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Business Observer Staff
August 29, 2008

Coffee Talk

+ Awards are nice,sales are nicerTop 10 lists aren't what always what they appear.+ Rooney buysKraft ConstructionWhen Kraft Construction Co. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Fred Pezeshkan hinted to the Review about a joint venture a few weeks ago, turns out the deal was a little more than that.+ CNL makesanother big buyCNL Commercial Real Estate, which bought Two Harbour Place, a 12-story office building on Harbour Island in downtown Tampa in January, said it was bullish on Tampa Bay.+ Money in motiongains speedHere's another sign of life in the residential real estate industry. It's what mortgage broker and real estate investor Jeff Tumbarello calls "money in motion."+ What brain drain?Seeking to turn the tideA trio of Sarasota-area business have dropped a plug into the so-called brain drain of college students and young professionals leaving the Sunshine State for supposedly sunnier opportunities elsewhere.+ Naples visitorcount rises in JuneThe number of visitors staying at hotels in the Naples area rose 3.5% to 110,700 in June compared with the same month last year, according to research by Research Data Services for the Naples, Marco Island, Everglades Convention and Visitors Bureau.+ Mountain man holdsmountainous optimismDoug Dieck is president of the Tampa office for development company Ryan Southeast, which designs and builds commercial buildings.+ ClarificationThe const

News

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Business Observer Staff
August 29, 2008

Commercial Real Estate Briefs

Medi-Weightloss Clinics buys new headquartersApartment investor Mallahbuys Oceanside ApartmentsLutgert Cos. renovatingVillage on Venetian BayCoral Gables bankerbuys St. Pete warehousesInvestment group buysOld Dixie Highway RV ParkCanberra Investments addsto White Lake park holdingsPennsylvania anesthesiologistsbuy Marco Island buildingArlington Garden getsrehab, new ownershipLowe's buys Sarasota land,for Palmer Ranch storeRKM Development buysland for Venice Walgreens

Tampa Bay-Lakeland

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Mark Gordon
August 25, 2008

Broker's Blues

The negative market perception is truly reality, but at least it's not time to start slashing wrists, jokes one broker. Many are focused on 2010.

Manatee-Sarasota

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Business Observer Staff
August 25, 2008

Commercial Real Estate Briefs

Yellowfin Yachts adds Bradenton propertyNew York landlord buysBradenton Sports AuthorityWinter Park's Rock Propertiesbuys land for WalgreensAmerican Realty Capital buys Wachovia branchesBoston investment groupbuys Grove home, villa lotsLutgert Cos. renovatingVillage on Venetian BayWalgreen buys store from Paradise DevelopmentLiberty Insurance buildings sold to investorsSovran Self Storage buysLock N Key Mini StorageCrosland buys Westshore land,plans apartments, retail

Manatee-Sarasota

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Business Observer Staff
August 22, 2008

Coffee Talk

+ Beall's to ring the bellfor a new battleSteve Knopik, chief executive officer of Bradenton-based retailer Beall's, is finally talking about the K-word.+ Gulf Coast builders' grouplooks to hire new leaderThe Gulf Coast Builders Exchange, a prominent lobbying and networking group for contractors, builders and developers in Sarasota and Bradenton, is looking for a new leader after severing ties with longtime Executive Director Jay Brady.+ Wiregrass bucksretailing trendAt a time when many retailers are slowing down or stopping expansion, and when some developers are delaying retail construction, The Shops at Wiregrass in Wesley Chapel is bucking the trend.+ Opus also hopesto buck retail trendAs Wiregrass continues to lease up its retail space, the Tampa office of Opus South is quietly planning a $160 million retail development of its own, in Tampa's Westshore area.+ Need to cut costs?Check your assessmentTampa attorney Jim Soble offers a reminder for chief executives and chief financial officers at this time of year: Check the assessed value of your property. + CorrectionA real estate brief in the Review's Aug. 8 issue contained an incorrect name. It should have read: "The purchase entity Seaside Resort Holdings LLC mortgaged the Seaside Inn & Resort to 1st Manatee Bank for $2.36 million."

Manatee-Sarasota

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

For Subscribers Only

Business Observer Staff
July 18, 2008

Commercial Real Estate Briefs

Charlotte–Lee–Collier

For Subscribers Only

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

For Subscribers Only

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.

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Coffee Talk

Commercial Real Estate Briefs

Broker's Blues

Commercial Real Estate Briefs

Coffee Talk

Commercial Real Estate Briefs

Coffee Talk

Commercial Real Estate Briefs

Coffee Talk

Coffee Talk

Commercial Real Estate Briefs

Coffee Talk

Commercial Real Estate Briefs

Coffee Talk

Coffee Talk

Downtown Clearwater project gets $160 million in financing

Bonita Springs 68-acre development lands TJ Maxx, Ulta as tenants

Barancik Foundation grants $11M to housing, arts, education, hunger groups

Study: Florida homebuyers among most financially stretched in US

Sarasota EDC earns 'gold standard' of industry recognition

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