Coffee Talk: ll time high: Good news for Tampa landlords: Office rental rates for Class A space increased 3.6% in the first half of this year, and the trend is expected to continue upward, according to a mid-year report by GVA Advantis. Holiday Inn may boost Parsons:Oscar Parsons' $10 million investment in creating a viable convention center for the Sarasota-Bradenton area could be getting a jolt: Jiten Patel, who already owns and operates a Holiday Inn Express in Bradenton, is seeking to build a $15 million, 135-room Holiday Inn next to Parsons' Sarasota Bradenton International Convention Center.And the (small business) winners are ...: Fast Lane Clothing Co. (profiled in the Aug. 4 edition of the Review) was one of the recent winners of the Tampa Chamber of Commerce's small business awards.Oswald Trippe continues expansion: Despite the challenges of writing insurance policies in Florida, Fort Myers-based Oswald Trippe continues its expansion both within and outside the state.Analyst forecasts earnings fall at WCI Communities: Housing-stock analysts continue to downgrade the stock of WCI Communities, the Bonita Springs-based developer once headed by Al Hoffman, now U.S. ambassador to Portugal.Sweetbay building on own, for now: Sweetbay Supermarket CEO Shelley Broader's announcement that the Tampa-based grocery store chain plans to self-develop its stores seems to have caused a stir in the development community.
