The JEDC works closely with the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce, Jacksonville Aviation Authority (JAA), Enterprise Florida and other governmental and non-governmental groups, to draw and retain industrial, manufacturing, and distribution businesses, that have the potential to offer high wage jobs to the residents of Jacksonville.  Overall plans for Cecil predict up to 40,000 jobs to be created over the next 30 years. Because Cecil Commerce Center is so large, the JEDC decided to refer to the southern and northern portions of its property as "Cecil North" (all of the property north of 103rd St.; 3,937± acres) and "Cecil South" (all of the JEDC holdings south of 103rd St.; 525 acres).

JAXPORT has always been a major economic driver of the Jacksonville economy, adding 38,000 direct and indirect jobs and having more than $3 billion in annual economic impact. In 2005, JAXPORT signed a development agreement with Mitsui O.S.K. Lines to construct a $200-million, 158-acre container terminal by the Dames Point Bridge. This new terminal was recently completed and is expected to have $870 million in new economic benefits to the Jacksonville region including the creation of more than 1,600 port jobs and 4,000 indirect jobs. When operating at full capacity, the Mitsui facility is expected to handle 800,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU), doubling the container throughput of JAXPORT. In November 2008, JAXPORT signed an agreement with Korean-based Hanjin Lines for the development of a $300-million, 88-acre terminal capable of handling approximately 800,000 TEUs per year and expected to be operational in the late 2011. These recent JAXPORT developments will triple the amount of container throughput in Jacksonville and potentially may double or triple the economic impact of the port if Jacksonville can ensure that landside benefits accrue to Jacksonville.

As the largest single industrial land holding in Jacksonville, the Cecil Commerce Center is well positioned to be the ultimate landside complement to JAXPORT and home to companies dependent on supply chain logistics. Major transportation investments at Cecil Commerce Center include construction of a high speed interchange with I-10 and the first section of the Cecil Commerce Center Parkway and completion of New World Ave., a four-lane spine road. All told, the local, state and federal agencies have spent more than $180 million on roadway and utility infrastructure improvements. There has been a lot of progress made at Cecil Commerce Center since 2000, and there is great potential for Cecil to become one of the premier aviation, warehousing, distribution and logistical hubs of the southeast U.S. over the next twenty years.