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News

  • For Subscribers Only
    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
  • For Subscribers Only
    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
  • For Subscribers Only
    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
  • For Subscribers Only
    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
  • For Subscribers Only
    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
  • For Subscribers Only
    By
  • Business Observer Staff
  • February 29, 2008
Commercial Real Estate Briefs

Contemporary Cabinets buys Coke plantOE Racing moves to Centre buildingInvestor buys tattoo parlorVegas developer plans Westshore ElementTampa developer buys Mercantile BuildingHonolulu investors buy Tampa AutoZoneGVA gets Oldsmar GalleriaPF Holdings buys Lynwood SquareTimberstone Group buys Arborgate landPro-Build closes on Cox Lumber land

  • Manatee-Sarasota
  • For Subscribers Only
    By
  • Business Observer Staff
  • February 29, 2008
Coffee Talk

Of fairy tales and housing sales: When Michael Saunders recently addressed the 400 or so real estate agents that make up the bulk of the sales force at the Sarasota-based firm that bears her name, she wanted to combine a pep talk with humor.New Dillard's store may mean transition: Dillard's has started construction on a new store at the sprawling Wiregrass Ranch mixed-use development in Wesley ChapelPopulation slowdown threatens Gators: Construction isn't the only thing that's going to suffer from a decline in population growth in Florida.Non-profit CEO, for-profit style: Mary Labyak, 59, is president and CEO of the Hospice of the Florida Suncoast in Clearwater.Retired entrepreneur gives big for Wellness: An ambitious fundraising campaign for a new building for the Wellness Community, a Sarasota-based support group for cancer patients and their families, is off to a rousing start.Luxury hotel secret officially official: One of the worst kept secrets in the Sarasota development community is no longer a secretCalling GULF COAST entrepreneurs: The Review is seeking the best and brightest Gulf Coast entrepreneurs for its 2008 Entrepreneur Award.

  • News
  • For Subscribers Only
    By
  • Business Observer Staff
  • February 22, 2008
Commercial Real Estate Briefs

Maronda Homes buys 48 lotsMiami investment group buys Sunstate centerOhio investors buyBrantley buildingsStonehenge Capital buys Dixie-Southern, landEntrepreneur Ben Pricebuys bowling lanesSayco, Aqua Fasteners relocate to Bell RoadBallast Point Group buys 23 acresAmprop Development buys building for bankTrust buys Largo units, leases to Kramski

  • Charlotte–Lee–Collier
  • For Subscribers Only
    By
  • Business Observer Staff
  • February 22, 2008
Coffee Talk

Man chamber seeks menbers: Guys, this could be a chamber for you.Amscot not roiled by down economy: The slower economy hasn't stopped people from cashing checks, and that pleases Ian MacKechnieHome swap interest on the rise: When David Moskowitz created a Web site early last year to assist people looking to trade homesExercise the body, grow the profits: A Harvard MBA and management experience can be valuable to a Gulf Coast CEO. But what's just as valuable?And the coveted Stevie award goes to...: If the Oscars and the Grammys have left you with a bout of award envy, worry no moreBonita Bay Group's Hendry projects delayed: The housing bust that is gripping Southwest Florida is pushing back some of developer Bonita Bay Group's plans for residential communities in eastern Lee and Hendry counties.It's only rock n' roll, but we like it: Put away the motivational posters. Reconsider the free monthly back massages in the break room. Another team building exercise on the ropes course?CLW takes stand for heart health: The employees of CLW Real Estate Services Group in Tampa are no strangers to the danger caused by heart disease.Existing-home prices in Naples fall 29% Talk about an eye-popper.Calling Florida entrepreneurs

  • News
  • For Subscribers Only
    By
  • Business Observer Staff
  • February 15, 2008
Coffee Talk

Lee County housing is nation's worst: Look at things on the bright side. Wachovia Senior Economist Mark Vitner does, especially when it comes to the housing market in Lee County.Real estate market on two strikes: When national housing economist Jack McCabe brought his brand of blunt analysis to a group of high-end Sarasota and Bradenton Realtors recently, he settled on a baseball analogy for one of his best zingers. StarLite adding to its fleet: One of the Tampa Bay area's oldest tourist and leisure businesses, StarLite Cruises, is adding another vessel to its dinner and sightseeing fleet.Tech group forms in SW Florida: Southwest Florida isn't exactly a bastion for high-tech entrepreneurs. Techies who toil here often do so alone.A Franchise first for First Watch: Lakewood Ranch-based First Watch, one of the Gulf Coast's most popular breakfast-brunch-lunch restaurant chains, is officially opening its franchise doorConstruction executive leaves lasting legacy: John Cox has long been highly thought of in Gulf Coast development and construction circles for his projectsGulf Coast BUILDING

  • News
  • For Subscribers Only
    By
  • Business Observer Staff
  • February 15, 2008
Commercial Real Estate Briefs

Island Development buys Venetian Towers landCenterco Properties buys Naples GoodyearTruck & Van Works relocates north on MetroHubbard brothers bowling for landSarasota area hotelierbuys U.S. 41 vacant lotSarasota developers plan Alta Mer IIDevelopers Diversified sells Bloomingdale HillNew York company buys Colony CrossingsTA Associates acquires Grand Regency Center

  • Charlotte–Lee–Collier
  • For Subscribers Only
    By
  • Business Observer Staff
  • February 8, 2008
Coffee Talk

The end really was near: Builders who gathered at a Collier Building Industry Association dinner last week were buzzing about the latest Florida homebuilder to file bankruptcy: Tousa Inc., based in Hollywood.Geography change might do it good: Jim Tille, president of a 60-employee, Sarasota-based commercial plumbing firm, is about to go on business trips to Puerto Rico and Aruba, among other places.Competing brokerages to form one entity: Executives at two of the Gulf Coast's largest Re/Max residential real estate firms have taken the "time to buy" mantra of the local real estate market literally, with a twist.Angels flocking together in Southwest Florida: More than just Lee County is involved in an effort to create a regional angel investment fund. Coffee Talk first reported the move to create the Southwest Florida Regional Angel Fund last week.And now, the greening of the death business: Going green continues to be the trend of all trends in business, from so-called eco-friendly vodkas to green manufacturing practices to even green garbage collection.Bad loans crop up in commercial real estate: Is the economic downturn starting to impact commercial real estate?Tampa broker tops in nation: There are a lot of business awards, but when you're from Tampa and you top businesspeople in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago to be best in the nation, and then do it again, it's worth noting.Bradenton community bank puts priority on

  • News
  • For Subscribers Only
    By
  • Business Observer Staff
  • February 8, 2008
Commercial Real Estate Briefs

Shaw Development moves to Lee CountyBrauvin Real Estate buys Lehigh dialysis centerdurpos Buyhomebuilder's officeBoston, Sarasota investors buy Waldemere PlazaCalifornia company, othersbuy Manatee Town CenterSarasota investors buy, lease Center CourtPrudential, CLW buy Tampa buildingsHallandale investor buys Skipper PalmsAtria Senior Living buys Baypoint Village

  • Charlotte–Lee–Collier
  • For Subscribers Only
    By
  • Business Observer Staff
  • February 2, 2008
Commercial Real Estate Briefs

Attorney, citrus broker buy groveEntrepreneurs redevelop Admiral Lehigh resortCompany expands to NaplesTampa Toyota owner buys Southpointe MotorcarsTervis Tumbler Co.busy additional landBenderson sells sites to Budget Self StorageCNL, AmStar Group buy Two Harbour PlaceTarpon Springs contractor buys Family Dollar buildingLandeavor, Walton Streettake over Pulte's LakesideD.E. Shaw Group buys 9,300 homesites

  • Charlotte–Lee–Collier
  • For Subscribers Only
    By
  • Business Observer Staff
  • February 2, 2008
Coffee Talk

Christmas Break is for the birds: This falls in the no-good-deed-goes-unpunished category.U.S. recession: It's all in our heads: The only way the U.S. economy slips into a recession is if we collectively talk ourselves into it. The underlying fundamentals are just too strong otherwise.Major hotel deal possible for Sarasota: The Sarasota-Bradenton business community could be on the verge of receiving some good news: Coffee Talk hears that the Waldorf-Astoria hotel is in the final stages of officially signing on to the Proscenium project.Mel's Diner slows, closes some restaurants: The economic downturn has hit the customers of affordable restaurants, forcing Chris Karakosta to close three of his Mel's Diner restaurants on the Gulf Coast recently.Score one for impact fee opponents: Despite the turbulent economy, impact fees imposed on developers and builders statewide have remained the tax du jour for county and local governments seeking ways to reel in more money.Wanted: Angel investors in Lee: The Lee County Economic Development office is exploring ways of creating an angel fund to invest in local companies.Clearwater firm builds CNN bus: When it came time for CNN to plan its coverage of the 2008 election campaign, the decision was made: Have Parliament Coach and Frontline Communications of Clearwater build a news bus.

  • News
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