TCPalm - April 23, 2007

 

Treasure Coast a business hot spot, study says

By Robert Barba

he Treasure Coast continues to be one of the hottest areas in the country for business, according to a study released today.

The Port St. Lucie-Fort Pierce metropolitan statistical area, which includes Stuart, was ranked the eighth small city and 12th overall for the best places to do business, according to the May issue of Inc. magazine, a business publication.

"The area has seen very steady growth if you look at it across the board," said Joel Kotkin, contributing editor of Inc. and writer of Business Boomtowns rankings.

The ranking is based on examining employment data from year to year, Kotkin said. On the Treasure Coast, Kotkin said manufacturing "went way up," he said, along with steady increases in retail and professional and business services.

Kotkin noted the major employment growth in the area over the past decade, adding that the number of jobs in the area rose 56.7 percent from 1995 to 2006.

"It is pretty well distributed," Kotkin said.

While Florida had a major presence on the list, Kotkin said he wondered whether the residential real estate market's downturn would affect the economy.

"That's my only question about Florida," Kotkin said. "I would suspect that Florida will lose some of its momentum because of the housing bubble."

The region's ranking could possibly be reflecting a slowdown in housing sales. The market dropped two spots on the small-city list from sixth place in 2006.

"To go down two spots isn't significant," Kotkin said. "But knowing our methodology it may have dropped because of the slowed real estate market."

In order to combat a potential slowdown, Kotkin said it is important for the region to create a broad-base economy.

Gwenda Thompson, president and chief executive of the Workforce Board of the Treasure Coast, agreed about the need to expand the local economy.

"A broader economy means we will be less likely to be affected by swings in a particular industry," Thompson said. "Diversity of the economy is key to the success of our region."

The West Palm Beach-Boca Raton metro area was ranked the sixth hottest large region in which to do business and the 40th hottest overall in the nation.

 

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