News

Business Observer Staff
August 15, 2008

Commercial Real Estate Briefs

TA Associates fund buys Centrepointe, Corporate OakBoston firm buys Picture Factory buildingCollier School Districtbuys Ave Maria school landLee County grows preserve,acquires 508 acresLutgert Cos. renovating Village on Venetian BayLongboat Key couple buys BP gas station, car washWellness Community-SouthwestFlorida plans Building HopeLocal developers start Morgan Johnson Commerce ParkWindsor Senior Living set to start Venice facility in September

Tampa Bay-Lakeland

Business Observer Staff
August 15, 2008

Coffee Talk

+ Kleiner Perkinsinvests in companyKleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, one of the best-known venture capital firms in the world, recently disclosed it is an investor in Lehigh Technologies, a Naples-based company that was the winner of the Gulf Coast Business Review's technology innovation award for the Lee-Collier area in 2006.+ Newsflash: Checkthe copyright booksThe irony of this story is especially sweet: Seems that a group of supposedly well-intentioned attorneys across Florida goofed on a basic legal principle when forming a group to provide free legal services to homeowners facing foreclosure.+ Walter Industriesstock rises and fallsWalter Industries saw its stock jump to more than $104 a share this month on the New York Stock Exchange on the heels of a good quarterly report.+ Commercial propertyowners find tax helpNot every real estate-related business is in the doldrums.+ Developer doesn't give up,despite a massive loan issueA $40 million loan default isn't exactly what Brent Virkus had in mind when he made his initial foray into the Gulf Coast development pool two years ago.+ PODS marksmillionth milestoneClearwater-based PODS Enterprises Inc., the portable storage company, delivered its one millionth PODS container recently to Paul Johnson, a customer doing a home remodeling job in Fullerton, Calif. + Manatee business climatecontinues to sufferIn many cases, the issues facing senior exec

News

Business Observer Staff
August 8, 2008

Commercial Real Estate Briefs

ovland, investors buy Greyhound warehouseNorth Carolina company plansFort Myers 'green' asphalt plantClarke's Quality Care buys Crestwood ManorFreedom takes overthree parcels from K2MLargo investor buys Castilian Lake ApartmentsRoth Investment Realtybuys Masonite warehouse

Charlotte–Lee–Collier

Business Observer Staff
August 8, 2008

Coffee Talk

+ Sarasota projectcorrals deep-pocketsThe first chunk of financing for what is projected to be one of the biggest redevelopment efforts in the history of Sarasota is supposedly in place, courtesy of a $40 billion-plus private equity firm in New York City.+ Brooks to tacklechallenges of CEOsYou know him because of his all-pro play as a linebacker for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and for his help educating children. Now Derrick Brooks is planning to tackle the education of athletes and chief executives with the help of Gulf Coast CEOs.+ Priority problemstoo tough for top bankerKevin Hale, one of the most respected executive bankers in Florida, looked at his most recent task - to save Bradenton-based First Priority Bank from a messy financial failure - as something akin to pushing a boulder up a mountain: Difficult, but not impossible. + Miami clues usin to inflationThe Federal Reserve is fretting about inflation. Should you?+ Rough domestic economypushes company to go globalExpanding internationally to countries such as Brazil wasn't high on Steve White's priority list late in 2006 when he took over Lakewood Ranch-based Signs Now, a sign and graphics design franchise operation with 200-plus stores nationwide.

News

Business Observer Staff
August 1, 2008

Coffee Talk

+ Divorcee housing;supply meets demandSpouse kicked you out of the house? Forget hotels.+ Attention art lovers:Share your passion and winWhen Susie Harris and her two siblings decided it was time to get out of the art gallery and custom picture framing business earlier this year, they had one major problem: A dearth of interested buyers for their small but popular store in Bradenton, Art Decor International.+ Debt collectors beware,lawsuits are risingIf you're going after someone who owes you money - and in this economy, there is a lot more of that for Gulf Coast businesses - better know the rules. Florida's business climateshines again nationallyFlorida is back in the good graces of C-Suite executives seeking states that have the most pro-business attitudes in the country.+ Bradenton bank rescuedby outside capital - for nowFreedom Bank, one of a few Bradenton-based banks facing corrosive loan problems, has been thrown a $5 million lifeline.

News

Business Observer Staff
July 25, 2008

Commercial Real Estate Briefs

Ringling College buys store, motel, lotSun Hydraulicsbuys Tallevast landRauch companybuys Sara Sea on Siesta KeyDaVinci Center sold, available for leaseUBS' agriculture groupbuys 1,066-acre Alva GroveLee County school boardbuys 79 acres in Cape CoralBayStar Hotel Group buys Heritage HotelTampa's Hachems buyLenox Place, Royal BreezeColumbus Drive LLCbuys Wilson Industries building

Manatee-Sarasota

Business Observer Staff
July 25, 2008

Coffee Talk

+ Dupe the media!Rake in profits!Someone finally figured out how to make money on the stock of WCI Communities, a stock that has fallen from the $20 range into $1 territory.+ Student housingin growing demandNot all of real estate has slowed to a crawl.+ Battle heats up oversoutheast Lee CountyAn epic legal battle is looking more certain with the resignation of a well-respected development consultant from a committee formed to examine land uses in southeast Lee County.+ Hot hogs focusof shocking studyTampa's Stinger Systems Inc. had a problem. It needed to prove the cardiac safety of its key product, the Stinger S-200 electro-stun gun, but it's hard to find human volunteers willing to endure the repeated shocks, close study and eventual surgery required.+ New C12 groupin Fort MyersC12, a nationwide group of organizations for Christian chief executive officers, has added a new franchise in Fort Myers. + Flagler Westshore purchaseexpensive, development delayedCoral Gables-based Flagler Development Group appears to be waging a big bet on its new Westshore property.+ Fight to widenPine Island RoadBuilders in Cape Coral plan to redouble their efforts to widen the busy Pine Island Road corridor despite the governor's veto.+ Not your parents'flea marketYou may have thought flea markets were a thing of the past, but a newly built one in Collier County takes the concept to a whole new level.

News

Business Observer Staff
July 18, 2008

Commercial Real Estate Briefs

Charlotte–Lee–Collier

Business Observer Staff
July 18, 2008

Coffee Talk

+ Gulf Coast banksin the doghouseIt's been no fun being a publicly held bank company lately, especially on the Gulf Coast of Florida.+ Bottom-hitting talk lingers onTalk of hitting the proverbial bottom of the Gulf Coast's residential real estate market malaise has been percolating for months - but clearly the chatter hasn't led to any consensus.+ How to getbalanced in lifeA common refrain among ambitious business people - especially each class of the Review's 40 Under 40 - is that elusive quest for finding balance in their lives.+ New office productemerges more slowlyCrescent Resources has built some of the Gulf Coast's newest and most distinct Class A corporate office buildings, including three in Tampa's Westshore business district on Boy Scout Boulevard with tenants like OSI, parent of Outback Steakhouse.+ Tattle-Trailin the marketAnother company has emerged from the Star Center business incubator in Largo: Tattle-Trail LLC.Tattle-Trail has created a monitoring product about the size of a garage door opener that allows a driver to see the vehicle he's towing, in case there is a flat tire or mechanical problem behind him.+ Networking groupmixes blogging with eatingA networking group for small business owners and entrepreneurs in Sarasota has added a twist to the standard lunch meeting: Combining it with an online network.+ Special committeenot so special anymoreWhat's so special about the s

News

Business Observer Staff
July 11, 2008

Coffee Talk

+ Optimism a tough sellfor small business ownersIf you like optimistic outlooks on the economy and feel-good statements about when things will turnaround, then the latest survey from the National Federation of Independent Business isn't for you.+ Bank of Floridastock takes a hitWhat prompted the precipitous fall of the stock of Bank of Florida in recent days?+ Candidate's support comesfrom surprising sourcesJono Miller, an unabashed pro-environment Democrat running for Sarasota County Commissioner, is getting some big-name support from some unlikely sources. Namely, three of the area's most prominent landowners and homebuilders.+ Russell index leaves littleroom for Gulf Coast muscleThe annual reconfiguration of the stocks that make up the family of Russell Indexes wasn't very friendly to Gulf Coast companies this year. + Russell index leaves littleroom for Gulf Coast muscleThe annual reconfiguration of the stocks that make up the family of Russell Indexes wasn't very friendly to Gulf Coast companies this year. + The search is onfor new chamber headAfter seven years at the helm, Kim Scheeler has announced that he is leaving his post as president of the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce to accept a similar job in Richmond, Va. + Tampa tech forumhits the right chordsThey've come a long way since their early days at the Tampa Theater.

News

Business Observer Staff
July 10, 2008

Coffee Talk

+ Wine entrepreneur seeksconnoisseurs with cashGrant Cats built a multimillion dollar, 30-plus franchise wine business in Canada over 10 years - no easy feat in a country with alcohol taxes so high that customers sometimes pay as much as $5 in taxes on a $12 bottle of wine.+ Southwest Floridaregionalism gets a new lookThere's nothing like an economic downturn to revive the talk of regional cooperation.+ Red hot Sirionon a roll of good newsSirion Therapeutics, Inc., a five-year-old Tampa biopharmaceutical company, is on a serious roll.+ Sarasota real estate firmtakes auction process nationalWith the residential real estate market puttering along, auctions have become a Realtor's salvation on the Gulf Coast. Several of the recent top-dollar sales in the Greater Sarasota market, for instance, have been conducted through auctions.+ Real estate vetsbranch out to investThe heads of CLW Real Estate Services Group in Tampa have formed another company, LVR Real Estate Partners, to focus on real estate investment opportunities.+ The millionaire next door:Neighborhoods are crowdedThe Gulf Coast economy might be slogging its way through, but the number of millionaires, at least in the Tampa area, is growing. + Sher takes on rolewith LightningCraig Sher, executive chairman of the Sembler Co., the St. Petersburg-based retail development and management firm that did BayWalk and many other projects, is now part

News

Business Observer Staff
June 27, 2008

Commercial Real Estate Briefs

Shoot Straight plans Fort Myers gun shopLee County Port Authority buys 285 acres for airport connector Shaw-owned company buys two Winkler office buildingsWood Street owners explore third building CC Properties buys Prudential, Watch Connection buildingPort Manatee park owners sell land to development districtJackson Transformer buys warehouseBrandon Eye Associates move to Medical Oaks DriveTurbine Diagnostic Services buys Odessa warehouseBlackhawk Realty Advisors buy Sun Lake Apartments

Charlotte–Lee–Collier

Business Observer Staff
June 27, 2008

Coffee Talk

+ I'll take the Obama girl dress: It's called the Tank Leaf Print dress, but Chico's FAS should rename it The Michelle Obama dress. Or come next year, maybe the White House dress.+ Quick I-75 relief comes from hard work, luck: Thousands of commuters and drivers in northern Manatee County were happy, relatively speaking, to be back on the road heading southbound on Interstate 75 to start the workweek June 23.+ Infinity acquisition comes through the Review pages: Dale Ott decided about 10 months ago that his Sarasota-based technology-consulting firm, Vitil Solutions, was getting too big and unwieldy.+ WCI Communities: An Icahn transaction?: In a recent filing for Bonita Springs-based WCI Communities, Carl Icahn says he may enter into a "transaction" with the builder.+ Accountant fights in Washington D.C.: It might only have been five minutes, but Bradenton accountant Byron Shinn didn't hold anything back when he got a chance to speak before a U.S Congressional committee about challenges facing small businesses.+ Getting 245 mpg electric in Clearwater: Gulf Coast residents have heard a lot about electric cars, but they haven't been easy to find.Going green in St. Pete: Part environmental, part marketing, whatever the motivation, the green trend seems here to say.GULF COAST UNEMPLOYMENT RATEFort Myers area sees no foreclosure letup: The Cape Coral-Fort Myers area registered the nation's second-highest foreclosure

News

Business Observer Staff
June 19, 2008

Commercial Real Estate Briefs

Safe-Start Inc. changes Fort Myers warehouseCollex Collision Experts buys Cape Coral repair shopAssociates in Cosmetic Surgery buys back buildingInvestors buy, renovate former D&W buildingFP&L buys 8 acres for Manasota Industrial substationDoctors Hospital plans medical office scheduled to open in July Stuart S. Golding Co. renovates building for V.A.

Charlotte–Lee–Collier

Business Observer Staff
June 19, 2008

Coffee Talk

Continental Airlines jets out of Sarasota: Talk about the high price of gas.What's behind Riverside Bank shakeup?: The shakeup at Riverside Bank of the Gulf Coast in Cape Coral is not because of pressure from banking regulators, Elmer Tabor, the bank's chairman, assures Coffee Talk.Tampa real estate market seen as deals and steals: Tampa-area Realtors might want to grab a copy of the June 23 issue of Fortune magazine for office framing.Early Father's Day present for Gulf Coast money manager: Money manager Robert Stovall has just about seen and done it all in his 50-year plus career in the stock marketsBanks sell more loans to clean up books: As a way to strengthen their books, some Gulf Coast banks are selling more non-performing commercial loans, sometimes at a discount, to get the loans off of their bookshe Heights shifts to commercial: The Heights, a 50-acre mixed-use redevelopment project along the Hillsborough River just north of downtown Tampa, has delayed its residential work and will instead focus on the office portion of the project first.Riverwalk project gets a boost: Tampa entrepreneur, chief executive and real estate veteran Brenda Doring recently brought a local industry group into the effort to improve downtown.WCI's next big date: Aug. 5 and $125 million: Bonita Springs-based homebuilder WCI Communities is going to face its biggest test this summer on Aug. 5.Landowners seek hotel deals on empty l

News

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Commercial Real Estate Briefs

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Commercial Real Estate Briefs

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Report: Small business optimism up, but worries percolate

CEO of Bradenton EDC announces retirement

Manatee County to break ground on $40M veterans complex

Moez Limayem confirmed as USF’s new president

Developer proposes three-story mixed-use project on St. Armands

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