In Lee and Collier counties, there's talk of a tax on commercial builders to pay for affordable housing.That's despite the fact that Collier County commissioners voted the idea down recently. The county staff had proposed imposing a one-time tax on new construction of commercial buildings, but commissioners tabled the issue a few months ago. Still, Coffee Talk hears it might resurface.he good news is that the cost increases builders and developers were seeing from suppliers slowed considerably in the last half of 2006. The bad news, says Simonson: The decrease is a temporary quirk, adding that "by the end of 2007, materials costs could be rising again at a 6% to 8% rate, with wages rising at a 5% rate."Now, with the recent slowdown in residential activity, it appears that free or subsidized real estate trips might be making a comeback.Did Sarasota-based condo developer Don Bevins figure out the mystery of time travel?Coffee Talk thought he might have, especially after hearing the developer and his company recently closed on 37 condo contracts in just two months for the Grande Oaks Preserve, a 30-acre gated community with a projected 125 residences being built on DeSoto Road, two blocks south of University Parkway and two miles west of Interstate 75. Is the worst behind for Chico's FAS?Some analysts are starting to think the stock of the Fort Myers-based women's retailer could rebound.
