WHAT AN ENORMOUS difference 52 weeks makes! The population of Ocala and Marion County, which grew from 195,833 in 1990 to an estimated 269,000 in 2002, is projected to have jumped by more than 12,000 in 2003, putting it in the top 15 percentage in growth for metropolitan areas in the United States, and almost a third of that growth was from other parts of Florida.

You just have to drive into town on Route 200 to sense that growth, to get a feel for the growing affluence of Ocala. And as you head out of town on Routes 200, 40 or 27, you’ll discover commercial and residential development under way at a blistering pace.

Population growth may be one way to gauge success. But in Marion County, and Ocala in particular, the most noteworthy growth has been one of growing up,
setting the stage for a surge of activity in 2004.

Ocala isn’t Slowcala anymore, nor is it “God’s Waiting Room,” as the less charitable called it. In the past year alone, the county has changed for the better as never before. And that covers just about every sector you can think of — from culture to education, recreation to restaurants, to employment and what we do for fun!

In past years, this annual feature — the State of The City — has been a jumble of figures piled upon statistics and woven together with a writer’s bias. Changes
have been so deep and so far, that this year we are welding together information from several area decision makers, giving you a glimpse of the state of the city through their eyes and their perspectives.

BUILDING, REBUILDING

WHILE THE BIGGEST NEWS of all, the redevelopment of Ocala, is on the drawing board, the most noticeable and noteworthy has been the Ewers Century
Center, at the Community College of Central Florida’s campus, facing Route 200.

More than an architectural masterpiece, it reflects three growth areas in Ocala: Higher education, cultural growth, and giving back to the community.

State Sen. Evelyn Lynn cites it “as a shining example of how to create an innovative environment in which partnerships between local government, industry and post-secondary education institutions can work together to promote economic diversification and develop cutting-edge training.To my knowledge,
there is nothing else like it in the state, or in many other states.”

Just a couple of miles away, Munroe Regional Medical Center completed the major phase of its largest construction project ever with its Palmer Lobby and dining room, David Family Intensive Care Unit and the Johnson Lobby and adjacent Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit, and added 198 new private, patient rooms.

Meanwhile, heading out Route 200, On Top of The World is plowing ahead with its enormous expansion plans for residential developments that will add another 32,000 single-family homes to the area, with a new golf course to be completed this year.

That said, the most exciting development is rebuilding and revitalization plans for downtown. At long last, the oft-postponed and long-awaited master plan is in and it identifies five primary uses — restaurants and cafes;entertainment;housing in apartments and townhouses; specialty retail stores and boutiques; prime office space;and government use.

The primary “opportunity” sites are the land presently occupied by the Chamber of Commerce, Marion Theatre, Sprint, the old library, Bank of America, and the city parking lot.

The mixed-use plan, with the vision of turning the blighted commercial hub of Ocala around and making downtown safe, attractive and economically viable,
will go a long way in making Marion County even more attractive and livable, and it would ease the pressure on the lack of in-town apartments and revitalizing downtown commerce.

The pivotal decision was the City’s decision — and the planner’s recommendation —to refurbish and return the historic Marion Theatre to its original purpose.

However, after all has been said and done, will it materialize?

That’s the $100 million question.

Developers and business owners say how the scenario will play out will depend on the City moving ahead aggressively, in part by committing $10 million in project and infrastructure funds, and offering incentives, that in turn would result in $100 million in private investments.

They point to the months of hand-wringing it took for the City to hire a new police chief and the waffling on the Marion Theatre as signs that while the city fathers may have their hearts in the right place, their guts may not be.

FLYING HIGH, PLAYING HARD!
COME TO THINK of it, the best way to “tour” the new Ocala is by visiting Fly-By Ranch, just a dozen miles South of Ocala, strap on a powered paraglider
and putter around at 1,000 feet up at a leisurely 20 mph!

In a very real sense, Fly-By Ranch is an example of the new Ocala and the kind of people we’re attracting: In this case, a Brit who sold his furniture-manufacturing business in England, and moved to Quebec, Canada, to pursue his passion for power paragliding.

He ended up signing on one of the world’s foremost flight instructors there and, last year, set up North America’s largest and most comprehensive paragliding
facility on 150 acres near Ocala just a few months ago. Today, enthusiasts are coming to learn and buy from as distant as California, Vancouver, Europe and
South Africa.

Fly-By also reflects the sporty side that’s beginning to emerge here. John Travolta and wife Kelly Preston have moved into their new home at Jumbolair,
Ocala’s fast-emerging air ranch community which has the longest private runway in the world, while

Ocala’s municipal airport (officially designated as a international airport, with U.S. Customs) clocked more than 100,000 takeoffs and landings in 2003.

Most were by private craft, but major cargo traffic is on its way in 2004.

While the growth of golf has reached a plateau across America, that’s not the case in Marion County.

The U.S. Open “Doctor,” legendary course designer Rees Jones has redesigned the back nine at the refurbished Golden Hills Golf & Turf Club on Route 27.
Jones has a vested interest in the course: He owns a part of the club now, with majority owner New York State Commissioner Bernadette Castro and her family, who have reinvested in the property once owned by Commissioner Castro’s parents.

Barely a mile away, a fortune has been invested in Golden Ocala’s course and a practice course will come into play this year, along with a brand-new championship course on Route 200 as part of the Colonnades’massive residential expansion.

Polo is finally here to stay, while clay and skeet shooting are becoming big in Dunnellon, and Ocala now sports its very own rugby team.

Marion County has emerged as America’s premiere hunt country, and was recently the feature of a book just released in England.

If all that’s not enough new sporting news for a year, here’s what’s up next: Ocala’s own cricket team, sponsored by OCALA Magazine and the City of Ocala.

ARTS & CULTURE
“A STRONG, coordinated cultural community makes Ocala and Marion County an exciting place to live,” says Jim Rosengren, who has guided the worldclass
Appleton Museum of Art to a new level. “It adds to the quality of our lives, and contributes significantly to our well-being and our community.”

In 2003, the City contributed significantly to make Ocala more family friendly, and took a decidedly procultural tack.

It opened two new aquatic parks, featuring water canons, water mushrooms and picnic areas, opened a park for dogs, and hosted summer and fall live concerts
Friday evenings at the downtown Square.

For the second year, with sponsorship by Compass Fitness & Health, its ice skating rink kept downtown busy late into the night, and Light Up Ocala, just after Thanksgiving, attracted more than 40,000 visitors to the Square — 15,000 more than the previous record for a downtown event.

In late 2002, with the Appleton Museum about to go belly-up within days, OCALA Magazine arranged a meeting with the City, resulting in a loan that saved the Appleton.With the loan repaid, the City felt encouraged to move ahead with more projects to support the arts, including the decision to retain the Marion Theatre as a center for the arts and culture.

“And the Fort King historic site is now just one signature away from designation as a national historic landmark,”says Mayor Gerald Ergle.

Meanwhile, audiences continue to flock to the Ocala Civic Theatre for first-rate plays, musicals and ballet performances, to support a philharmonic, symphony, and a youth orchestra, as well as the Brick City Center for the Arts and the Webber Center at CFCC.

In January 2004, the Ewers Century Center at the college expands the possibilities and venues for community and cultural events.

Meanwhile, under Rosengren, The Appleton has created the perfect informal environment each month with the monthly — and instantly popular — “Appleton After Hours” live entertainment, and has reopened the museum’s restaurant.

RESTAURANTS AND CHEFS definitely qualify as both art and culture. While chains continue to dominate, most new entries — including Carrabba’s, Panera’s, and Starbucks — aren’t in the old surf-turf mold.

Noticeable newcomers in 2003 reflect the growing diversity of our population:Two new Thai restaurants, a second Indian restaurant, sushi being served in a new fitness center, eclectic fare at a riverside restaurant in Dunnellon, a Mediterranean bistro, a true Mexican café, a coffee-cyber bar, Southwestern
food at the Square, a chef’s table in the kitchen at the Ocala Hilton, the pubby Horse & Hounds with an Austrian chef as its new owner, and a wine shop that
conducts wine tastings and food pairings every Wednesday evening.

Meanwhile, the new Publix on 36th Street dishes out sushi to go, a Filipino grocery store has just opened its doors, a hot-doggery, with dozens of varieties
in a railroad setting, and the expansion of a specialty- foods shop at the Colors Plaza on Route 200 are under way.

RIDERS UP!
POLO IS JUST an extension of Ocala’s famed — and growing — equine industry.

We’re closing in on 1,000 horse farms making Marion the largest equine center in the world — beating Kentucky, Epsom in England, and Chantilly, France.

“It’s not just Thoroughbreds anymore, and farm owners here don’t have to make a living off their horses,” says Greg Lord, of Glen Miller Realty, one of
the most successful horse farm realtors in the region, who moved here from South Florida. “Almost 50 breeds of horses are represented here now, and the
horse farms are from three to 3,000 acres. Mention ‘Ocala’ anywhere in the world where horse people gather and there’s instant recognition and awe.”

Billionaire Frank Stronach of Toronto, who owns the majestic Adena Springs South Farm in Ocala (and horse farms in Ontario and Kentucky, plus major racetracks all over) continues to pursue plans for a multimillion-dollar equine
entertainment-gaming-convention center for Marion County, and the smart money is riding on his crossing major hurdles in 2004.

Whether or not Stronach succeeds in 2004, horse farms in Ocala are again on the upswing, and the horse community is increasingly becoming part of the Ocala social and cultural scene.

POLITICS
MARION COUNTY SWUNG from Democrat to Republican, and while the GOP still rules here, changing demographics are beginning to moderate the
political makeup: 43 percent are registered as Republicans, 41 percent are Democrats, and 16 percent are independents.

How the elections play out will depend on an increasing number of local issues: Managing growth, the environment and natural resources, and protect ing Marion’s relatively pristine physical features.

The first political shockwave was the challenge to the city’s popular mayor in 2003. Although he went on to win by a landslide majority, it did rattle the political community sending the message that challenge is in the air.

Meanwhile, the City fathers searched far and wide - critics say too far, too wide, too expensively, and with too much hoopla — before they selected Sam Williams as police chief. When Susan Miller, who brought a high level of fiscal constraints
to the city, announced she would step down as City Manager in January 2004, City leaders wisely decided to avoid anything similar to the lengthy police-chief search. It helped that the new city manager, Paul Nugent, is a proven city administrator with progressive views.

ECONOMIC GROWTH
LEE FARKAS, the youthful chairman of Taylor, Bean & Whitaker, represents the new face of Marion’s economy.

When he bought the mortgage loan company in 1990, it had six employees. Today it employs more than 300 in Ocala, is one of the largest wholesale mortgage bankers in the Southeast with more than 24 offices around the U.S.,, and holds more than 50,000 loans with principle balances of more than $6.5 billion.

It has outgrown its headquarters — a vacant grocery store on North Magnolia Avenue — and a 25,000-square-foot expansion is under way, with another
75,000-square-foot facility planned.

It also represents area businesses in another unique way: Marion County businesses give back, Mayor with hockey team at the ice rink and give big, to education, the arts, charity and other aspects that enhance the quality of life in the community.

Similarly, in the 52 weeks ended Dec. 31, 2003, 20 companies in Marion County would have added 800 new jobs, absorbed more than 800,00 square feet of space, and forked over more than $35 million in capital investment.

The 4.9% unemployment rate, which is equal to or slightly higher than the state average largely is the result of influx of labor from other areas. So while unemployment may rise despite impressive real job growth, it provides a steady supply of labor.

EDUCATION
MARION COUNTY public schools had an enrollment of 40,243 students, at the end of the 2003 school year, a banner year for the district: 87% of the schools earned an A or B from the state for academic excellence.And there were no “D” or failing schools.

While the district is tied for 26th as the Top Performing School District in Florida, 9th for Greatest Overall Improvement, and 3rd for Greatest Improvement in Math Proficiency, School Superintendent Jim Yancey is aggressively targeting its biggest weakness: Reading.

Another disturbing weak spot: 570 students documented as homeless.There’s a serious move afoot for school uniforms for public schools (currently instituted at two magnet schools).

Meanwhile, the number of private schools has been growing and more high school graduates remain in town for college and to join the Marion County workforce.

Central Florida Community College is turning Ocala into a college town;it serves 23,500 credit and non-credit students from several countries, and awards more than 1,100 degrees and certificates a year. Many of the college’s fastest-growing programs, in business and information technology, will be located in the new Ewers Century Center.

MEDICAL
MEDICAL SPECIALISTS and world-class medical facilities continue to make Ocala’s presence known, not just across the U.S. but, increasingly, overseas as well.

Ocala’s health-care system is recognized as one of the best in the country, with world-renowned specialists, particularly in cardiology and stroke care.

Both of Ocala’s premier hospitals — Munroe Regional Medical Center and Ocala Regional Medical Center — are recognized are nationally recognized as among the “Top 100 Hospitals”award by HCIA-Sachs.

In 2003, more than 22,000 patients were admitted to Munroe and 80,597 were treated in its four emergency room locations.

HealthGrades rating experts awarded Munroe a five-star rating in 15 separate areas for exceeding expectations in patient outcomes (fewer than 4% hospitals
nationally reach this level). National Research Corp. awarded Munroe the prestigious “Consumer Choice Award,” and Money magazine named it “one
of the best hospitals in he nation.”

Meanwhile, Ocala Regional celebrated its 30th anniversary by being named a “Top 100”hospital, and a premier center for cardiovascular care.

With two hospitals, ORMC has the area’s only dedicated oncology unit certified by the American College of Surgeons’Commission on Cancer, and its West Marion facility offers the state-of-the-art da Vinci Robotic Surgical System.

In 2003, the two hospitals, along with the county and city, came together to form an alliance to offer non-profit ambulance service countywide.

RELIGION
“MARION COUNTY is one of the most diverse communities I’ve known,” says, the Rev. Ed Johnson, pastor at the enormous First Baptist Church in Ocala.“We’re a coalition of cultures, nationalities, races and religious affiliations.”
And in that diversity lies strength, he adds. The Convoy of Hope, Interfaith, the Salvation Army, are just some of the organizations that care for the homeless
and needy.

"I’ve never seen a community that joins forces so readily and helps when they know someone’s in need,”he adds.

OVERALL QUALITY OF LIFE
THE RELATIVELY HIGH quality of life — particularly for families with children and the elderly — is Marion County’s major attraction. Central to that is a low crime rate, about half that of communities of similar size in South Florida.
Other attractive features include wide-open spaces of rolling meadows and horse farms, temperate climate not prone to hurricanes or severe weather, being within an hour’s drive of both coasts, within 45 minutes of Gainesville and 90 minutes of Orlando and Tampa.

Given all this, it is ironic that property values are very affordable. Indeed, according to the Florida Association of Realtors, the Ocala MSA had the most affordable of all MSA’s with a price of $68,300 in the second quarter of 2000.
Conversely, property values have been appreciating at between 6% and 10% a year, which is a lot faster than the national average.

"It’s playing catch-up,” says Jason Rice, a Michigander who has relocated twice since he first moved to Florida in 1988. “We had our hearts set on Sanford, but when it got ridiculously crowded and unsafe, we sold and moved to the Villages, and when that place got to us after a while, we realized Ocala was just right.

“We didn’t care for it the first time around. It was a bit too quiet back in 1999. But now it’s a small city with a big heart and a lot to do,” he says. “And when we see most of the change is in things like the arts and things happening downtown,we realize this is the place to be.”

In sum:In 2003, most of the changes and the hope were driven by City leaders. Where Ocala goes in 2004 will again depend on City Hall and how and when it will roll out a plan to implement the changes for downtown.■

Contributors to this article include State Sen. Evelyn Lynn, Pete Tesch, Dyer T. Michel, Kevin Christian, Charles R. Dassance, Mayor Gerald Ergle, the Rev. Ed Johnson, Jim Rosengren, Kent Guinn, Larry Bush, John Good, Monte Martin,
and Greg Lord.