INDIANTOWN,
FLORIDA
Proud Past, Bright Future
Martin County
County Seat is Stuart
County Area is 556 Square Miles
MSA is Ft. Pierce
Unincorporated Martin County
Area is 305 Square Miles
Indiantown to Stuart is 20 miles
Located only 30 miles inland from Florida's Treasure Coast, Indiantown is an anachronism. While the coastal towns embody glitz, Indiantown personifies grit. As the coastal residents strut their style, the residents of Indiantown measure a person by one's substance. And while people on the coast fret and fume over traffic, the folks in Indiantown embrace and enjoy the area's deep traditions.
Located in western Martin County, Indiantown is often referred to as "the real Florida - what Florida was before the onslaught of tourists and retirees." Rustic? You bet. Rural? Without doubt.
But the people who envision the Indiantown of tomorrow have their dreams firmly supported.
They know, as you will discover, the reality of what Indiantown can offer both business and residents. They have surveyed their area and offer those who would share their vision everything necessary to flourish.
Traveling west from Stuart, the landscape becomes increasingly beautiful. Strip malls give way to a panorama of subtropical beauty. Gated communities disappear, replaced by homes with acreage, often with a barn and a few horses. Endangered species, such as the Florida Panther, thrive undisturbed, sharing their home with an astonishing number of exotic birds, foxes, wild turkey, deer, wild boar, raccoons, armadillo, and even the occasional 'gator.
POPULATION
County ... Indiantown
100,900 ....... 8,300 ...... 1990
114,464 ....... 9,700 ...... 1995
116,395 ..... 10,679 ...... 1997
Carefully woven into the fabric of the Indiantown of the future, is 1,000 acres of land with industrial zoning. There is also ample acreage zoned commercial residential. Indiantown is already home to a synergistic group of enterprises. Bay State Milling produces over a million pounds of flour a day - enough for two million loaves of bread! Tampa Farm Service annually produces 21,000,000 eggs. Via Tropical/Caulkins Indiantown Citrus Company, the owner of large orange groves, produces orange juice concentrate and by-products. Florida Power and Light Company takes advantage of the many benefits inherent in locating in Indiantown. Most recently, the Indiantown Generating Plant, owned by Indiantown Cogeneration, LP, an affiliate of PG&E, entered commercial service in December 1995. This 330-megawatt cogeneration facility, fueled by pulverized coal, sells electricity to Florida Power and Light and sells steam to the Caulkins Indiantown Citrus Company's processing plant.
These companies, with the exception of Caulkins Indiantown Citrus Company, were enticed and chose to locate in Indiantown for some very valid, concrete reasons: the locale has reduced impact fees and land use is in place with concurrence regulations already met. Further, businesses in Indiantown can be designated as part of a Foreign Trade Sub-Zone accessible to either the Port of Palm Beach and the Port of Fort Pierce. Certainly, the attitude of the people of Indiantown towards businesses wishing to locate in the community has served as an enticement. Indiantown has a history of working with corporations wishing to become part of Indiantown, identifying potential stumbling blocks and then finding creative means to circumvent the hindrances.
Indiantown provides excellent transportation links. Access to Florida's Turnpike and Interstate 95 is within 20 minutes. CSX Railroad goes right through Indiantown's industrial area. Passenger rail service will be initiated in Stuart in ???. Indiantown is served by an airport with the longest grass strip in the country. Although the facility is privately owned, it is open to the public. Witham Field, 30 miles to the east in Stuart, handles executive aircraft. For commercial flights, Palm Beach International Airport (PBIA) is only 35 miles away in Palm Beach County. In addition, Indiantown has waterway-access to two ports with docking facilities: the Port of Palm Beach is 30 miles away; the Port of Ft. Pierce is 40 miles distant. Both can be accessed via the Intercoastal Waterway. On a broader scale, Indiantown also has access to both the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of New Mexico. The St. Lucie Canal, dug by the Corps of Engineers during World War I, flows east from Indiantown to the South Fork of the St. Lucie River which leads to the Atlantic. To the west, Lake Okeechobee flows into the Caloosahatchee River which leads to the Gulf.
Electricity - Florida Power & Light
Water & Sewer - Indiantown Company
Water Source - Wells
Available Capacity for New User
South Florida Water Management Dist.
Sewage Treatment - Secondary
State Control Agency - Department of Environmental Protection
Solid Waste - Indiantown Company
Disposal - Martin County Landfill
Available Capacity for New User
Telephone - ITS Telecommunications Systems, Inc.
Transmission - Copper and Fiber Optic
Natural Gas - Indiantown Gas Co.
Available Capacity for New User
Fuel Oil - 7 Suppliers
LP Gas - 4 Suppliers
Indiantown has attempted to anticipate and then answer the needs of business seeking to relocate to western Martin County. Equal attention has been directed to issues affecting the quality of life of Indiantown residents. Rural areas such as Indiantown provide an antidote to the growing middle-class malaise associated with living in urban areas. The people of Indiantown are friendly and self-sufficient. Traffic jams simply don't happen. Pollution, either noise or air, doesn't exist. Indiantown has relatively little crime. Doors are still left unlocked, children play safely in both residential areas and the lovely town parks. Land is available, not only for the building of businesses, but also for the building of homes - single family homes, duplexes, qaudriplexes and multi-family rental complexes.
In addition to four AM radio stations and 14 FM radio stations, Indiantown is served by cable television which provides 52 stations, including the major networks. The Stuart News and the Palm Beach Post are available for daily delivery. The local Indiantown News is distributed weekly. For intellectual health, the Martin County Library recently opened a new branch in Indiantown.
Commission Form of Government
Commission/Administrator
Zoning Regulations
Local Planning Commission
REGISTERED VOTERS
Republicans -- 46,207
Democrats -- 22,024
Others -- 11,879
COUNTY TAXES
Millage Rates
County Levy 6.0780
School Levy 9.1130
Children Services Council 0.2281
South Florida Water Management District 0.6790
TOTAL COUNTY 16.1661
No Utility Service Tax
MARTIN COUNTY
Martin County Schools.................2,175
Martin Memorial Health System...1,673
County Government......................1,354
Publix............................................1,070
State Government.............................859
INDIANTOWN
Via Tropical......................................450
Florida Power & Light.....................153
Indiantown Cogeneration Plant..........70
Indiantown Group..............................47
Bay State Milling................................36
Tampa Farm Service..........................35
First Bank of Indiantown...................26
Although the Treasure Coast experiences minimal unemployment, there nonetheless exists a strong labor pool. This is due, in part, to the overall population growth the region (Martin, Indian River, Okeechobee, and St. Lucie Counties) has experienced. The growth, well over the State average, is concentrated in the 25 to 44 age group - the age of the majority of the local workforce. This is complimented by layoffs in the defense industry. Such layoffs enriched the labor pool with a sizable number of engineers, technicians and other very skilled workers. At the other end of the spectrum, increases in the minority population (especially Spanish- speaking), coupled with a large number of women entering the labor force, have created a virtually untapped resource of semi-skilled and unskilled labor.
The local schools are part of the Martin County School District, a district which consistently rates as among the best in Florida. The Florida Writing Assessment Test, the Grade Ten Assessment Test and the percentage of students passing the High School Competency Test are used as a measuring stick.
Higher Education
Two junior colleges are available to Martin County residents. Palm Beach Community College is located 30 miles to the south of Indiantown. Indian River Community College, located in Fort Pierce, also has a campus in Stuart. Bachelor and graduate degrees may be obtained at nearby Barry University of the Treasure Coast, Hobe Sound Bible College, Florida Atlantic University, and the acclaimed Northwood University.
The depth of the labor pool is augmented by the excellent vocational/ technical (Vo-Tech) programs available to Martin County residents. This includes VoTech curricula at the high school and community college levels which teach data processing, welding and cutting, drafting, electrical wiring, sheet metal, machine shop, electronic technology, robotics/computer-aided manufacturing, cable installation, child care, tourism, and culinary arts. Additional training can be obtained at the Chapman School of Seamanship, the Stuart School of Business and Academics and the Indiantown Adult Learning Center.
Indiantown is prepared to welcome you!
Visit us at our new building on State Road 710
Indiantown Western Martin County Chamber of Commerce & Visitor
Center
15935 SW Warfield Blvd.
Indiantown, FL 34956
772-597-2184
Fax 772-597-6063