to Fort Myers in 1993, but Polk's second largest city still draws crowds from Ohio every spring to cheer on the Cleveland Indians.

Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has made high-tech growth a key part of the $630- million economic development package he has put before the state legislature.

   "This project will be a tremendous asset to our community," said David Greene, city manager for Winter Haven. "As experiences with similar facilities have shown, the ILC could generate more than 8,000 jobs in Winter Haven and Polk County as companies establish nearby warehousing, manufacturing and logistics operations."
   The state gave the project an added boost when the Florida Department of Transportation endorsed it. "Florida's growth management goals ensure the efficient movement of people and goods," said DOT Secretary Denver Stutler Jr. "The new logistics center should help reduce long- haul transportation costs for shippers and provide improved freight mobility."
   Mike McMahon, community and economic development director for Winter Haven, calls the CSX development one of the most important projects in his city's history.
   "We are looking at a return on investment of $500 million in taxes and fees over 10 years to the city," said McMahon. "We consider this a partnership with CSX, and Winter Haven won't be the only Polk community that will benefit. Winter Haven can't support all 8,000 jobs. Bartow and Lake Wales will benefit too. This project will also diversify Winter Haven's economy, freeing it from its dependency on the tourism and citrus industries."
   The project almost didn't come to Winter Haven, the land of Cypress Gardens, orange groves and world-class water-skiing. George Livingston, principal of NAI Realvest Partners, the Maitland-based firm that served as the site consultant on the project, tells Site Selection that CSX initially considered locating its first-ever Florida ILC in the 3,000- acre (1,215- hectare) Polk Commerce Center along Interstate 4 north of Auburndale.
   The problem with that site, however, was too many landowners, Livingston said. However, he added, this may not be the only ILC that CSX will pursue developing in Florida. "They are also looking at a potential site in Wildwood near I-4 and the Florida Turnpike," he noted.
   In many ways, the Polk ILC is just the tip of the iceberg. As the cost of property in Florida's coastal communities continues to skyrocket, more developers and employers are turning to the peninsula's interior – where land is cheaper and labor more plentiful – for industrial growth opportunities.
   A case in point is the Cellynne Corp., which just last month completed the $29- million expansion of its paper conversion plant in Haines City in northeast Polk. The project created more than 30 high-value engineering jobs.
   Marc Allegre, vice president of Cellynne, tells Site Selection that "Polk was very attractive for geographical reasons. We received a good rate on the 40- acre [16- hectare] land purchase. Haines City is a smaller community, and we found it easier to deal with the county government and various agencies here. Plus, we can recruit workers from the local area."
   Allegre added that Cellynne received a state incentives package that abates taxes for three years, as well as "considerable help from the Haines City economic development agency."
   To encourage the expansion, Haines City recently completed the installation of a $5.2- million rail spur from the CSX line to the city's industrial area. The rail spur is expected to stimulate additional manufacturing opportunities in Haines City.
   Other major industrial projects announced or completed recently in Polk include Coca-Cola's $35-million expansion of its Simply Orange Juice line in Auburndale; ButterKrust Bakeries' $25-million expansion in Lakeland; Progress Energy's $250-million capital investment at its Andrew Hines Power Complex south of Bartow; and Southern Wine and Spirits' $40- million, 653,000- sq.-ft. (60,664- sq.-m.), 340-employee distribution center in Lakeland.
   Jim DeGennaro, director of business development for the Central Florida Development Council, says, "We are the logistics base for the 18 million people in Florida. The growth in this state is now moving inland, and rapidly growing companies are now looking at Polk as the logical place to expand their operations."
   Among them are a host of building materials firms, which like the low-cost land and affordable, available labor in Central Florida. Hanson Pipe is building a $45-million concrete pipe factory on 83 acres (34 hectares) in Winter Haven, employing 50 workers in a 150,000- sq.-ft. (13,935- sq.-m.) plant; Paver Modular is building a $3-million plant in Haines City; Amerix of Clearwater is investing $5 million in two plants in Auburndale; and Polyglass of Italy is investing $10 million and hiring 80 workers at a plant it purchased in Eloise.
   The next blockbuster deal for Polk will be the establishment of a new University of South Florida branch campus along I-4, says DeGennaro. The Williams Co. donated 530 acres (215 hectares) to the Tampa-based school, which plans a $260- million campus there to accommodate up to 16,000 students.
   The new campus could serve as the mid-point anchor of the Florida High- Tech Corridor, a research initiative that stretches from the main USF campus in Tampa to the University of Central Florida in Orlando.