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Former Trump Tower site sells
Brownstone Tampa Partners LLC bought the former site of Tampa Trump Tower, along with an adjacent office complex known as the CapTrust building, for $5 million.
Brownstone Tampa Partners is composed of Connecticut-based O, R&L Facility Services, Owens Realty Network LLC and Community Reinvestment Partners II LP, a joint venture between Forge Capital Partners LLC and DeBartolo Development LLC.
The property's previous owner was BB&T, which acquired the assets through its merger with Colonial Bank. Trump Tower Tampa became Colonial's property in 2008 when initial development efforts failed.
In a statement, the new owners say they plan to immediately tie the property into both the Tampa Riverwalk and the Brorein Street Bridge underpass as soon as possible.
Foreclosures trend upward
Roughly 12% of all outstanding mortgage loans in Southwest Florida's three major metros — Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, and Cape Coral-Fort Myers — were in some state of foreclosure in April, according to the latest data from CoreLogic.
The only area shoing a decrease was Fort Myers, down from 12.76% in April 2010 to 12.06% in the same month this year. But rates in Tampa and Sarasota are up about 2% each, to 11.93% and 12.09% respectively.
The national foreclosure rate for outstanding mortgage loans is 3.47%, CoreLogic estimates.
Across Florida, roughly 18% of mortgage borrowers are more than 90 days delinquent on payments, including those in foreclosure.
The 90-day delinquency rate in Fort Myers is slightly higher than the statewide rate, at 18.28%. Sarasota's rate is 16.48%, while Tampa's is 16.90%.
Budget tinkering continues
The Manatee School Board and schools Superintendent Tim McGonegal are in the midst of a multimillion-dollar disagreement over how much to cut from the 2011-2012 school year budget.
The budget for the past school year was $644 million, but the recession has forced the district to pare down spending for a few years. School officials have held several months of public meetings over the budget, which is due July 27.
McGonegal recently submitted a budget proposal to the board that includes $11 million in cuts. Under that proposal, cuts would come from employee furloughs, outsourcing at least 50 jobs and eliminating another 30 positions. Some board members, however, say the cuts should be closer to $16 million or $17 million.
City scraps system
Sarasota city commissioners directed city staff to start over on a wayfinding system, even though the project has been going on for three years and has already cost more than $300,000.
The system, which is supposed to help people find their way around the city, locate attractions and find public parking, was to cost about $1.5 million. Commissioners were recently asked to approve a contract with a company to manufacture the custom signs, but instead they gave instructions to find an alternative that's at least 40% less expensive.
Commissioners were concerned about long-term upkeep costs of the project, including an estimate that it would cost $200,000 a year in maintenance.
Chamber promotes tourism
The two agencies that promote Manatee County from different perspectives, the Chamber of Commerce and the Convention and Visitors Bureau, recently formed a cross-promotion partnership.
The county's two chamber offices, one in downtown Bradenton and another in Lakewood Ranch, will now offer visitors' guides and other CVB promotional materials. Visitor information center signs will also be placed at the chamber branches.
Chamber officials say tourism promotion should lead to new business for chamber members.
New Chico's CFO
Chico's FAS, the Fort Myers-based women's retailer, has appointed Pamela Knous as its chief financial officer.
Knous replaces Kent Kleeberger, who was promoted from CFO to executive vice president and chief operating officer in March. She will report directly to Chico's President and CEO David Dyer.
Knous, 57, previously served as executive vice president and chief financial officer of Supervalu, a Minnesota-based chain of 2,500 grocery stores, 5,000 retail outlets and 200,000 employees.
Chico's operates 1,206 stores under three brands: Chico's, White House | Black Market and Soma Intimates. The company reported net income of $46 million on sales of $537 million in the first quarter.
Lee Memorial acquisition
Lee Memorial Health System says it plans to acquire Jennings Behavioral Health System for $250,000.
Jennings is a local mental-health provider that offers outpatient services for individuals, families and groups. The staff will remain and the center will be renamed The Behavioral Health Center when the deal is completed July 1.
Lisa Sgarlata, Lee Memorial's chief administrative officer, will oversee the administration of the Behavioral Health Center's operations.
Lee Memorial owns and operates four acute-care hospitals, two specialty hospitals and several clinics in Southwest Florida.
Airport traffic increases
Passenger traffic rose 6.4% at Southwest Florida International Airport in May compared with the same month a year ago despite a 2.7% decrease in takeoffs and landings.
According to the Lee County Port Authority, 587,633 passengers passed through the Fort Myers airport in May. For the year to date, passenger traffic is up 6.1% compared with the first five months in 2010.
The top five airlines by passengers at the Fort Myers airport in May were Delta, AirTran, Southwest, JetBlue and Continental.
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