Putnam County announces major projects: Georgia Pacific, CertainTeed expansion, motorsports complex and housing pipeline

Laura (Chamber of Commerce representative) and other chamber officials presented a series of project updates they said are under way or in active development in Putnam County and the city of Palatka.

The chamber said Georgia Pacific is consolidating operations into a 400,000‑square‑foot warehouse facility; the site is being prepared and the actual warehouse construction was described as planned within the next several quarters. CertainTeed announced a major expansion; the chamber described it as a $235,000,000 project with about $7,000,000 in incentives and said “all 120 employees are Putnam County residents.” The CertainTeed project has a ribbon cutting scheduled for Oct. 17 (year not specified in the remarks).

Chamber speakers also described a proposed motorsports complex on the backside of the airport, with expectations to break ground by the end of the year. The presentation said the complex would include a primary race track with garage condominiums, a public go‑kart track that will also be used for public safety training, hospitality components including a possible four‑star hotel in a later phase, museum space and ancillary manufacturing that could supply the racing circuit.

Other projects the chamber listed included:

- Project Poly: roughly $39,000,000 with an expected 120 high‑wage jobs, likely sited in the business park. - Project Pavers: roughly $12,000,000, starting with about a dozen employees and expected to ramp up. - Project Stockpile: described as an energy‑sector investment near $270,000,000 (high capital, fewer jobs initially). - Project Buckeye: described as an expansion of an existing company, roughly $120,000,000.

Chamber staff also said a wave of residential development is underway in Palatka: about 800 units reported as under construction inside the Palatka city limits and 600 individual permits approved since a change in impact fees, which chamber remarks combined to suggest roughly 1,400 housing units in the recent pipeline. Additional downtown activity mentioned included new retail and hospitality projects (a food hall, hotel room construction at the Macquarie building, restaurant openings, a new charter school downtown, event space, and renovations at the hospital).

Speakers characterized these projects as a mix of large capital investments and smaller employers; some developments are in early phases that require further approvals, financing and construction. Chamber representatives said many projects tie to workforce programs at local colleges and CareerSource/JAX USA partnerships to prepare residents for new job opportunities.

No formal county votes or binding approvals were recorded during the session; the project descriptions were given as status updates and announcements. Where specific dollar amounts, job counts or timelines were mentioned at the session, the chamber presenters provided those figures during their remarks.