In 2009, hard times and much to gain in Clermont

by Dante Chinni | The Christian Science Monitor

Clermont, Fla., had a tough 2008. The construction and housing that replaced the orange groves, which once dominated this area, maxed out. The only notable business activity was among the service-sector companies that arrived to meet the new demand from those who had moved into the recently built homes.

But 2009 isn't looking better. The unemployment rate is about 8 percent in Lake County, which includes Clermont. And that percentage is climbing.

"[L]andlords can't find tenants, and lease rates are collapsing like leaking tires," writes Ray San Fratello, chairman of the South Lake Chamber of Commerce. "Locally, I will bet it's another year and a half until we feel we are back on track here."

Lake County, which is west of Orlando, is an "Emptying Nest" community, with more than its share of seniors' communities. Clermont alone has Kings Ridge and Summit Greens - and eight 18-hole golf courses.

The retired residents, like many who live in "Emptying Nest" communities, live on fixed incomes, dividends, and pensions. The drop in the Dow has hit some of the riskier investors who are still playing the market. But even those with safer investments in things like treasury bills are getting hurt as those yields dip.

So some retirees in this central Florida city of 22,000 are thinking about work again and are filling out applications for the many service jobs here.

Clermont's seniors are not of the income group that heads south and settles along the coast. As in most "Emptying Nest" communities, the households here are not wealthy.

Politically, Clermont is leery of President Obama's time in the White House. In the 2008 election, Lake County went for John McCain - 56 percent to 43 percent. That's not surprising: "Emptying Nest" communities are among the most reliably Republican of our 11 community types. Nationally, "Emptying Nest" communities went for Senator McCain 57 percent to 41 percent.

Despite their doubts about Mr. Obama, the residents of Clermont and places like it may have much to gain from an economic stimulus plan. The unemployment rate is climbing in all these places, which includes parts of the industrial Midwest.

Over the coming months, the reactions to Obama and his policies in Clermont may well be a telling test of how he is doing.