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Agency appoints leader
The Economic Development Corp. of Sarasota named Tampa economic development official Mark Huey its new president and CEO. Huey replaces longtime EDC president and CEO Kathy Baylis, who will retire in June.
Huey has been the economic and urban development administrator for the city of Tampa since 2003. He focused on redevelopment, including new projects such as The Heights and Encore, both $500 million enterprises. Huey also played a prominent role in the recent creation of the Tampa/Hillsborough Economic Development Corp., representing the city throughout the process.
Huey was the chief operating officer at Metropolitan Ministries and the chief financial officer for the Tampa Housing Authority prior to his role with Tampa.
Officials defend city
Several Sarasota officials have spoken with British media outlets in an effort to portray the city as safe in the wake of a double murder of two vacationing Brits.
The officials, including Mayor Kelly Kirschner, responded to British tabloid newspapers that wrote stories implying the entire city was unsafe.
A juvenile has been charged and is being held without bond for the April 16 murders, which Kirschner and tourism leaders say was an isolated incident in the Newtown neighborhood of Sarasota.
British residents make up a significant portion of the overall international tourism base in Sarasota. Local officials say they don't know of any British travelers who canceled a trip to Sarasota because of the incident.
State approves acquisition
The Florida Office of Financial Regulation approved Lakewood Ranch-based Community Bank's acquisition of First Community Bank of America.
The deal calls for Community Bank to buy Pinellas Park-based FCBA for $10 million in cash. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. must also approve the deal.
The purchase will yield a single bank with more than $700 million in assets and 17 branches throughout the Gulf Coast. Community's holding company, CBM Florida Holding Co., plans to inject an additional $20 million into the new entity to spur growth once a deal closes.
Mission to Panama
The Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce is collaborating with AAA Travel on a weeklong trade mission to Panama this fall.
Promoted as a “business cultural trip,” the Oct. 7-13 itinerary includes a boat tour of the Panama Canal expansion, where attendees will learn about opportunities to expand local port business. Other items include lectures on the maritime industry, rainforest tours and a seminar by the American Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Panama.
Pricing for chamber members is $1,999 per person, or $2,999 for non-members. For more information, contact Lacey Glass of AAA Travel at (813) 495-9039.
HMA acquires hospital
Health Management Associates, the Naples-based hospital operator, acquired a controlling interest of Tri-Lakes Medical Center in Batesville, Miss.
HMA will also manage the 132-bed Mississippi hospital under a joint venture.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, and it is scheduled to be completed June 1.
With the Batesville acquisition, HMA will own and operate 60 hospitals with more than 9,000 beds in non-urban communities. HMA's stock is publicly traded (symbol: HMA; recent stock price, $10.39).
Hotels rebound in March
College basketball and country music gave the Tampa-St. Petersburg hotel industry a significant jump in March, according to data from Smith Travel Research.
Occupancy rose 11% over the year to 81.1% locally, while the average daily rate was up 4% to $112.95 in the same time frame. Revenue per available room climbed 16% to $91.63.
While March is normally a strong month for local hotels, two Tampa events brought a well-timed boost during the month — two early rounds of the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament at the St. Pete Times Forum and a Kenny Chesney concert at Raymond James Stadium. Tourism officials estimated 10,000 room nights were booked citywide.
Realtors combine listings
Three Realtor associations in Lee County recently combined their multiple listing services.
More than 6,000 agents of the Realtor Association of Cape Coral, the Realtor Association of Greater Fort Myers and the Beach and the Bonita Springs-Estero Association of Realtors now post their real estate listings on the same system.
California-based Rapattoni Corp. manages the combined listing service for the three organizations, now called the Florida Gulf Coast Shared Database Group.
Airport traffic rises
The number of passengers traveling through Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers rose nearly 8% in March compared with the same month a year ago.
The 1,073,556 passengers who traveled through the airport in March represented the second-largest monthly passenger count in the airport's history and the fourth time the airport has exceeded 1 million passengers in a month.
The airport also handled an 8.2% increase in aircraft takeoffs and landings, according to the Lee County Port Authority.
Year-to-date, passenger traffic at the Fort Myers airport is up 4.3% over the same period in 2010, reflecting an improved winter tourism season.
The top five airlines at Southwest Florida International were Delta, AirTran, JetBlue, Southwest and USAirways.
Rib City adds location
Rib City, the Fort Myers-based barbecue restaurant chain, plans to add another restaurant to its roster in Estero.
This will be the company's 13th corporate-owned restaurant. Rib City has 16 franchisee-owned restaurants across the country, including Washington, Colorado, Utah, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee and Maryland.
Rib City is a privately held chain controlled by the Peden family in Fort Myers. The company reported $33 million in revenues in 2010, up 3% from the prior year.
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