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Sandoval sold
Homebuilder Taylor Morrison purchased the remaining 577 home sites at Sandoval in Cape Coral from Bonita Bay Group. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The transaction represents about a third of the total home sites in the 524-acre residential development. Bonita Bay Group launched Sandoval in 2005 and posted more than 120 home sales there in 2011.
Sandoval is a family-oriented community with a dog park, a resort-style lagoon pool, a clubhouse and a linear park. Despite the residential downturn, Sandoval has accounted for about 50% of the residential building permits in Cape Coral in recent years.
Taylor Morrison is headquartered in Scottsdale, Ariz., and its West Florida division is located in Sarasota.
Williams to plead guilty
Former Orion Bank CEO Jerry Williams says he will plead guilty to bank fraud, according to an agreement filed in U.S. District Court in Fort Myers the week before Christmas.
No sentencing date has been set.
The agreement says Williams will plead guilty to one count of bank fraud and two counts of making false statements in connection with the failure of Orion Bank in November 2009, according to the agreement with government prosecutors. Williams could face as long as 15 years in prison if a judge accepts the plea agreement.
IberiaBank of Lafayette, La., acquired the assets and deposits of Orion Bank after regulators seized it.
Lobbyist joins Fowler
Keith Arnold, a former state legislator and lobbyist in Fort Myers, has joined law firm Fowler White's expanding government-relations practice.
Arnold served as a state representative for 16 years, beginning in 1982 when he was the youngest member elected to that body at age 23. At age 28, Arnold became the youngest majority leader in the Florida House of Representatives.
John “Mac” Stipanovich leads Fowler White's government relations and lobbying practice.
Swindal reappointed to port
Stephen W. Swindal was reappointed the board of the Tampa Port Authority by Gov. Rick Scott.
Swindal is currently the chairman of Marine Towing of Tampa LLC, which is active in the Port of Tampa. He is also the co-owner and operator of Swindal International LLC, a Tampa furniture company he co-founded.
He has served as commissioner on the board since 2008 and will remain on the board for another four-year term if approved by the Florida Senate, the statement says.
OSI chair resigns
A. William Allen III has resigned as chairman of the board of directors of Tampa-based OSI Restaurant Partners LLC, a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission shows.
According to the filing, there was no disagreement between Allen and the firm, which is the parent company of Outback Steakhouse and Carrabba's Italian Grill among others.
From 2005 until 2009, Allen served as CEO of the firm, which recorded $2.8 billion in revenues for the first three quarters of 2011. The company has not indicated who will take his place on the board.
Ray Jay expands in Miss.
Raymond James Financial Inc. opened a new office in Jackson, Miss., for Raymond James & Associates Inc., its brokerage subsidiary.
The financial firm also added three new advisers to its ranks.The new hires will serve as senior vice presidents at the new office. Two came from Wells Fargo and the third from UBS.
Bank buys peer
Lakewood Ranch-based Community Bank & Co. plans to expand its presence in Hillsborough County with a deal to buy The Palm Bank, a Tampa-based lender.
The purchase, of the bank and its holding company, Palm Bancorp Inc., announced in late December, gives Community Bank three new Tampa branches. It will also push the Lakewood Ranch-based institution's assets above $850 million. The bank's current assets are about $730 million; Palm is a $130 million institution.
Run under CBM Florida Holding Co., Community Bank earned $3 million in net income through the first nine months of 2011. “This acquisition creates an institution with 20 banking centers spanning the entire Tampa Bay region,” CBM Florida Holding Co. Chairman Marcelo Lima says in a statement.
Newspaper purchase leaked
A media firm that owns the Daytona Beach News-Journal officially announced a deal to buy the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and 15 other papers owned by the New York Times Co.
Reports that Halifax Media Holdings, owners of the News-Journal, planned to buy the Times Co.'s regional media group surfaced Dec. 19. Halifax announced the sale in a Dec. 26 statement.
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