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Consultants outline US 17 corridor plan, highlight 8,600 residents and 4,000 jobs in study area
Summary
Kimley Horn planner Jessica Rossi told the Hardee County development board the US 17 corridor study (county line to county line) will produce implementation strategies by April 2026; the study area includes about 8,600 residents (roughly one-third of the county) and roughly 4,000 jobs.
Jessica Rossi, a senior planner and economist with Kimley Horn, told the Hardee County Industrial Development Authority on Oct. 1 that consultants launched a 12-month US 17 corridor study in spring 2025 and expect to finish by April 2026.
Rossi said the study area runs from the county line to county line along U.S. 17 and typically extends about a mile on either side of the centerline, following parcel boundaries. "There are about 8,600 people that live in the study area and over 4,000 jobs," she said, calling the corridor an economic anchor for the county.
The plan is organized in three phases: an existing-conditions assessment (completed and compiled into a draft corridor characteristics report), a second phase focused on planning and implementation strategies, and a final phase next year for reporting results and continued community engagement. Rossi said the draft characteristics report is under staff review and will be posted on the project website once finalized.
Key aims include aligning land use with transportation, stormwater and resiliency strategies, neighborhood stabilization, and actionable economic development items intended to help jurisdictions along the corridor attract grant funding and implement projects. Rossi emphasized targeted outreach: advisory committee meetings, stakeholder interviews, presentations to local elected officials and civic organizations, and both digital and in-person engagement.
Board members questioned the source and meaning of employment figures. Rossi clarified that the job counts reflect where positions are reported to be located — "actual jobs and chairs" — and that hybrid work and multi-site employers (which have workers reporting from other counties) can introduce some fluidity into those figures. "These numbers are based off specific counts of actual jobs and chairs," she said.
Next steps include a second advisory committee meeting in two weeks, continuing technical analysis and conceptual design work this fall and winter, and outreach to the public and jurisdictions to prioritize strategies for implementation.
