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More News

    By
  • 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
    By
  • 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
    By
  • 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
    By
  • 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
    By
  • 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
    By
  • 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
    By
  • Business Observer Staff
  • June 13, 2008
Commercial Real Estate Briefs

Arthrex buys HellermanTyton buildingLiberty Bank buys land for second Cape Coral branchBilly's Rentals acquires Chitwood warehouse spaceAlbertson's sheds Florida stores in deal with PublixSouth Florida Materials buys 200 acres near portFlorida restaurateur buys 19 acres in North PortWellSpring Pharmaceutical buys University Park unitsChrist Church of Longboat Key buys Longview Realty buildingSoutheast Milk Inc. buys Plant City dairyTampa Electric buys Ruskin land for future substationOM Ventures Inc. buys, revises Magdalene East

  • Charlotte–Lee–Collier
    By
  • Business Observer Staff
  • June 13, 2008
Coffee Talk

ASG on the acquisition path: Is Naples-based ASG Software Solutions on the verge of another blockbuster software-company acquisition?Tom James shares a few pearls: It was akin to an E.F. Hutton moment.Sunny days are here to stay in Sarasota: The business axiom of thinking and selling global is in full rotation at Sun Hydraulics, the publicly traded Sarasota-based cartridge valve manufacturing firm.And the not so sunny news awards go to...: While Sun Hydraulics basks in the glow of its Business Week Hot Growth companies rankings, two other Gulf Coast-based publicly traded companies are wilting from being included on a related listCrashing through transportation barriers: Florida Department of Transportation Secretary Stephanie Kopelousos recently visited Bonita Springs to discuss one crisis when she ran up on another.Region's women still strong on Barron's rankings: A pair of Gulf Coast financial planners have made the cut on Barron's Top 100 Women Financial Advisors list - one for the third straight year, while the other finished third place for the second time in a row.Happy days if you manufacture and export: We all keep looking and hoping for a positive consensus from the economic prognosticators. Who needs yet another economist telling us what we already know?

  • News
    By
  • Business Observer Staff
  • June 6, 2008
Commercial Real Estate Briefs

Collier to develop San Carlos retail, storage areasHadge & Associates buys final interest in Summerlin landPrimerica will develop new retail, office centerCedars Tennis Club's new owners plan renovationKaplan Bennett auctioning a pair of landmarksSarasota's Atco buys U.S. 301 BP stationGeorgia auto dealers buy Wesley Chapel ToyotaBlackhawk Realty Advisors buys Hidden Lake ApartmentsClearwater firm buys and plans makeover of St. James Place

  • Charlotte–Lee–Collier
    By
  • Business Observer Staff
  • June 6, 2008
Coffee Talk

Check out on aisle nine: Sweetbay boss moves on: Unless she stays local, the Tampa Bay area may soon lose one of its more colorful and candid chief executive officers.Housing comeback might not be soon: Don Atha might not have the polished resume of well-known Florida housing economists such as Hank Fishkind or David Denslow.Analyst rates Chico's a rare 'sell': Even after all the brokerage scandals earlier this decade, few stock analysts rate the equities they cover a "sell" for fear of incurring the wrath of the management of the companies they follow.Peaceful, easy feeling as Bayshore hooks up park: This one may go down as one of the most interesting projects ever for Tampa-Based Bayshore Technologies, an IT services firm.Growth on agenda in Sarasota County, again: The pace of growth in Sarasota County is yet again primed to take center stage on Election Day, this time in a race for an open seat on the county commission.Bonus commissions could spur more deals: Everyone knows these are not the best days for the real estate industry, but people are taking creative approaches to kick start activity.GULF COAST RETAIL: What the data show: The index of retail activity is constructed to measure personal consumption and it combines the categories of autos, consumer durables, tourism and consumer nondurables.

  • News
    By
  • Business Observer Staff
  • May 30, 2008
Commercial Real Estate Briefs

Bradenton developer plans surgery centerOsprey investor buys Myakka agricultural landPlaza Hotel bound for Burns SquareForeign investor buys Tuscany ReserveCenterco Properties company buys Applebee's in EsteroTalk of the Town Diner buys Mel's Diner in Fort MyersCastriota dealership expands to Port RicheyRyan Cos. buys, begins developing in Telecom ParkPasco County School District buys land for new high school

  • Manatee-Sarasota
    By
  • Business Observer Staff
  • May 30, 2008
Coffee Talk

IT folks, others, make a show of force: Where did all these techies come from? The Gulf Coast is well known for its housing and tourism businesses, but a recent tech gathering in Fort Myers shows how technology cuts across all industries.Federal legislators try to control gas prices: Even for a legislative body known more for photo ops than passing bills with actual substance, a recent vote in the U.S. House of Representatives was a true head-scratcher.Going green from Dallas to Tampa: Tampa Heights, the redeveloping urban area just north of downtown Tampa, will be getting a new corporate tenant at the end of the month: The Beck Group, a Dallas-based construction company.On demand flyingexpands on Gulf Coast: Airlines big and small have been fleeing the Gulf Coast, another facet of the economic slowdown.Let's go this summer to Camp CEO: Forget canoeing or archery.High school juniors and seniors will have an opportunity to be chief executive officers at Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers this summer.Evos wants faster growth, hires Chipolte exec: The Review profiled Evos, a growing a Tampa-based restaurant chain, in July, and now comes word that the company is preparing to make a major leap in growth.John Sykes gives to University of Tampa again: Tampa businessman John Sykes, whose name is on the University of Tampa's School of Business building, has made another sizable gift to the university, which sits on the edg

  • News
    By
  • Business Observer Staff
  • May 22, 2008
Coffee Talk

Construction company continues to cut costs: Kesselring Holding Corp., one of the few Sarasota-based, publicly traded construction firms, continues to lose money - including $1.6 million in the first quarter of 2008.Broken home then, executive homecoming now: Jayme Harris grew up in a broken, dysfunctional home in Plant City. She finished high school, enlisted in the Air Force and the rest is history.Say what? Toll gives Naples an "A": Robert Toll, the chairman and chief executive officer of the luxury homebuilding company that bears his name, is well known for dishing out grades for various areas where he builds luxury homes.Fundraiser prospers despite gloomy economy: The weak economic climate on the Gulf Coast, no surprise, has led to a slowdown in donations for all sorts of charities and nonprofit organizations.Economic scorecard drops Tampa to last: The impact of the soft housing market pulled down the 2008 numbers on the Tampa Bay area's economic scorecard compiled by the Tampa Bay Partnership.Madden dishes out sizzle and steak: The next time you're in Denver, give John Madden a call. He might treat you to a nice steak dinner.Gulf Coast legislators receive recognition: The Associated Industries of Florida's annual list of pro-business legislators includes a trio from the Gulf Coast:Junk wars wage in Tampa Bay: Coffee Talk introduced you in March to a junk hauling company that relocated from Washington to Tampa, run

  • News
    By
  • Business Observer Staff
  • May 22, 2008
Commercial Real Estate Briefs

GLL Partners buys Naples PromenadeNew York investment firm buys Laguna Bay unitsPunta Gorda company buys Wal-Mart storeBOOKS-A-MILLION SET FOR MERCATO IN NAPLESPreston family sells 46 acres for SevenShoresTJM Properties acquires Bradenton OaksWal-Mart Stores plans to expand Cattlemen storeEola Capital closes on Westshore landGoodwill Industries-Suncoast buys ex-motel, vacant landInternational firm Praxair buys Tampa warehouse

  • Charlotte–Lee–Collier
    By
  • Business Observer Staff
  • May 15, 2008
Coffee Talk

WCI: Banks and Icahn hold the cards: The ink was barely dry on the news that Bonita Springs-based WCI Communities lost $2 per share in the first quarter when some observers said the company might have to file for bankruptcyVisitor spending falls in Hillsborough: Total visitor spending in Hillsborough County fell 1.5% and hotel occupancy declined 5.9% in 2007 compared to 2006Affordable housing? Not near my home value: Here's a twist on the housing market slump: A group of north Manatee County homeowners is suing one of the largest homebuilders in the county for setting prices too lowDon't look a cracker horse in the mouth: With all the serious legislation going on in Tallahassee over the budget, it's good to know our legislative crew sneaks in a few good neighs every now and then.Mystery bank seeks buyer for large loan portfolio: First Financial Network, an Oklahoma City-based firm that specializes in running auctions to sell tarnished loan portfolios nationwide is spreading the word on its newest, and biggest, projectTaxes may rise in Lee County: Taxes on new construction may rise in Lee County.Executive seeks to put his time to other uses: John Cranora was known for guiding others through the complications of time management during his 35-year business careerGULF COAST BUSINESS INVESTMENT: What the data shows: Taxable sales of business investment include store and office equipment, computer shops, medical supplies, comm

  • News
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