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Coffee Talk
GULF COAST BUSINESS BUZZ
+ Board makes the bank
Sure, Todd Katz, attorney and co-founder of Tarpon Coast Bank in Punta Gorda, says all the right things about how to successfully launch a bank on the Gulf Coast: Top-shelf central location is a priority; great customer service; competitive rates and the best use of new banking technology.
Coffee Talk has seen and heard this before, though, especially in startup-bank rich Sarasota. The latest entry to the field, prior to Katz, was from Mike Ezzell and George Cline, who hope to open the National Bank of Southwest Florida later this year or early next year in Port Charlotte.
But Coffee Talk was pleasantly surprised upon hearing Katz' refreshing candor about his strategy in forming another bank, this one projected to be called Calusa National Bank. While the physical site of the bank is important, as is service and technology, the real prize is the board, Katz tells us. And not just a board with deep pockets that can set up the bank, but a board willing to get out and actively sell and market the bank.
Katz says it's easy to get going, raise the money and open a bank that generates a good return - he and his partner, Lew Albert, did that seven years ago with Tarpon, before selling it to Fort Myers-based Busey Bank for $35 million in 2005. And a glance at the Sarasota-Manatee banking landscape proves that, too, with several new banks entering the market over the last year, and one, SunCoast, selling out to larger player.
But "if you really want to make a great return and a great impact on the community," Katz says, "you need a great board."
Katz boasts that the Calusa board gets high marks for industry-wide diversity and experience in working and living in the growing Punta Gorda area. The board includes: Steve Gant, president of Gant Realty Co. in Lake Suzy; James Herston, president of Herston Engineering Services Inc. in Port Charlotte; David Holmes, an attorney with the Farr Law Firm in Punta Gorda and former president of the local chamber of commerce; Josh Putter, regional vice president for Naples-based Health Management Associates Inc.; Cathy Sanders, president of Five Star Realty of Charlotte County in Punta Gorda; and Larry Tenbusch, president of Tenbusch Construction in North Port.
The schedule is for Calusa to open April 1, 2007 and have two offices by next fall. Beyond the board, Katz says he will bring a polished staff to the startup, as people "don't bank with a particular bank," he says, "they bank with a particular banker."
June home sales
State 2005 2006 %Chg.
Illinois 20,457 18,779 ?8.2%
Massachusetts 6,115 5,101 ?16.6%
Michigan 14,718 12,177 ?17.3%
New York 10,782 10,166 ?5.7%
Ohio 15,359 15,217 ?0.9%
+ Northern exposure
If you're in the residential real estate business, it's important to know what's happening up north. Home sales in northern states are one indicator of how the winter selling season will turn out in Southwest Florida because people who can't sell their homes there are less likely to buy in the Sunshine State.
So far, the news is not encouraging. The number of existing-home sales in important feeder states such as Michigan and Illinois were down in June compared to the same month a year ago and home prices have leveled off.
+ Help on the way for commercial builders
One builder's loss is another builder's gain. Now that the boom in new-home construction has abated, commercial builders say they're looking forward to stabilizing costs for materials such as concrete and fill dirt. That's welcome news as commercial construction keeps booming in Southwest Florida.
What's more, commercial builders say they're starting to see more resumes from employees in the homebuilding trades, alleviating the extreme labor shortage of the last few years.
In addition, land costs are stabilizing too, says Jack Choate, director of marketing for Ringland Construction in Cape Coral. Residential developers have slowed their land purchases as demand has dropped.
Still, commercial builders are worried that the residential builders will invade their turf, undercutting prices and driving up competition. "Residential guys are going to drift into our world," says Mark Stevens, president of Stevens Construction in Fort Myers.
Gas relief
The man or woman in the corner office may not always get the credit for it, but most of them are working to lessen the gas-price hit to their staffers. According to a survey by Robert Half International Inc., 75% of executives say their firms are taking some action to reduce their employees' exposure to added gas costs. The change that most executives (47%) reported making was increasing the per mileage expense guidelines for employees.
Increasing expense guidelines for employee-incurred mileage costs 47%
Allowing increased telecommuting 37%
Encouraging carpooling or ride-share programs 35%
Allowing employees to work from office locations closer to home 31%
Providing subsidies for employees who use public transportation 14%
Providing transportation to employees 8%
Providing gas subsidies to employees 6%
Raising compensation to mitigate fuel costs 4%
Increased teleconferences 1%
Other 3%
None of these 25%
+ Alico owes IRS $82.3 million?
La Belle-based agriculture company Alico Inc. owes the Internal Revenue Service between $39.4 million and $82.3 million in taxes and penalties, according to a recent securities filing by the company.
Alico says it's fighting the proposed tax bill, which the IRS claims stems from the company's formation and capitalization of its insurance subsidiary. The company issued a terse written statement, saying it "intends to oppose vigorously any attempt by the IRS to impose such an assessment in connection with the Agri Insurance matter."
Alico's stock (symbol ALCO) lost 2% the day after the announcement, closing at $56.83 on Aug. 21. In its most recent quarter, Alico reported net income of $2.5 million on revenues of $34.7 million.
+ Wanted: companies seeking capital
The Florida Venture Forum is looking for growing private companies interested in presenting at the 16th annual Florida Venture Capital Conference Feb. 6-7 in Boca Raton. Presenters at the last 15 Florida venture capital conferences raised $897 million, while last year's presenters alone raised $61.3 million.
Emerging companies interested in raising capital can apply online at www.floridaventureforum.org. The early deadline is Oct. 16, and only online applications are accepted. Applications will be reviewed by a committee of venture capitalists and private equity investors. The conference includes seminars on business-plan writing, public speaking and pitching and venture capital negotiations.
About 25 companies will be chosen to present at the conference.
+ Growth that pays
The Gulf Coast is well represented in Inc.'s just-released 2006 list of the 500 fastest growing companies.
Near the top, consumer products firm Airborne Health of Bonita Springs in Lee County grabbed the No. 2 spot. The company, founded in 1997, had three-year growth of 4,673%. Airborne Health manufacturers and sells herbal supplements in an effervescent capsule. It had annual revenue of $151.8 million in 2005. The company's growth is attributed to a marketing campaign aimed at families and commuters.
Also high on the list was Network Liquidators Inc. of Oldsmar, profiled in this week's Review (see page 8.) The company, which expects sales to double this year to $20 million, was 95th on the list released Aug. 23.
Network Liquidators CEO Barry Shevlin says he expects the Oldsmar company to hit $100 million in sales within four years, thanks to a solid business model and a top management team that includes executives who've worked at other fast growing companies such as Tech Data Corp., PODS Inc. and Catalina Marketing. Network Liquidators, which buys and sells used network hardware, had sales of $1 million in 2002, its first year.
Twenty-five Florida firms made the list, one-third from the Gulf Coast.
Bradenton's Gould & Lamb was ranked 126, while EconOffice Products & Supplies of Oldsmar was 253. Other Tampa Bay area companies that made the list were Intellect Technical Solutions (287), Clearwater; XOS Technologies (289), Clearwater; Sharn Veterinary (386), Tampa; and Storm Smart Building Systems (387), Fort Myers.
The Sunshine State ranked sixth for the number of companies that made the list. First was California, followed by Virginia, New York, Texas and Massachusetts.
+ Good job, Cyberwise
While many donations to victims of Hurricane Katrina came in the form of much needed money and shelter, a Sarasota company took a different, albeit still important route: Cyberwise, a sales and marketing firm focusing on health and wellness products, donated $1 million worth of its all-natural hair, skin and teeth products last year.
The Red Cross recognized the donations earlier this month, awarding the firm its Circle of Humanitarians award for its "outstanding" donation. The company distributed its BioWize Botanicals personal care products to Katrina victims in Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana last September.
+ What condo slowdown?
There's no slowdown at downtown St. Petersburg's soon to be tallest high-rise, Signature Place. About 62% of the units have been sold for prices ranging from $409,000 to $3 million.
In fact, June and July have been the best months yet for the 35-story, mixed-use 900,000-square-foot building that is designed to look like a gossamer sail, says Lisa Mizrachi of The Apple Organization, which represents developer Joel Cantor of Gulf Atlantic Communities.
About 31 contracts were signed those two months, bringing the total condos under contract to 153. Another 93 units are still for sale.
Cantor told the Review earlier this year that his $160 million project at First Street and Fifth Avenue South would be better than Tampa's proposed Trump Tower. Cantor had hired one of the country's preeminent architects, Ralph Johnson of Chicago's Perkins + Will, to ensure it was the best looking building in Florida and that all units would have views of the bay.
With all the talk of financing troubles at Trump Tower Tampa, Coffee Talk wondered if Signature Place was encountering similar problems. Trump Tower has not yet named a lender or contractor.
Apparently not. Signature Place construction is expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2008, Mizrachi says. The project is financed by Fifth Third Bank and the general contractor is Bovis Lend Lease.
"I'm the ultimate finisher," Cantor previously told the Review. "When I commit, and I'm slow to commit, it's going to be finished, no matter what."
The ground floor will include 20,000 square feet of retail and a restaurant owned by actor Robert DeNiro.
+ Downtown no mo'
Downtown Fort Myers no longer exists - semantically speaking.
The area of Fort Myers formerly called downtown is now the River District, or so says the Fort Myers City Council after its redevelopment agency decided it needed a better name to market the area.
City elders hope the River District will one day be part of the lexicon, much like St. Armands Circle, Ybor City and Las Olas.
The area hugs the Caloosahatchee River and is bounded by East First Street, McGregor Boulevard to the Edison-Ford Winter Estates, and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to Fowler Street.
Along with the announcement of the new name came these instructions: If you must use the word "downtown," the city asks that you at least use quotation marks. And, please, don't capitalize the "T" in "the" when referring to the River District.
What's Ahead...
Aug. 31 - The Sarasota/Manatee Technology Conference: Integration at the Crossroads, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Hyatt Sarasota. The daylong conference, co-sponsored by the Gulf Coast Business Review, has 25 scheduled speakers from various industries, such as health care, real estate, economic development and media, both old and new. Planners of the event expect it to be a way for business owners and leaders to learn how to use technology to their advantage. A keynote presentation on entrepreneurship, given by the Sloan brothers, founders of startupnation.com, is also scheduled. Go to www.sarasotatechconference.com or call (941) 320-3400 for more information.
Sept. 5 - The Construction Specifications Institute Suncoast Chapter will hold its monthly meeting focused on new, engineered wood products and other new construction products, including I-Joists, Beams, LVL Material and Structural Engineered Posts at 5:30 p.m. in the Sahib Shrine Temple, 600 N. Beneva Road, Sarasota. The meeting includes dinner. Cost is $20. Reservations are required. Contact Tammy Overgaard 351-7274.
Sept. 6 - The Greater Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce's Women in Business will meet to network at Wildcat Run Golf & Country Club in Estero at 4 p.m. The Gulf Coast Business Review is sponsoring the meeting. Cost is $10 for members and $15 for guests. A display table costs $50. Register online at www.fortmyers.org or call 239-332-2930.
Sept. 12 - The Real Estate Investment Society in Fort Myers will host a luncheon to discuss commercial-property insurance. The speaker will be John Pollock, president of Fort Myers-based insurance broker Oswald Trippe & Co. The lunch starts at 11:30 a.m. at the Magnolia Room of Pelican Preserve in Fort Myers. Cost is $25 for members and $35 for guests. Register by Sept. 7 online at www.reis-swfl.org or call Sharon Heston at 239-410-1253.
Oct. 27 - The Apex Award will be presented to a woman who has been nominated by her peers for outstanding achievement in career, community and leadership. The black-tie gala will be held at Harborside Events Center in Fort Myers and it begins at 6 p.m. To register, visit the Web site of the Greater Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce at www.fortmyers.org.
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