Flagler County, Palm Coast work together to bring industry – a fuel terminal that transports by rail – to the county

Flagler County and the City of Palm Coast are working together to bring a new industrial business – specifically a fuel terminal that receives gas and diesel by rail, which will distribute fuel to the tri-county area. The goals are threefold: providing high-paying jobs, diversifying the tax base, and increasing the property tax from an estimated $500 to $800,000 annually. An added benefit of this project is a safer, lower cost, and more reliable delivery of fuel to the region.

The project under consideration is with a company called Belvedere Terminals, which will make $75 million to $80 million in capital investment plus an additional $10 million in state appropriations. It is anticipated the company will bring in 30 to 35 high-paying, full-time jobs.

Ideally, Belvedere would build on 78 acres near the tracks and the city’s utility plant off U.S. 1 and Peavy Grade.

“The Florida Department of Commerce grant will cover the land acquisition, site improvements, and the construction of critical infrastructure necessary to support a fuel storage and distribution terminal,” County Administrator Heidi Petito said. “It needed to be a county project, so that’s why we are involved. And, it needed to be in the Flagler, Volusia, Brevard corridor.”

This would be an economic development boon that would bring tax revenue into Flagler County – the bulk of which comes from homeowners with only about 5% coming from commercial and industrial properties. 

“This land is already zoned industrial in Flagler County,” said Acting City of Palm Coast Manager Lauren Johnston said. “We’ve heard from our community that economic vitality is a top priority, as it will help us diversify our tax base. This project will help us start to balance our tax base more evenly and minimize the burden on residential homeowners.”

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