Growth is
both a blessing and a curse
Killearn started the ball rolling,
followed by the northeast explosion, the malls, the Comp
Plan . . . and, soon, giant Southwood.
By LISA A. NEWKIRK
Tallahassee Democrat
In 1964, people thought J.T. Williams
was crazy. That was when he and a couple of partners --
attorney Mallory Horne and the late Bill Cartee --
decided to turn 3,800 acres of the Velda Dairy Farm into
the county's largest subdivisions.
Almost no one thought housing north of
Interstate 10 would sell, said Rick Fausone, supervisor
of research at the Tallahassee-Leon County Planning
Department.
It went slowly at first, but the
availability and cheap price of land, and the country
club atmosphere, sold homes in Killearn Estates and
Killearn Acres. By 1971, Williams took a chance on 4,000
more acres farther north. He called the new subdivision
Killearn Lakes. Once the housing market rebounded from
the 1974-75 recession, sales continued well into the
1980s. Today the three developments combined have more
than 4,500 homes.
The Killearn success prompted many
other suburban developments, and since 1970 the
northeast has grown three times faster than the rest of
Leon County. The east side has seen tremendous growth as
well. So, too, will the south side, if Southwood
proceeds as planned.
Growth, in other words, has become
Tallahassee's driving economic force, and its biggest
challenge.
The city has spread out as never
before. Through annexation, it has grown about five
times larger since 1970. Also, two malls of more than 1
million square feet each and 42 new shopping centers
have sprung up.
Problems, too, have sprung up -- in
attempts to manage and support the growth.
The first county growth management
plan in 1980 failed because it didn't allow government
the right to deny development. In 1990, a new plan with
teeth put the brakes on development, but frustrated
everyone from businesses to planners to residents.
No longer can Mom and Pop simply ask
for permission to build their grocery store. Now they
have to hire engineers and architects to prove their
parking lot won't cause flooding next door.
Approval for construction that once
took weeks can now drag on for months, and that's
without a neighborhood challenge. Developers of Marsh
Landing, the 200-home poster child of development
disputes, have been fighting to win permission to build
on the east side for nearly three years.
At the same time, residents say
they've been shut out of a review process that attempts
to take politics out of the equation, almost forcing
disputes to end up in court.
The plan hasn't helped to solve many
environmental problems. Lakes continue to be polluted
and roads remain congested. It was estimated in the
mid-1990s that the city and county needed to build $600
million worth of roads and $100 million worth of
stormwater facilities to handle development that was
already built or under way.
There are signs of change ahead,
however. A new committee representing developers,
homeowners, environmental activists and business owners
is proposing a more integrated approach to decisions in
its "Blueprint 2000 and Beyond" report.
"The fact that people
representing such diverse interests can come together
and develop a consensus on growth is an unusual thing in
life," said Joe Kelley, president of the
Tallahassee Area Chamber of Commerce. "I think
we're getting ready to turn a corner."
Meanwhile, a huge arc of subdivisions,
including Welaunee, Piney Z and Fallschase, is still a
potential addition to the suburban landscape. And on the
horizon looms a development bigger and bolder than
anything else Leon County has seen.
The St. Joe Co., Florida's largest
landowner, plans to drop a whole new "town"
called Southwood on 3,200 acres in southeastern Leon
County -- 4,770 homes, two shopping centers, an office
park, an industrial site, a golf course, three parks and
three schools. That's just a start: St. Joe owns 51,000
more acres in the county.
Related Links:
Blueprint
2000 - A blueprint for growth
Tallahassee Democrat
(Former Tallahassee Democrat staff
writer Bill Varian contributed to this story.)
Lisa A. Newkirk covers business for
the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact her at (850) 599-2176
or at lanewkirk@taldem.com.
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