Loading
Coffee Talk (Sara/Mana)
Fighting the (Red) Tide
Virginia Haley, executive director of the Sarasota Convention and Visitors Bureau, and her staff are are hoping they don't get all choked up. Not out of sentimentality.
"I am very, very, very worried about Red Tide," Haley says. "It's extremely frustrating that at this point it is almost impossible to tell when or if we will get hit and for how long. Thank goodness things have been so good to this point."
Haley's staff calls beachfront property owners daily to get an informal assessment of area beaches.
"That way when people call we can tell them for example 'that Longboat may have a little bit, but Lido and Siesta Key beaches appear clear,' " Haley says. "So we can at least get people to the beaches that are unaffected. It also helps that the parks and recreation department for Sarasota (County) is doing a great job keeping the beaches clean of any dead fish to at the very least mitigate any impact."
Even so, Haley paints a picture of concern. "In the summer, a lot of our tourism comes from people who decided to come to the region at the last minute from other parts of the state," Haley says. "It could really hurt us if these people decided now is not the right time to visit. Right now I'm more worried about that than any effect from our (near-miss) hurricanes."
Fifth Third is fourth...
...In terms of deposits among banks doing business in Michigan, and local bank analyst Richard X. Bove says that's bound to catch up with Fifth Third Bancorp.
The Cincinnati holding company, which has entered the Gulf Coast region with a marketing splash this year, is still a Rust Belt kind of bank, Bove points out.
Fifth Third is in third place for deposits in Indiana and its home state of Ohio.
That means the slow and steady decline of American automobile manufacturers, especially General Motors Corp., is going to stunt Fifth Third's growth eventually.
The saving grace is that Cincinnati is perceived to be where the American end of the Japanese auto-making industry is centered, according to Bove.
Fifth Third's foray into the Sunshine State is proving expensive. After acquiring the parent of First National Bank of Florida, Fifth Third is spending big on advertising and new locations.
Despite all that, Bove is raising his 2006 earnings forecast for Fifth Third by a nickel to $3.38. His rating on the stock: "market perform."
Inland move
Holmes Beach is no longer the home of an acquisition wing of Oak Brook, Ill.-based Inland Retail Real Estate Trust. According to an Inland spokesman, when Steve Sanders, senior vice president for Inland Real Estate Acquisitions Inc., resigned to go out on his own, Inland management took the opportunity to place his replacement into the REIT's Orlando office.
"We still have a relationship with Steve on acquisitions," Fox says. Inland still owns several shopping centers in the two-county region, including the Creekwood Crossings Shopping Center, Sarasota Pavilion and Lakewood Ranch Gateway North.
Trusting to the land
It should be known soon whether Sarasota County will be the testing ground for a proposed solution to the worker housing shortage. The Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice board is expected to vote June 21 on the future of the contracted purchase of 146 acres of commercial land on Laurel Avenue, east of Interstate 75, from Mark and Paula Caithness for $16 million.
"We are proposing this as homes for working families," says Teri A. Hansen, president and CEO of the foundation. "As part of our due diligence, we met with the county, and the land looks to be designated PED (planned economic development), which would allow us to build up to 25 (residential) units per acre."
At the moment, the foundation plan presents more questions than definite answers (price per unit, buyer income level, purchase financing, etc. ...), but the business model is that of a community land trust. In a land trust, a membership organization (similar to a homeowners' association) retains ownership of the land and limits the future sale price of the buildings. Resident owners instead receive compensation for their investment based on a set calculation.
Although the exact start date is undecided, Hansen says she has heard that a development such as the one being proposed takes about three years of planning/permitting.
"We have a very tight window to close in the beginning of July," Hansen says. "Overall, so far the response has been very positive; we have had interest from the community, including from potential development partners. I keep telling people though that this is not a silver bullet, this is by no means going to solve the whole problem."
Rock on
Speaking of cultural creatives, the Tampa Bay Technology Forum is tuning up for its fourth annual Tampa Bay Tech Jam.
The musical jam session was staged in Tampa's trendy SoHo neighborhood last summer, if Coffee Talk's memory serves it right. This year, the jam is moving to the possibly even trendier Channelside District.
Local tech entrepreneurs, their roadies and their groupies will be throwing back beers and barbecue at Stumps Supper Club, the Southern-themed restaurant in the Channelside shopping and imbibing mall. The date is Aug. 10, with musical sets running from 6 to 10 p.m.
The geeks' battle of the bands, which features a silent auction, will benefit a program that makes computers available to youngsters at local Boys & Girls Clubs.
Etc...
• Home Builders Association of Manatee County has issued its first scholarship memorializing Bruce Williams Homes founder Lloyd Williams. Adam Sherman, a recent graduate of Southeast High School, was awarded the first Lloyd Williams Scholarship for $500, which he will use to pursue construction related classes at Manatee Community College in the fall. The scholarship fund was created last year by the Home Builders Association to assist individuals in the pursuit of educational or vocational training in the areas of construction management, building construction and the building trades.
Your free article limit has been reached this month.
Subscribe now for unlimited digital access to our award-winning business news.
Join thousands of executives who rely on us for insights spanning Tampa Bay to Naples.
