The pendulum of changing population change has been a real challenge for North Port over the years. Twenty five years ago, General Development Community GDC platted the community and began selling lots during one of the boom eras for Florida development. According to a Herald-Tribune article, North Port was founded in 1957 by the now-defunct General Development. It was a place where tens of thousands of empty lots could be sold to sunshine-hungry residents of northern climes as their little pieces of paradise. GDC's sales tactics have become the stuff of local legend, with northerners lured to Florida for quick and selective tours of what was then North Port Charlotte. (Braga, 2007) As the market cooled, many of the owners of empty lots stopped paying property taxes and so the lots became city owned, over time they became eyesores and place that people would dump garbage. In addition to this drain on resources, the hundreds of miles of poorly installed streets fell into disrepair and the City of North Port could do little about it.
Then the pendulum started to swing back. In 2003 the future of North Port began to look very bright. Another round of booming development hit the State of Florida and North Port was no exception. Housing start ups began to skyrocket. Braga wrote in his article,
North Port had grown to about 24,000 people by the new millennium. But spurred on by developers and government officials eager to expand the city's tax base, North Port entered a prolonged growth spurt that sent its population past 40,000 in 2006, University of Florida data shows.
Builders put up thousands of moderate-size houses for working-class buyers. Thousands more popped up in more polished golf course communities with names like Bobcat Trail, The Woodlands and Heron Creek that flank the city like reservations for more affluent retirees. In all, builders have constructed 9,700 homes in North Port since 2002. (Braga, 2007)
The North Port building department could barely keep up with the demand for inspection and building permits. City planners struggled with meeting the demand for new services such as water and sewage needs, as well as improving roads and drainage. They were not prepared for the rapid growth and had to enact impact fees and additional taxes on existing homes. The previously abandoned lots that were city owned now proved to be a valuable commodity. They were sold in a very successful on-line auction known as the Great North Port Land Auction.
Now we come to another period of the path of the pendulum. The recent bust of the housing market across the USA has hit cities like North Port especially hard. Many of the questions have to do with the how could this happen or why, and there is plenty of blame to go around. Unfortunately, city planners and others who depend upon taxes for their budgets, such as schools, are among the victims dealing with the bleak outcomes. Here is an excerpt from Braga’s article.
All told, as many as 2,000 of North Port's 20,600 homes hang over the market, grossly distorting any semblance of balance between supply and demand, data from the Sarasota County Multiple Listing Service, RealtyTrac.com and Port Charlotte property appraiser Dennis Black shows. The victims of the bust are myriad. Builders have pulled out or seriously curtailed their construction. Some are in the throes of bankruptcy while others have slashed payrolls.
That drop in workers means the businesses that were dependent on them as customers are also suffering. Shops and restaurants, tied to the building trade, have seen their sales drop as fast as the decline in home sales. Many investors are trying to sell homes but are stuck in the city's enormous glut of offerings.
Others lost money with the collapse of builders such as Construction Compliance Inc., which was building 500 homes in Florida -- the bulk in North Port -- before its meltdown late last year.
To make matters worse, most of the new homes built in North Port were not owner occupied. This was due to the huge numbers of speculators from here in Florida that were looking to flip these homes for a quick profit. Usually about 85% of the homes in North Port have been homestead, this number changed to 65% by 2005. Now that there are so many unoccupied homes in North Port the prospects the property tax base recovering is dim indeed.
Changes, for better of worse are unavoidable. It is how a city deals with the change that makes a difference. North Port has seen many changes in the past few decades. Those who are in leadership roles with the cities and the schools have done well to deal with change and keep our city moving forward. New schools and city services indicate that North Port is here to stay and as the booms and busts affect our community we won’t be unaffected, but we adapt and grow for the greater good of our home.
References
1. Braga, M. (2007, July 15). Post-boom hangover lingers. Retrieved October 26, 2008, from http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20070715/REALESTATE/707150625
2. Alvarez, Alex (2007, November, 14). Local10.com. Retrieved October 29, 2008, Web site: http://www.local10.com
3. Powell, Robert (2004, March, 12). NYTimes.com. Retrieved October 29, 2008, Web site: http://www.nytimes.com
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