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Coffee Talk (Sara/Mana)
Isaacs team up with ex-Taubman executive for downtown
Showing just how serious they are about developing a world-class retail destination in downtown Sarasota, brothers Bill and Butch Isaac have formed a partnership with the former chief of development for one of the nation's leading developers, owners and managers of upscale shopping centers in the United States.
John Simon, 58, who retired in December after 27 years with Michigan-based Taubman Centers Inc., has signed on with the Isaacs as a partner, director and chief executive officer of Isaac Group Holding LLC, a Delaware company (see "Q&A" on page 11). During his tenure, he led Taubman's development efforts on the Cherry Creek Shopping Center in Denver, the Beverly Center near Beverly Hills, Calif., and in Florida: International Plaza in Tampa, the Millenia Mall in Orlando, Dolphin Mall near Miami International Airport, the Wellington Green Mall in Palm Beach County and the Waterside Mall in Naples. One of his first projects with the company was the successful Short Hills Mall in New Jersey.
Simon's first project with the Isaac Group will be the unnamed, unannounced but much-talked-about downtown Sarasota retail center, whose exact location Simon and the Isaacs decline to disclose.
Simon says the project should be under construction next spring and open in late 2007 or early 2008. "I'm dying to show you the plans," Simon told GCBR. "But I don't want to jeopardize it by being premature in disclosing a location. When we show the plans, we want to be able to show something that is buildable and deliverable."
Property records show that since January 2004, affiliates of Isaac Group Holding have spent $1.56 million to acquire the properties at 22 N. Lemon Ave. and 1480 Main St. They also acquired a 10,000-square-foot building at 35 S. Lemon Ave. from a debtor in a bankruptcy proceeding in Tampa. Its market value is listed at $1 million.
Simon says the group's downtown Sarasota project will be complementary to the existing downtown retail. "Our intent is to infuse the area with a mixture of very good national and very good local retailers," he says. Simon also says the project will include a parking structure. Asked the cost, he says: "It will be a lot of money."
"This is a jewel here," Simon says of downtown Sarasota. "It just needs to be polished. Our project will put it on the map nationally."
A cure for Alzheimer's?
Sarasota resident and philanthropist Robert Roskamp says he and his wife, Diane, are happy in their new purpose-driven life - that of helping fund research into cures of the diseases of the mind.
As benefactors of the Roskamp Institute in Manatee County, the Roskamps are working with some of the brightest scientists in the world in the field of Alzheimer's research. And the scientists are making remarkable breakthroughs.
Roskamp told Longboat Key Kiwanians last week how the institute's researchers have identified the protein that causes Alzheimer's - the amyloid protein gene. Too much amyloid is not good, Roskamp says. Having thin blood will help reduce the risk of Alzheimer's, he says.
Roskamp also says a cure for Alzheimer's is near. The institute's scientists are almost ready to conduct medicinal trials on humans - probably in India because it would take too long to get federal permission in the United States.
And the cure for Alzheimer's? Said Roskamp: "It's probably three to five years away."
S.O.B.s left out
With no discussion, the Manatee County Commission unanimously approved a new ordinance for licensing Sexually Oriented Business (SOBs). As reported in the April 15 GCBR, Luke Lirot, an attorney representing the county's three strip clubs, expected such a vote.
Lirot plans to amend a federal lawsuit, filed by the businesses several years ago over a public nudity ordinance, in U.S. District Court, Tampa. "We are going to be seeking an injunction and for the court to declare the legislation unconstitutional," Lirot says.
The ordinance won't have any immediate effects on the SOBs because the legislation grants them 90 days to comply with the new ordinance.
Lirot was surprised about the lack of public comment from the commission. But the commission's reasons for its vote will likely come out in depositions by Lirot.
Plaza healthier after Apple
With the Golden Apple Dinner Theatre's participation in the Plaza Verdi project finally a dead issue, it looks like preparation for the project can finally return to some level of normalcy.
For almost a year, Houston-based developer Ersa Grae has been left dealing with two huge questions regarding its contractual obligations to include the Golden Apple and the Sarasota Opera. This led the developer to limit its financial downside to about $600,000. It sounded especially smart back in late September when negotiation troubles first surfaced.
On Thursday, April 14, the Sarasota City Commission cleared up those questions by allowing Ersa Grae to continue with reduced development plans that would exclude the Golden Apple's property.
"We are moving forward at a more normal pace again," says Andrew Dorr, Ersa Grae's project manager.
A vacation with bite
Exactly what consumer is the Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota targeting? The upscale hotel's newest offering called the Predator Package combines the experience of the Ritz-Carlton, the scientific work of Mote Marine Laboratory and some critters with extra sharp teeth.
The three-night package allows hotel guests to help Mote scientists attach a satellite tag to a free-ranging shark on board a research vessel in the Gulf of Mexico.
Guests will pick up the cost of the satellite tag and part of the trip's costs. The satellite tag will allow Mote scientists to track the shark population for future research projects, and guests will receive electronic updates on "their" shark.
The package starts at $9,920 plus tax, and a portion of the cost is tax deductible. The program is available from June through September.
Etc...
• Al Hoffman Jr., founder and chairman of the board of Bonita Springs-based residential builder WCI Communities Inc. has been recognized by Secretary of State Glenda Hood as the 2005 Great Floridian. The award is presented in recognition of outstanding achievements and contributions made by an individual to the progress and welfare of the state.
Under Hoffman's guidance, WCI has become a leading community developer, home builder, and real estate services company with revenue approaching $2 billion.
• Gov. Jeb Bush appointed Lois Gerber, 69, director of the Bradenton Academy, to succeed Pat Whitesel to a term on the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council. Her term runs from March to October 2007.
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