SmartAsset ranks Treasure Coast county in Florida top 10 for investments, business growth

St. Lucie County is among the top 10 Florida counties with the highest increases in incoming investments and business growth in 2022 compared to 2021, according to a new study by financial analyst firm SmartAsset.

The county ranked:

• Sixth for incoming investments

• Seventh for business growth, which increased by 11.2%

• Seventh for building permits issued, with 37.7 new permits per 1,000 homes.

Business growth has been increasing since 2015, as calculated by SmartAsset:

• 2021: 10.5%

• 2019: 9.4%

• 2018: 7.2%

• 2017: 7.2%

• 2016: 6.1%

• 2015: 2.2%

Over 1.9 million square feet of commercial development throughout the three Treasure Coast counties in 2022 included these industrial and distribution warehouses, according to investment management company Colliers' 2023 Industrial Report:

• Interstate Crossroads Logistics Center in Fort Pierce, over 1 million square feet south of Okeechobee Road between Interstate 95 and Florida's Turnpike

• Interstate Commerce Center in Fort Pierce, over 200,000 square feet west of Interstate 95 and south of Okeechobee Road

• Kings Logistics Center in Fort Pierce, 658,000 square feet at Kings Highway and Orange Avenue

• Sand Trail Industrial Park in Palm City, over 12,000 square feet off Martin Downs Boulevard.

Plus, there are over 2 million square feet currently under construction, particularly in the Kings Highway/Crossroads Parkway area of Fort Pierce as well as the Tradition and St. Lucie West areas of Port St Lucie, the report says.

More South Florida residents and businesses are moving north to the Treasure Coast, especially to St. Lucie County, as property gets more expensive and scarce in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties, said Pete Tesch, president of the Economic Development Council of St. Lucie County.

Companies are attracted to St. Lucie County's relative affordability and central location — equidistant to Miami and Orlando, with the interstate and turnpike running through — according to the Economic Development Council's 2023 report. They include:

• Accel International Holdings, Inc., a producer of high-performance conductors

• Dragonfly Commerce Park

• LactaLogics

• Legacy Park Cold Storage

• Traditions Commerce Park

• FedEx

• Cheney Brothers

There also have been biotech, aeronautical and health care companies, such as Cleveland Clinic, that have moved to the Treasure Coast.

“It is becoming the next frontier, if you will, to find affordable land and to move your business there, in conjunction with the quality of life and the housing costs,” said Michael Falk, executive vice president of Colliers.

Developers are also beginning to build houses and rental apartments to meet the growing demand, which is projected to increase, according to Aaron Finley, a senior consultant at Thomas P. Miller & Associates, a firm St. Lucie County hired to conduct a housing needs assessment.

Thousands of new homes and commercial development are expected in a westward expansion into Tradition, Western Grove, Riverland, Wilson Grove and Southern Grove over the next few years, according to a master plan the county released in April.

Only these Florida counties ranked higher than St. Lucie for business growth in 2022, according to SmartAsset:

• Walton

• Glades

• Osceola

• Gulf

• St. Johns

• Hendry

Only these counties ranked higher for building permits:

• St. Johns

• Flagler

• Sumter

• Walton

• Charlotte

• Osceola

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: SmartAsset study ranks Florida top 10 for investments, business growth