Port Vision Gaining Focus

New digs, ground soon to be broken, grant funds to support several projects - things are looking swimmingly for the Port St. Joe Port Authority.

The new look begins with new offices. The Port Authority has moved from the old Material Transfer Industries offices to a more appropriate space in the Tapper and Company Office building on U.S. 98, adjacent to the CVS Pharmacy.

The reasons for the move were straightforward - as one key to the economic future for the county and region, the Port Authority is more suitably located in town, along the highway, than up the canal in a relatively remote location.

"A big part of it was being more visible," said Tommy Pitts, executive director of the Port Authority. "We wanted to be more visible, be part of the downtown business community; be more a part of the community itself."

The payoffs are already obvious.

Administrative assistant Nadine Lee said that foot traffic has already increased as people spot the Port Authority logo on the front door and come in to inquire about what is happening with the port, a port some didn't know existed.

"We need the visibility," said Port Authority chairman Allen Cox. "We need to be downtown and be part of the community.

"We are trying to market this community, its people, its assets and the new office assists with that. We are excited to get the opportunity to move to new offices. It came together at the right time."

The real heavy lifting on the port itself begins next Tuesday when the ground is turned as part of a ceremony marking the beginning of construction and dredge work at and near the bulkhead on the parcel the port purchased under the bridge along the Gulf County Canal.

Ceremonies kick off with a ribbon cutting at the new office at 9:30 a.m. on July 8 and will continue, after a bit of car-pooling, with groundbreaking at the port site.

Among the more striking things about the progress the port has made is the securing of a series of state grants to fund initial work at the port site.

Between grants from the Small County Dredge Program (SCDP) and the Florida Seaport Transportation and Economic Development Council (FSTED), the Port Authority has secured some $5.6 million in funding for the bulkhead and dredge work.

All the money comes with a local match, but two grants from the SCDP, totaling more than $3.1 million, are 75-25 state-to-local matches, or as Pitts said, "real money" with the emphasis on real.

The FSTED grant is a 50-50 match, nothing to sneeze at.

"All those funds are a very significant milestone for the port," Cox said. "It is an extremely competitive grant cycle. That money is an acknowledgement that Port St. Joe is worth investing in. Some people may think we're forgotten, but there are third parties out there who believe St. Joe is worth investing in.

"All of this is validation. We have been validated in our vision. It is important to note that this represents outside people saying this is positive for the state, positive for the region, not just a positive for Port St. Joe."

Among those Cox and Pitts singled out were representatives with the Florida Department of Transportation district officials, state representatives, Congressman Allen Boyd (D-North Florida) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

"They are seeing that this is something that is an investment for the future that will compound itself in the next 15 years," Cox added. "If not for the District III people with the Florida Department of Transportation, we would be nothing more than an asterisk.

"It is rare to find so many agencies and politicians who have provided support not just for the present but it's an investment for 15, 20 years down the road."

In addition, The St. Joe Company has provided $1.2 million for environmental permitting, with the Port Authority putting up the remaining $600,000 needed to complete that task.

Pitts said port officials estimate they can come in under $5 million on the bulkhead and dredge work, allowing the port to use some of the grant funds for upland improvements on the property to accommodate any of four potential customers which have been identified.

County and municipal elected officials have also lent their support for The St. Joe Company to allow access to the old mill site bulkhead on a temporary basis in order to facilitate the arrival of at least one of those customers.

That customer, as yet unnamed for proprietary reasons, is undergoing due diligence for The St. Joe Company prior to entering into a lease agreement for the mill site bulkhead, Pitts indicated.

The hope, regardless, is to have ships coming to the port by the end of the calendar year, Cox and Pitts agreed.

Another aspect of the port development moving ahead is FDOT District III funding for a study which would become part of an application to the full FDOT to have the port qualify as part of the Strategic Intermodal System (SIS).

That would have a ripple effect for the county and region.

As was explained to county economic development officials during a recent workshop, transforming Hwy. 71 into a four-lane highway will be facilitated more quickly through the port becoming part of the SIS more than any increase in tourists traveling the road.

As county officials were told at the meeting, a four-lane Hwy. 71 isn't going to happen given the current landscape. The port becoming part of the SIS program would significantly alter that landscape.

In simple terms, once an operational port is achieved, it becomes a regional resource to be built upon.

"The greater benefit is actually off the port site," Cox said, "and more for the highways and railroads."

Speaking of the railroad, the Port Authority is also seeking - though it has not yet been awarded - a Transportation Regional Incentive Program (TRIP) grant to construct rail access to the port.

Due to the state budget, that grant was pushed back to the 2009-10 fiscal year though Pitts said that TRIP officials have indicated the port could still proceed before then and be reimbursed later.

"This is an awesome time," said Port Authority board member Johanna White. "To see something become reality, we have worked on it for so long.

"To see the ground turned and see those ships start coming in, that will be exciting."