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News

    By
  • Business Observer Staff
  • September 21, 2007
Coffee Talk

Marco bank deal called off: Bad loans at Marco Community Bancorp scuttled a deal with the influential Barron Collier and Lutgert families in Collier County.Random acts of freebies: Free giveaways at banks are usually relegated to the coffee and donut display in the lobby. Maybe you'll land a Frisbee and a key chain, or even a lollipop, if you're lucky.D'Alessandro's body recovered: Commercial real estate brokers speculated for days about what happened to well-known Fort Myers broker Frank D'Alessandro.A treat for cookie and cupcake eaters: The wholesale bakery operation behind some of the Gulf Coast's most talked about, and eaten, cookies, muffins and cupcakes is going retail.Have lights, will sell franchises: St. Petersburg entrepreneur Nick Schriver, a 28-year-old landscape architect, started Decorating Elves three years ago as a sideline business that decorated homes for Christmas.Help us find the top tech companies Technology rules.

  • News
    By
  • Business Observer Staff
  • September 21, 2007
Commercial Real Estate Breifs

BPG Properties buys Westshore office parkEmpire American Holdings buys two Tampa apartmentsLocal investors acquires Brookside GardensKessler buys land for St. Pete's Grand BohemianMeridian Business Center approval approachesPalmetto hotelier buys Bayshore InnCourthouse Centre developer planning Adams Lane projectVenice brothers buy Punta Gorda landInvestor change leads to $15-million salWiegold & Sons moving to Enterprise Avenue

  • Tampa Bay-Lakeland
    By
  • Business Observer Staff
  • September 13, 2007
Coffee Talk

Diamonds are elected officials' best friend, too: In terms of sheer size, Gemesis, a Lakewood Ranch-based company that manufactures cultured diamonds, is more than doubling its physical location. It's adding a 31,000-square-foot building to its campus in a corporate park near the University Boulevard exit of Interstate 75.Naples Realtors may publish monthly stats again: Every month, the Florida Association of Realtors publishes existing-home sales data for every metropolitan area.Help us find the top tech companies: Technology rules. From Tampa to Sarasota, Fort Myers and Naples, entrepreneurs have developed amazing technologies that wowed us with their ingenuity. For five years, the Review has highlighted their successes with our annual Technology Innovation Award issue.Shake it like a Polaroid: Part-time Naples resident Michael London is going to shake things up at Polaroid.Tampa CFOs, CIOs will be hiring: CEOs could use a little good news on the Gulf Coast economy.Fighting business comes out swinging: Andrew Neitlich is having a solid first round in his effort to build a franchise-based nationwide mixed martial arts league headquartered in Sarasota.Make traffic tickets go away with convenience and humor: Products claiming to save the "busy business executive" valuable time are as common as a 90-degree August day.Banker takes home statewide award: Charlie Murphy, the chief executive officer of Sarasota-based Bank of Co

  • News
    By
  • Business Observer Staff
  • September 7, 2007
Commercial Real Estate Briefs

Covrus International, Svenson acquire final piece of Sanctuary CoveSt. Louis-based firm buys San Marco buildingKauffman, partners eye Bayou projectRoyal Senior Care buys Palmer ClubLakeland developer plans Trinity retail centerTurtle Cove Marina ownership preparing for expansionInvestor buys Clearwater's Brookside GardensBonita Springs investor buys McGregor Design CenterWing City Grille buys siteTA Associates acquires Punta Gorda Crossings

  • Charlotte–Lee–Collier
    By
  • Business Observer Staff
  • September 7, 2007
Coffee Talk

Medical products economy huge: The medical products industry in the Tampa Bay region contributes a total direct economic output of $3.4 billion and employs more than 12,000 workers, according to a study commissioned by the Florida Medical Manufacturers' Consortium.Slow market calls for foreign response: Howard Rooks is not a novice when it comes to international real estate customers. Beginning in the 1960s, he spent three decades building up Mount Vernon Realty, a 35-office, 2,000-agent firm blanketing the Washington D.C. area, where foreign citizens were common customers.Review welcomes new associate publisher: Angie Basile has joined the Gulf Coast Business Review as associate publisher for Lee and Collier counties.WCI gloomy shareholder meeting: Annual shareholders' meetings are supposed to be uplifting, joyous affairs at which executives present the company's plans for the year ahead.Shutts & Bowen targets Tampa: Miami-based corporate legal firm Shutts & Bowen has beefed up its Tampa operations, growing from a four-lawyer office in March 2006 to 21 attorneys today.More criticism for Odyssey: Tampa-based Odyssey Marine Exploration took a broadside recently when The New York Times editorialized that the sea exploration company should give the riches it found underwater to the Peru government.

  • News
    By
  • Business Observer Staff
  • August 31, 2007
Commercial Real Estate Briefs

Miami family buys Seville ApartmentsInvestment group plans Gridley Medical BuildingDeveloper begins work on Lehigh mixed-use projectTennessee hoteliers overhauling Sleep InnDiablo Performance moving to Rosemary DistrictCity of Sarasota mulls over downtown parking garageLaramar Group buys Clearwater's Bay ParkMiami Beach apartment owners acquire Sun Pointe PlacePebb Enterprises buys Citrus Park outparcel

  • Charlotte–Lee–Collier
    By
  • Business Observer Staff
  • August 31, 2007
Coffee Talk

Donut entrepreneur focuses on Far East: Sarasota entrepreneur Marvin Kaplan is selling a majority of his stake in 18 Gulf Coast Dunkin' Donuts shops, just as he gets closer to his long-stated goal of opening a series of stores for the franchise in China.Downturn claims advertising victim: AdvertisingWorks, a 12-year-old advertising firm in Naples that recently won several awards at the Collier Building Industry Association's annual Sand Dollar Awards, is closing its doors.Downturn claims advertising victim: AdvertisingWorks, a 12-year-old advertising firm in Naples that recently won several awards at the Collier Building Industry Association's annual Sand Dollar Awards, is closing its doors.Tampa International needs more international flights: CEOs that travel appreciate Tampa International Airport after sprinting through endless terminals and riding trams, escalators and moving sidewalks for what seems like miles at other airports.Nationwide pullout opens opportunity: You can appreciate cost cutting if you run a business. But it's a tad different when the cost cutting may affect you.Bank of America surge: made in Tampa: Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis made some headlines earlier this year when he urged his top managers to "Go for the jugular" in taking more market share.WCI's winners: Bankers and lawyers: Shareholders and bondholders of Bonita Springs-based WCI Communities are licking their wounds as the value of their holdings h

  • News
    By
  • Business Observer Staff
  • August 24, 2007
Commercial Real Estate Briefs

Columbia Sussex buys Sanibel Harbour ResortMcGarvey Development plans Cape Coral flex parkNew retail center planned for Naples BoulevardAdams Brothers Cabinetry plans future expansionBenderson acquires Jacaranda PlazaGE Capital Franchise acquires land for PerkinsFlorida Cancer Specialists opening Lakewood officeWoolbright buys Carrollwood's The CascadesProvidence Management buys, repositions PortofinoInvestment group acquires Armenia Center

  • Charlotte–Lee–Collier
    By
  • Business Observer Staff
  • August 24, 2007
Coffee Talk

The Barby just got hotter: It's still king of the hill in number of locations, but it got a little hotter in the kitchen, or near the barby this month for Tampa-based OSI Restaurant Partners, parent company of Outback Steakhouse.Sunshine state employees are smiling: Given the plethora of negative economic news lurking around Florida and beyond, Coffee Talk was mildly, and pleasantly, surprised to see the results of a statewide survey on employment confidence.Hurricane season: high-risk shell game: As Gulf Coast residents watched Hurricane Dean with trepidation, one insurance expert says public opinion is beginning to shift in the industry's favor as the benefits from a state-run insurer are not being delivered as advertised.Commercial real estate broker goes cross-country: Sarasota-based commercial real estate broker Andrew Greenwell knew the market was slowing. But he had no idea his best opportunity would take him 2,500 miles away, to downtown Seattle.Marco bank sees jump in problem loans: Marco Community Bancorp, the Marco Island bank that's being acquired by an investment group led by the prominent Barron Collier and Lutgert families, recently reported a jump in non-accrual loans, according to securities filings.SeaFair takes art to the high seas:SeaFair, the traveling art gallery on a ship, will be making its inaugural sailing from Greenwich, Conn., next month.

  • News
    By
  • Business Observer Staff
  • August 17, 2007
Commercial Real Estate Briefs

McGarvey Development plans large office parkHotel joint venture buys Naples Courtyard4-M Properties, Fireservice plans industrial buildings, HQPennsylvania fund buys Tuscany ApartmentsCritical Path Development planning Toledo Blade CenterKoll Development nears Tampa Intellicenter startLargo's Patel family buys New Port Richey hotelSkin treatment centerexpands, starts classes

  • Charlotte–Lee–Collier
    By
  • Business Observer Staff
  • August 17, 2007
Coffee Talk

Sarasota company hopes to shine in India: Sarasota-based cartridge valve manufacturer Sun Hydraulics has a good grip on at least six global markets, from Korea to Germany.Lee County: Anotherday, another tax: Not a week goes by in Lee County that county government doesn't dream up another tax on builders.Cold storage creates trifecta for Sarasota warehouse: The latest tenant for the Meridian Distribution Center, a 950,000-square-foot warehouse facility on Clark Road in south Sarasota, is especially apropos, given the sweltering Gulf Coast summerAnother public company going private: First, there was Outback Steakhouse. Now, St. Petersburg-based Catalina Marketing is headed to the private companies club.Nightline dumbs down Ave Maria: Ave Maria, the new town being built in eastern Collier County around the newest Catholic university, has been getting lots of national publicity lately opening to new residents, students and faculty.Good guys sometimes lose: Ethical companies don't always win, even when their employees do the right thing.Call the sign shop, again: MacDill Federal Credit Union, an institution of sorts in the Tampa area financial services industry, is changing its name to Grow Financial Federal Credit Union.Kottkamp bashes Hometown Democracy: Gov. Charlie Crist has been notably absent from the raging debate over the Hometown Democracy movement that seeks to put every major land-use change in Florida on the ba

  • News
    By
  • Business Observer Staff
  • August 10, 2007
Coffee Talk

WCI's embarrassing cash trickle: February seems such a long time ago.Here come the '80s, S&L-like?: The softening of the housing market is well known. Get ready for what may come next: Banks foreclosing on land in Florida meant for residential.Looking for overseas business opportunities: Entrepreneurs and small business owners seeking a way to make business and networking contacts in seven international cities can contact Carla Rayman, the new president of the Sarasota Sister Cities Association.Mr. DeBartolo goes to Lakeland: Could this be a sign of a new surge of development in Polk County?Lawyers descend on Health Management Associates: As if on cue following a stock-price decline, legal buzzards are now circling around the Naples-based hospital chain Health Management Associates.It's not D.C., but it's not bad: Westshore's newest office project, the 580,000-square-foot multi-level West View Corporate Center, will feature a reflecting pool fronted by a long rectangular green open space called The Common.

  • News
    By
  • Business Observer Staff
  • August 10, 2007
Commercial Real Estate Briefs

Montecito Medical Investment acquires Summit Medical CenterMilestone Group acquires Lutz's Willow LakeSt. Petersburg investor buys Raymond James Office ParkMissouri developer plans Alico Road retail centerEd Bonkowski group acquires three duplex propertiesMD Developers buildFort Myers officeJoint venture takes control of two Holiday InnsFort Myers investorimproves Self StoragePublix Super Markets buys University Walk retail center

  • Charlotte–Lee–Collier
    By
  • Business Observer Staff
  • August 3, 2007
Coffee Talk

West Tampa feels the urban awakening: First there was Hyde Park in south Tampa. Then Seminole Heights. Then northern Ybor City. Then Tampa Heights north of downtown. Then Channelside.Bulldozers coming to Westshore: For those who don't know: Westshore is the largest business district on the Gulf Coast with more than 11 million square feet of offices. Some put it past Miami.Homebuilders strive to melt the housing slump: Homebuilders have resorted to all kinds of gimmicks - that is, incentives - when it comes to pushing product in the current slumping real estate market. Boat company sails through good times and bad: Clearwater-based boat retailer MarineMax's hot 2006 has so far only led to a cold 2007.What's in a name?: If you're wondering whether Raymond James & Associates Inc. made a wise investment in sponsoring Raymond James Stadium, the answer is yes, says one family member.Loan-seeking entrepreneurs experience express success: Budding small business owners and entrepreneurs know the drill when it comes to getting loans for a new business venture: Swallow hard, close your eyes and brace for the dreaded "no."And now, Governor blah, blah, blah

  • News
    By
  • Business Observer Staff
  • August 3, 2007
Commercial Real Estate Briefs

Whitaker Yacht Club near start, adds MarriottBonita Bay Group buys back Punta Gorda landNaples developers renaming, developing Tranquility IslandEdens & Avant buys Coral Shores centerLiberty Investment plans extended-stay Fort Myers hotelCitrus World buys 80-acre groveRealty Equity buys two office buildingsDuke Realty buys land for Big Bend center Camden Property Trust acquires Pointe at Kings AvenueFuel and Shubh buy Westshore Hotel

  • Manatee-Sarasota
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