Buoyed by the relocation of Vutec Corporation to the city but not losing sight of the fact that commercial, retail, and industrial vacancy rates in the city have more than doubled in 2009, the Coral Springs Economic Development Foundation is gearing up to create focus groups to tackle issues specific to each sector.

“Vacancies are the issue,” said Paul Cawley, foundation executive director. “Vutec is a great company; it is exactly the kind of company we were looking for. It’s really good for us that they are coming, but much more needs to be done. In 2010, we are going to get much more aggressive in our efforts.”

“We are going to break the city down into sectors,” Cawley said. “We will have focus groups for industrial, retail, and commercial sectors. We need them as the problems in each field are different. The focus groups will be able to tell us what we need to do.”

The vacancy rate in the commercial sector is anywhere between 30 to 40 percent, said Cawley. “It’s a little better in the industrial sector. In the Corporate Park, the rate has come down to the mid twenties due to the Vutec purchase.”

“The economy has never been like this; the vacancy rate was 15 to 18 percent a year ago,” said Cawley. “It was 5 to 6 percent in good times, in the 1993-1995 period. We were in the single digits as recently as in 2007.”

The city will continue to pursue “good and solid companies” that are looking for a Coral Springs address, City Manager Mike Levinson said. “We have had a number of high profile companies come in the last few years. Vutec is an excellent company; they bring 32 years of experience and corporate culture into the city. I give all the credit to Paul and the EDF.”