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News

    By
  • Business Observer Staff
  • April 25, 2008
Coffee Talk

Location, pricing ... still the success keys: Amid the gloom surrounding residential real estate, there are pockets of sunshine based on the fundamentals of the industry.Fort Myers back on Grubb & Ellis map: Grubb & Ellis is back in Fort Myers.Southwest Florida still bankers' trouble spot: Of all the regions in Florida, the southwest area and Lee County in particular, remain tough places for bankers. Pro-business campaign receiving high marks: When a few of Sarasota's top business leaders gathered together late last year to combat a growing anti-business sentiment in the community, they expected a positive responseWait it out, the affluent remain: Companies selling luxury goods and services have felt the changes in the economy. Consumers of those items have seen the impact on their portfolios.Zirkelbach Construction builds for Honda, FedEx: Two of the most well-known brand names in the country - Honda and FedEx - now symbolize a lot more than reliable cars and on-time overnight deliveries to one Manatee County construction firm.Tense times for Tampa Tribune: First there were layoffs at The Tampa Tribune during the last two years. More recently, some sections of the newspaper have been cut or consolidated.Former elected official running for new office: Donna Clarke couldn't stay out of the game for long. The former Florida State representative, who ran an unsuccessful campaign for Congress in 2006, is getting back into poli

  • News
    By
  • Business Observer Staff
  • April 18, 2008
Commercial Real Estate Briefs

eComSystems Inc. moves, buys Paleo Park buildingMassachusetts investor buys Healthsouth BuildingWellness Community set to buy ranch landPremier Performance owners buy Bradenton propertyWilliams Parker buys buildingPhillips Development & Realty plans Delaney Creek projectKlar plans new homeless facilitySt. Pete Beach hotelier buys Bay Palms ResortEntrepreneur buys apartmentsEmeritus buys Fort Myers' The LakesLee County buys 67 acres for preserveGates D'Alessandro, Woodyard becomes just WoodyardGulfsteam Homes, BB&Ttrades home, lots

  • Tampa Bay-Lakeland
    By
  • Business Observer Staff
  • April 18, 2008
Coffee Talk

The ever growing Price Guarantee Club: Sarasota-based developer Rob Morris is balancing an odd mix of anxiety and confidence as he seeks buyersLee County's first signs of hope: It's hard to find much good news about Lee County's housing market.Weight loss chain comes to Florida: Physician-directed Hy-Tech Weight Loss, a chain of weight loss centers based in Omaha, Neb., has opened a St. Petersburg locationSafest place for housing in Lee County: Matlacha: If the Lee County area has the worst rate of foreclosure in the countryTampa gets two new conventions: Siting good prices, available hotels, the convention center and the weather, two Washington-based associations have picked Tampa as the site of their 2010 and 2011 conventionBeall's finally gets new president: Bradenton-based retailer Beall's has hired Lana Cain KrauterBradenton land firm clear out of options: The real estate market slump has snared its latest victim: Bradenton-based Earthworks Land Development

  • News
    By
  • Business Observer Staff
  • April 11, 2008
Commercial Real Estate Briefs

Key Club unveils $500 million projectStarr joins Siesta Plaza, plans redevelopmentKent Technologies Lighting and Signaling closes on storage siteLee County buys Fiddlestick propertyNortheastern investment group buys land for Pollo TropicaSanta Ana investors buy Colonial Bank buildingHeritage Golf Group buys TPC Tampa BayLindell Properties kicks off Wilderness CommonsChuck's Natural Food owner buys Brandon center

  • Manatee-Sarasota
    By
  • Business Observer Staff
  • April 11, 2008
Coffee Talk

Unemployment rose despite tourism: Unemployment rates in Southwest Florida typically decline during the January-April months as the tourism industry hires more people.If you don't like them, join them: A philosophical battle of opinions over the concept of whether setting up auctions to sell homes is a good thing has been brewing on the Gulf Coast for the past yearUT business students win competition: Chalk one up for business students at the University of Tampa.Land sales slow, opportunities continue: Coffee Talk conducted an informal poll of land brokers in the Tampa Bay area and found sales are off substantially during the past yearAt least we're not in Flint, Mich.: There's plenty of dark humor going around these days at real estate gatherings as industry folks try to keep each other's spirits up.The guts to survive the downturn: Another sign of the rough economic times on the Gulf Coast: There has been a proliferation of seminars devoted to surviving an economic downturn.Take the Lee County pop quiz on taxes: Pop Quiz: How many separate taxing authorities does Lee County have?Forty Carrots center donation deadline looms: The Forty Carrots Family Center, a well-known Sarasota-based nonprofit group dedicated to early childhood and parenting education, is closing in on a deadline for raising money for its end of a unique commercial real estate deal.

  • News
    By
  • Business Observer Staff
  • April 4, 2008
Coffee Talk

Cabinetmaker struggles to be busy: In a market full of ominous signs, here's one that screams out as especially gloomyRue Education pursues nursing solutions: There is a problem getting enough registered nurses on the Gulf Coast and throughout the country.The Vineyards: Naples no-drop zone: You'll have to forgive prospective homebuyers for feeling shy about signing a contract to buy a new house in Naples these daysThousands of homes, still an optimist: When more than 50 employees of Lakewood Ranch-based homebuilder Neal Communities gathered recently to celebrate the company's 7,000th home, they got more than a party.Cape Coral spotlight: Harmful or helpful?: Does an article in The Wall Street Journal generate home sales, even if the tone is negative?A glimpse inside Wal-Mart purchasing: It is rare that a small business owner, a vendor or supplier, can gain access to officials from the world's largest retailer, Wal-Mart. Centex bucks trend, selling new houses: Despite the slowdown in the residential market, Centex Homes sold 77 new houses in 75 days during its recent winter-clearance promotion in four Hillsborough County communities.Women unitein commercial real estate: Women long ago smashed the glass ceiling in residential real estate, but men still dominate Southwest Florida's commercial real estate industry.Entrepreneur mom sells cloth diapers: Amy Carr's daughter Emily couldn't wear disposable diapers beca

  • News
    By
  • Business Observer Staff
  • April 4, 2008
Commercial Real Estate Briefs

LifeLink Foundation Inc. develops Crosstown officesExcelsior LaSalle fund buys Lutz apartmentSterling University Housing redevelops University PointeIHOP franchise holderconverts Venice DurangoRe/Max Alliance Group named state's topNY message therapistbuys small Cortez centerFort Myers fund buys Coral Lakes homesDeveloper Deltona Corp.buys 112 Cape Coral lotsJohn Bowman Inc. buys flex building

  • Charlotte–Lee–Collier
    By
  • Business Observer Staff
  • March 29, 2008
Osprey Optimism

A large commercial development project on the Gulf Coast - the first phase, anyway - is actually close to completion. Could more good news follow?

  • Manatee-Sarasota
    By
  • Business Observer Staff
  • March 29, 2008
Commercial Real Estate Briefs

Saudi Sheik, Boca investor buy 44 acresPreshers Tool & Fastener grows, adds warehouseMartinez family buys Del Prado centerThree doctors buy units in Vanderbilt Beach buildingOrion buys land, plans Venice galleria branchAirport Hampton Inn to start in MayHome health care firmbuys South Trail buildingMetro, D.E. Shaw buy part of Epperson RanchTA Associates fundbuys Reo BuildingNorthgate Lincoln-Mercury buys Tampa dealership siteRoyal Yacht Club sold, named Beso Del Sol Resort

  • Charlotte–Lee–Collier
    By
  • Business Observer Staff
  • March 29, 2008
Coffee Talk

Get on the bus, a new tour is in town: New York City has its Seinfeld and Sex and the City bus tours, where fans of those famous TV shows can see where Jerry bought soup and Carrie bought shoesSilk pajamas not included: Wanderlust, the annual tourism charity confab in Southwest Florida, will take on a new meaning this yeaSlumping economy breeds opportunities: While the current economic climate doesn't necessarily scream opportunity for revenue growth, small business owners and entrepreneurCollman & Karsky fine tune culture: Collman & Karsky, an architecture and interior design firm in Tampa, has recently seen more billable hours than ever with more focus.Junk haulers relocate to Tampa: Two high school friends from Washington, Nick Friedman and Omar Soliman, came up with a business ideaGULF COAST TOURISMCape Coral-Fort Myers top national foreclosure rate

  • News
    By
  • Business Observer Staff
  • March 21, 2008
Coffee Talk

Hooters founders sell restaurants: The Clearwater-based founders of Hooters Inc. have agreed to sell their 22 restaurants for $55.1 million.Bear Stearns debacle traps Sherman: The Bear Stearns collapse has been felt across the globe.Construction firm alleviates growing pains: A Sarasota-based construction company that is pinning its ambitious growth plans on a national focus on renovation and restoration projects is going smaller so it can get bigger one dayWCI chief's home for sale: $14.25 million: Jerry Starkey, the president and CEO of Bonita Springs-based homebuilder WCI Communities, is selling his Naples home, according to the Web site of a real estate agency.Sonberg elected H&K managing partner: Holland & Knight Miami partner Steve Sonberg has been elected managing partner of the 1,150-lawyer Tampa-based firm.Government triggeredeconomic downturn: Jay Brady, the executive director of the Gulf Coast Builder's Exchange, gets paid to look out for the best interests of contractors, developers and construction firms.St. Petersburg builderdevelops hurricane additive: Despite the downturn in the homebuilding market, one Tampa Bay area CEO tells Coffee Talk that he has found a successful niche and a corporate structure that is keeping his workers busy and his companies profitable.Wachovia's Vitner now calls for recession: Wachovia Senior Economist Mark Vitner toured Southwest Florida in February telling investors that

  • News
    By
  • Business Observer Staff
  • March 21, 2008
Commercial Real Estate Briefs

Lee County 20/20 buys 36 acresFort Myers investors buy former Taco BellSeneca Petroleum buysTre Amici buildingSpirit Finance company buys Fort Myers buildingWest Palm developer buys retail plazaBradenton investors buy All U Can StorageLux-Art Silks builds new warehouseSarasota's Jump Dance relocates to Lakewood RanchWeichels, Fullers buy McSwiggins Pub buildingWeichels, Fullers buy McSwiggins Pub buildingSun Development & Management Corp. plans SpringHill SuitesHirschy, Servant investors redevelop bowling alleyEntrepreneurs buy apartments

  • Charlotte–Lee–Collier
    By
  • Business Observer Staff
  • March 14, 2008
Coffee Talk

For Sale: Fort Myers City Hall: City Hall is for saleBroker goes 'green' with incentives: Diane Lawson, a commercial real estate broker and developer with Sarasota-based Abbey Realty & Management, is especially keen on green for St. Patrick's Day this year.Tribridge grows through acquisition: Tampa-based Tribridge started 10 years ago as a firm that helped companies make better use of technologyChico's new blame: Foreclosures in key statesGold Coast taps another beer:One of the Gulf Coast's largest beer distributors has won a small victory in the area's beer battles by buying the rights to sell Rolling Rock beer in Sarasota and Manatee counties from a competitor.Laser brings design into focus: The Tampa office of planning, engineering and surveying firm Wade Trim is betting on the future buy using a high-tech measurement tool that may become an industry norm.Naples attorney defends National Century execs: Naples attorney Brian Dickerson has been spending a lot of time in Ohio. He may be there for a while and it's not because he's snowed in.

  • News
    By
  • Business Observer Staff
  • March 14, 2008
Commercial Real Estate Briefs

New York group develops airport parcelGreat Dane Developers buys Grand ApartmentsNaples developer buys Hickory nook and marinaSix L's Packing buys Tomato ManPreshers Tool & Fastenergrows, adds warehouseCanadian group plans eastern villageCanadian investors buy Rolling WavesHap's Honda Cycle Sales plans growth, new facilityLakewood Ranch arena closer to foreclosureFlagler buys Bridgeport CenterGrubb & Ellis REIT buys medical plazaGoodman, Forest City buy more Wiregrass landIkea buys land, site work continues

  • Charlotte–Lee–Collier
    By
  • Business Observer Staff
  • March 7, 2008
Coffee Talk

USF grads head to Wall Street: Two University of South Florida grads snagged what is often viewed as a dream job for aspiring finance or accounting studentsBare offers tips for entrepreneurs: Warren Bare is a successful Internet entrepreneurHomebuilder goes truly affordable: It took Lakewood Ranch homebuilder Pat Neal only a few months to do what various Gulf Coast government agencies and bureaucracies haveWCI delays annual report, forecasts $700 million loss: A regulatory filing by Bonita Springs-based WCI Communities on Feb. 29 shows just how bad a year 2007 has been for the homebuilder.Entrepreneurs vow to make good on new magazine: The magazine publishing industry, both in Florida and nationwide, has had it share of struggles recently, yet another side effect of the housing market slump.Lee foreclosure bottom in sight: Lee County Clerk of Court Charlie Green says the civil division is "buried in cases" from the foreclosure wave that topped 2,400 filingsDinner theater opening lingers even longer: Talk about dramaAUTOMOBILE SALES: What the data shows

  • News
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